First come the
pro sports, then the college games. And with them comes a chance to outperform
its predecessors. Having two months of development time past the release of NBA
2K8, the developers of College Hoops 2K8 were given the opportunity to hear fan
praise, complaints, and other comments before their game was scheduled to ship.
If something didn’t work in the other game, they’d have time to change or remove
it from College Hoops.
But there
weren’t many things to dislike about NBA 2K8, and you won’t find much to dislike
about this game either. The controls, graphics, and player and ball physics are
top-tier; fans of the previous College Hoops or NBA 2K series won’t be
disappointed.
What if you
have to pick just one? Both are close in quality. The intuitive shot stick is
realistic and intuitive without being overwhelming. New to CH2K8 are features
that include Lock-On D, Play Designer, 2K Share, 6th Man Advantage, and the
All-American Training Challenge mode. However, they may not seem too
groundbreaking to those that have played NBA 2K8. Regardless, this is another 2K
baller that will make you never want to leave the court.
The highly-touted 2K Share feature lets you share your
homemade content with other players.
School’s In
CH2K8 is great
at playing up the college sports atmosphere, starting with the interactive
trophy room and three-dimensional menu-to-game presentation. When launching a
quick game, the camera pulls back slightly, revealing a TV monitor as the
display for menu content. The camera pulls back a little further and shifts to
the left, showing the players as they exit the locker room and prepare for the
game.
Mascots,
cheerleaders, crowd attention and team chants are purposely emphasized to give
the game more of a college sports feel. You’ll even be able to create your own
chants by placing sound bites (cheers, claps, words, or letters) alongside one
or more of the several dozen drum tracks.
This, like the
other creation modes, are streamlined for players of all skill levels. To create
a chant, click on the blank notes and pick a one- or two-second sound to fill
the area. Likewise, the deep player creation mode – which nearly rivals the
player creation mode of EA’s sports titles – lets you build an athlete from
scratch by mixing and matching several different pre-made assets (height,
weight, face, hair, etc.).
Play Designer
is the newest addition. It’s just as user-friendly as the rest, and comes with a
decent tutorial that explains how each function works. But its depth will
prevent you from rushing through the process. With this feature, players can
assign locations and actions/reactions to each athlete, allowing you to pinpoint
where each teammate will begin and where they will end up. Game changes are
likely to prevent the play from turning out as planned (your opponents won’t
just lie there and wait while it unfolds), and that’s another thing you’ll have
to overcome when designing the play. The best plays need to be able to handle
almost any situation.
The arenas are overflowing with next-gen jaw-droppers. From
realistic surfaces
to unbelievable player animations, you’ll be in awe of the
visual display.
All-American
Rejects
Ready to learn
the game? Prepared for an unlikely challenge? The All-American Training
Challenge tests your ability to run, pass, shoot, and maneuver through a series
of obstacles. Perfect your shooting skills with short, medium and
three-point-range games. Complete clean passes in the Passing Drill. During the
Free Throw challenge, you’ll need to score as many points as possible in 20
shots. There are 14 of these in all, plus a handful of challenges for
multiplayer.
Most gamers
have likely experienced this sort of thing before in the first-party NBA titles.
But while the other games use it as a diversion, CH2K8 makes it relevant with
challenges that will help you develop key playing skills. Best of all, they’re
difficult without being cheap or frustrating.
There is a slight glitch that causes the frame rate to drop
here and there, but it recovers quickly.
Core
Mechanics
The strengths
of CH2K8 come from the same areas as NBA 2K8. It’s that near-flawless style, the
seamless, realistic-feeling controls and incomparable gameplay that carries the
game to glory. You aren’t merely moving a bunch of guys that look like athletes
– at times you feel like you are really controlling an athlete. Every player has
different quirks, a unique run, a unique throw. And in most cases, a dose of
reality is applied. If a player is incapable of performing a certain move in the
real world, he won’t be able to perform it in this game either. The same goes
for basic throws and dunks. Real-world stats played an important role in
deciding this, resulting in a game that is light-years ahead of the rest.
One of the ways
CH2K8 differs from its NBA counterpart is that the players move a little slower.
The frame rate is the same (60fps), and momentum and inertia still apply to your
movements. But the speeds are not the same. If you’re like me and desire the
fastest game possible, you’re likely to spend more time with NBA 2K8. Aside from
that, it’s hard to choose one over the other.
College Hoops
2K8 is a grand-scale sports game with immense replay value. I couldn’t choose it
over NBA 2K8, but love having it alongside that game, and would
definitely take it over any other basketball game available. Don’t think that
this is only for fans of college basketball – College Hoops 2K8 was developed
for anyone who likes great sports games.
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Gameplay: 8.3
Like NBA 2K8,
College Hoops 2K8 achieves an amazing level of player control. The individual
player content is nearly as refined as NBA 2K8, which strives to flawlessly
re-create the look and feel of each athlete.
Graphics:
8.6
Beautiful. Just
beautiful. The realistic details are everywhere, not just on the court but
across the entire arena.
Sound: 7.8
The sound is
repetitive but somewhat ironic: if you repeat your actions, the announcers will
repeat their lines. Musically the game is great for its school chant creator.
The existing soundtrack (made up of several indie artists), however, isn’t too
spectacular.
Difficulty: Medium
Nailing a perfect
three-pointer every time is impossible – just like in real basketball.
Concept: 7.5
Not a whole lot of
groundbreaking content.
Multiplayer:
8.3
Stellar. You can’t
beat the multiplayer fun of College Hoops 2K8…unless you’re playing NBA 2K8.
Overall: 8.3
An engrossing
college hoops experience. If you’ve already purchased NBA 2K8 and are
apprehensive about getting another baller, give this one a rental. College Hoops
2K8 may not be a must-buy for everyone, but it is definitely a must-play.
