basketball

First of all, it's from ESPN, so that may just be all you need to know. If you would like to keep reading, here's two words to describe the game - BUY IT!!! I got it used for $17.00, and I've been playing most of my free time since.
Gameplay is excellent, although, as with every game there are a couple of minor flaws. First, the right toggle stick (I don't know the exact name for it) is the death of offense, cause even with a marginal ballhandler, you have a 50/50 shot of getting around your defender. However, even with this cheat move, the chances are high that someone has slipped into the paint to pick up a charge on you. AI is excellent, and although there is a certain point in the game where the computer starts hitting everything while you miss almost all your jumpers, contrary to other reviews of this game, you can still take the game. Slick passing to the low block and kick-outs for wide open threes work. The game may be unfair, but still very winnable. All this is on All-Conference, where I went 31-5 with Cal State Fullerton, won the conference, and lost in the Final Four Championship Game to Cincinnati. Gameplay, overall, is great, realistic, and absolutely real, because your shooting guard, rated 85, will go 15 for 23 one game and 3 for 18 the next. Big men and rebounding is the key to winning here.
I am now brought to the true gem of the game, which is the legacy mode. As mentioned in an earlier review, you take a small school (Cal State Fullerton, Army, Centenary, Richmond, etc.) and make it into a contender. But the recruiting is absolutely ten times as in depth as any dynasty mode I've ever seen in a game. You have a pool of 1500 or so recruits to plow thru, sortable from position to region to quality of recruit to interest in your school. You scout them, invite them to home games (which you'd better win), send your assistant coach to their high school games (and he emails you back with their game stats), and offer them scholarships. The only guy I could get a commitment from during the regular season was a SF ranked 1300 or so, but once I went to the title game, there's the final, intense recruiting session that follows, where I was able to beat out University of Florida for a four star point guard ranked 89. Get my drift? It's the most amazing feature of any dynasty game I've run into yet, and, by the way, I had two players all conference first and one on all conference second. The All-American teams are from schools that were in the top twenty five all season, not no-name schools like the Cal State Fullerton team that I eeked into the top twenty five the last week before the regular season ended.
The other game modes, Slam Session, Rivalry, Gym Rat, etc. are good, but for gameplay and intense dynasty mode, you've found all you need here.

This game has many great aspects. If your into gameplay and you don't like to loose, then your probably going to be frustrated for a while. However, if you don't mind reading the book that comes w/ the game and learning how to dunk/layup you will be fine.

The recruiting is top-notch and the game inside the game of getting hired as a coach and doing better then being offered or applying to better schools is pretty awesome.

I would like to see more effort put into the team itself aspect. I don't understand why all the sports games never consider things like training camps. Everyone knows that when you land a 2 star recruit and luck of the draw turns him into a machine once he goes through training camp you feel good.

But overall I think the game is really worth owning.

ESPN College Hoops is both awesome and mind-numbingly frustrating at the same time. How is this so? Let me explain.

First of all, I will discuss the positives. The presentation is simply astounding! There are so many great non-gameplay attributes that make this game a winner. You have the game modes and options that can be found in most basketball games, such as Quick Play, Season mode, etc. The option I really enjoy is the Legacy mode, where you start off coaching a non-powerhouse (like Dartmouth among many other choices). You have to take this small program and try to make them a winner. Essentially, this is the NCAA version of the franchise mode. Your goal is to build your school into a an NCAA powerhouse, and when this happens, you can apply for the coaching job at larger and better basketball schools (ie: you control that particular team). What makes this mode so much fun is that you literally control all aspects of the team. You hire assistant coaches, you do the recruiting and scouting (I especially enjoy this feature), you can apply for new coaching positions, and so much more. It is a lot of fun following your team as the season progresses. I especially like the two different Top 25 Polls, the RPI Poll, and the Bubble Watch (!) list. There are also awards for both the NCAA as well as each Conference. It definately makes the season more interesting. In addition to these great attributes, the features listed in the Amazon description are right on the money and make the game very versatile and enjoyable for the most part (I will not go into them, as Amazon has done a good job showing what they are). Finally, the fact that this game is XBox Live compatible adds a whole other dimension. If you ever get bored with the many single player modes, there is always someone available to play you online. This alone makes this game worth the purchase.

While this game is great, it is not without its flaws. First of all, the gameplay is not the best. It is downright frustrating at times. I do not like that you are given only three skill level options (Starter, All Conference, and All America). Starter is way too easy, while All Conference is rather difficult. I have yet to try out All America, but I don't ever plan on it since All Conference is ridiculously frustrating. I find myself missing open 5 footers with absurd frequency in All Conference. In addition, it is impossible to drive to the hoop (you somehow can get pushed to the other end of the court in two dribbles, yet the computer has no trouble getting around you) and the computer starts to make every shot when a certain point in the game is reached. Another frustrating aspect to this game is the fact that it is a crapshoot when attempting a layup or dunk. It seems that literally half of the time I am on a fast break and open, it refuses to let me do a layup or dunk. I will be wide open with absolutely no one in the way, and it makes me pull up for a 3 foot fadeaway shot, which you usually miss in the All Conference mode. Just absolutely frustrating. The gameplay found in the EA basketball games is a lot better in my opinion - it is smoother and you have much better control of your players. A few more things I do not like: the commentary is annoying, the replay selection is poor, and the cutting to the home crowd is unneccesary. Luckily, you can turn these off in the setting mode. Finally, I am not a huge fan of the way the award selection turned out. In my legacy mode, I had a guy who was the leading scorer in the country with great rebounding numbers for an undefeated team, and he was not given a single award. He was not even on the All Conference team (as a matter of fact, NO one was on my team was on the All Conference team). It just seems that the awards and polls are not very accurate.

Overall, despite its many shortcomings, ESPN College Hoops is still a fun game. It is almost perfect excluding the game play, which is a whole different beast. If you enjoy lots of features and Sega's 2K style, you will love this game. If you are an EA Basketball fan, this game will do little to convert you to the Sega side.

Features - 5 Stars
Gameplay - 2 Stars
Overall - 3.5 Stars