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NCAA March Madness’ freshman new-generation debut captures the college basketball atmosphere.
Like NBA Live’s freshman debut, March Madness 07 is light on game modes. You’ll find the typical quick game, NCAA tournament, NIT Season Tip off, Dynasty Mode, or the Maui Invitational but not much else. The game’s dynasty mode is clearly the singleplayer highlight. In March Madness 07, you can schedule games, train and recruit players, deal with misconduct, and manage your boss’ expectations. March Madness 07 does take things a bit further by asking you to maintain school pride, largely by pleasing alumni who will ask for things like making sure you win televised games.
March Madness 07 uses the NBA Live 07 engine but does improve on some aspects. For example, while you will find the freestyle dribbling controls, the game has a simpler two-button system for shooting and dunking. On defense, the game implements a lockdown stick which lets you guard the opposing player closely and prevents them from throwing passes or executing amazing shots. The game does have some issues with ball physics, although it never becomes a problem.
However, March Madness 07 is still a college hoops title and captures the college atmosphere very well. Some of the bigger teams have packed crowds with insane fans who are genuinely interested in the team. Some others have bare stadiums—as you would expect from a real game. You’ll notice that the players display more emotion than NBA players, especially after a particularly exhilarating play. This ties into the game’s composure system which lets players play better if they are doing well. Also included is a team intensity meter that fills up with successful plays. Once you fill up the meter you can exectuve an impact moment which lets you get face-to-face with another player, chest bump a teammate, interact with the crowd, and even dance with cheerleaders. This, of course, pleases the crowd and increases your intensity even more.
NCAA March Madness 07 does include a limited online multiplayer mode. You and another play can play in ranked or unranked matches online. Technically, online play performed well for the most part although we did experience a laggy game. Aside from online multiplayer, the game does support four-player offline multiplayer.
Like NBA Live 07 before it, NCAA March Madness 07 is a looker. The player models are stunningly realistic even though they aren’t based on actual players. The animation system is usually spot-on although there are some minor issues with clipping and some very minor framerate dips. As good as the players look, the real star of the graphics are the amazingly built arenas. The big schools’ arenas are uncanny and even the generic ones look great.
The game’s audio package is stellar. The play-by-play and color commentary by Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale, respectively, does a good job of keeping things interesting although they are a bit too repetitive for my tastes. Nonetheless, the sound effects in the game are amazing. The sounds of basketball have been perfected and the chaotic fans really help set the atmosphere. The soundtrack is comprised of typical EA Sports fare but the game does include many fight songs, which again, help set the mood.
NCAA March Madness 07 has a few gameplay issues. If you list them, they do add up but in practice the game is enjoyable and will prove fun to all but the most picky of gamers. Despite those few flaws, though, it nails the graphics and most importantly, the college atmosphere. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Jan 30, 2007
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