March Madness 2004
Platforms: Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: EA Sports
I love college basketball. It doesn't matter who is playing, I'll watch it. I go to every Sun Devil hoops game. During the tournament in March, I skip class on Thursday and Friday and immerse myself in the glory of lopsided blowouts and shocking upsets.
So when my editor told me I was going to review EA's new college basketball game, NCAA March Madness 2004, I felt like this was a match made in heaven.
Normally the college-themed sports games are the hand-me-downs of the video game world. They are equipped with last year's pro franchise engine, tweaked a bit to include the correct jerseys and court logos. Not this year, baby. EA wisely included the freestyle control and separate dunk functions in the college game, and the action flows quite nicely.
Play control is standard, the same as NBA Live, so no learning curve is necessary for those who have played the senior franchise. The freestyle control really adds life to your character in this one. A tap up on the R3 stick while on defense gets the crowd into the action, while a tap down lets your player slap the floor, firing up the defense.
If there is one voice for college basketball, it has to be Dick Vitale. Love him or hate him, you can't question his love of the game and the enthusiasm he brings to every telecast. March Madness has paired Vitale with the rock-steady Brad Nessler as the announcers for this game. Some people claim Vitale can be a little grating sometimes, and since video game announcers have a tendency to repeat themselves from time to time, you may want to adjust the audio when settle in for a long night of gaming.
EA has done a wonderful job of assembling the correct uniforms for each team. There are 320 schools available to play in this game, virtually ensuring no schedule repetition. The only drawback to having so many schools is home arenas seem to be a bit generic, but who can blame them. The floors are still correct for the most part, so a cry for 320 specific arena models should be muted.
A new addition to this year's game is the Maui Invitational, the annual christening of the college season hosted by Chaminade University. This one appears in the Dynasty mode, and if you finished the previous season well, you may get invited.
Multiple seasons at the helm of your favorite school in the Dynasty mode is the most popular game mode, and March Madness does not disappoint. You can turn off early entries to the NBA, which is what I selected. It really adds to the talent level in the game. As teams develop and aren't destroyed by early exits, more teams have a realistic chance of cutting down the nets, and it really makes a better gaming experience. If only it could apply to this years cover boy, Carmelo Anthony.
As you progress in the season, teams with good records in poor conferences get undeservedly high rankings, but unlike college football, a tournament levels the playing field. Recruiting can be interesting because there is a wealth of talent to lure to your school, so any graduating seniors should be relatively easy to replace.
You can play this game for days without playing the same team twice, and once a couple of years of recruiting go by, there are about 50 quality teams on the game. This is one of the most solid investments you could ever make in a game.
I've been playing this game the entire holiday break, and I can't get enough. It gets an A.
Reach the reporter at nicholas.kramer@asu.edu.
