When EA struck the exclusivity deal
with NCAA for college hoops, you could hear the tears falling from the cheek of
every March Madness fan nationwide. Not only does competition increase quality
in a product (i.e. NBA 2K9 vs. NBA Live 2009) but it also gives
gamers an option when it comes to spending their hard-earned money. Yet, EA went
ahead and bought the rights and now present the only college basketball game in
town. On a side-note, EA only bought the rights after 2k Games cancelled all of
their college basketball developments in the future. Still, it’s a sad day for
basketball fans when there’s only one game left in town.
Ever since the switch to the
concentration of next-generation of consoles, the NCAA Basketball –
formerly known as March Madness – series at EA hasn’t particularly shown
it’s ‘A’ game on the court. They’ve been produced nothing more than mediocre
games and this year’s iteration is no different. The game doesn’t play or feel
anything like a college basketball game.
For starters, the computer AI in
NCAA Basketball ‘09 is as dull as a butter knife when it comes to offense.
Sure, they opposing teams will steal a lot of your passes and play an
overwhelming zone defense where they just sit in the lanes and do nothing on
defense but beg for you to shoot threes, but their offense is even worse.
Majority of the time, your opposition will try to drive and often throw up
low-percentage shots while winding down the shot clock. While this may sound
somewhat like college basketball – winding down the shot clock that is – in all
honesty, NCAA Basketball ‘09 is plagued by more than just gameplay
issues.
Many of the animations feel broken
when passing among your teammates. What occurs is when you are within a fast
break and want to pass ahead to a teammate, who has a chance for an open lay-up
or dunk, they’ll often catch it from behind by turning around and stopping in
their tracks rather than continuing their momentum towards the hoop for the easy
two. This allows the defense to catch up and only increases the frustration with
the NCAA Basketball ‘09.
Another thing that perturbed me among my sessions with NCAA Basketball ‘09
was the shooting. When you are trying to throw up a shot quickly before the
defense readjusts or the shot clock is about to wear down, many players won’t
react in time and cost you the wide open look. They’ll hold onto the ball as you
repeatedly press the button to fire off the shot. Also, don’t expect to play
like, say, Richard Hamilton in the NBA where you come off screens and shoot nice
little jumpers on the run. Instead, be prepared to play like Ricky Davis from
the NBA with circus shots that are off-balance and have no real hope of going in
beyond the odds of Chevy Chase winning it big in National Lampoon’s Vegas
Vacation (a.k.a. no luck at all).
If you’d rather not play the actual
game and just simulate through your dynasty/season modes, then you should have
more fun there recruiting players and trying to make it through March Madness to
be proclaimed the No. 1 team in the land. There’s also the inclusion of a
Tournament of Legends mode where you can finally determine who is the best
college basketball team of all time through a 64-team bracket; but the fun in
this mode only lasts for long before you become bored of either simulating the
tournament so many times pitting different teams against each other or playing
the game in its entirety.
Gameplay: 5.0
This sadly doesn’t live up to today’s standards for a basketball game when
it comes to shooting and computer AI.
Graphics: 7.2
If you can look past the screwy shooting animations then it doesn’t look
half bad.
Sound: 7.4
The commentating is best attribute to take away from the whole experience.
Difficulty: Medium
It’s not an extremely hard game to play, but when you are constantly
throwing up circus shots rather than jumpers, it makes it much more challenging
to perform well within the game.
Concept: 5.2
It’s unfortunate that there’s no inclusion of any type of “Be A Pro” mode
where you can create your own player and get them on course to being the best in
the nation.
Multiplayer: 5.5
Next time around EA needs to more unique multiplayer options.
Overall: 5.6
There’s no excuse for this pathetic release by Electronic Arts. Sure, they
refined a few things but when push comes to shove, gamers shouldn’t have to
endure mediocrity within their favorite sport since there’s no other
alternative. If you’re a huge fan of college basketball, it’s best to rent
before buying because you may not be able to overlook all its faults to find
enjoyment out of the title.
