NCAA March Madness 07
Posted March 14, 2007
Electronic Arts skipped over college basketball fans last year on the 360, making NCAA 07 March Madness their first rendition of the series onto the next-gen console. The presentation is almost identical to NBA Live 07, specifically the opening menu system. The player can shoot practice hoops before navigating the main menu. The menu structure is absolutely confusing to navigate, particularly when backing out of a submenu. I have no idea why EA continues to adopt this silly menu for their entire sports catalog, but it’s really starting to get annoying. 
Gameplay:
As far as game modes go, NCAA 07 has an average selection. Quick play, Tournaments, and Dynasty mode are the main selections available to the college basketball fan. Tournaments include the NIT, NCAA, and the Maui Invitational. The main NCAA tournament is the most entertaining, but is actually more satisfying in the Dynasty mode. Building a fledgling school from scratch is definitely rewarding. Crowds will start to grow as the team gains popularity and the school campus can undergo upgrades. For instance, the school can upgrade their practice facilities and general school attributes like students and cheerleaders. It’s fairly involving for a dynasty mode and seems like a worthwhile upgrade for the series.
As far as the actual game mechanics go, offensive and defensive performance from the CPU is below average. While the player can run through plays to beat the schemes, it’s often simpler to just pass until hitting an open man. Additionally, driving the basket is almost too easy. Offensive fouls are not called very often and defensive fouls almost happen religiously. It’s often tough to select the correct player to pass to and can be frustrating late in the game. Failed passes are often picked off, which is excellent for stifling folks who just jam the ball down the court as fast as possible.
During any game, each player has a composure meter, which feeds into the overall team effectiveness meter. As the game unfolds, mistakes and achievements will tally up for each player. For instance, having a shot blocked will lower the confidence of that specific player and the player has a greater chance to miss the next time on offense. Conversely, players who continue performing well on offense and defense will get bonuses to their confidence. As the meters build, players can unleash crowd-pumping actions that increase the overall effectiveness of the team. It’s not a necessary tool to win the game, but it’s certainly entertaining.
Typically I wouldn’t mention this as I see replays as a necessary aspect to sports games, but Electronic Arts takes advertising to a new level in the replays during a game. You will be visually assaulted with endless mentions of State Farm at every single highlight replay. It’s overkill and absolutely abrasive. I realize advertising will take on new forms in video games, but this level of insanity actually makes me want to avoid State Farm.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is fairly standard for an Electronic Arts title, but the execution can be spotty. The player is treated to the typical barrage of user agreements just to sign into EA’s service. Lag is a persistent issue during actual games, perhaps due to the sub-par EA servers. The gaming experience isn’t vastly improved over single player either, mostly due to the lack of ranged shooting ability to most teams.
Per typical Electronic Arts fashion, the achievements are mind numbingly simple due to an absent achievement structure. The vast majority of the gamerscore points can be knocked out within a couple games by modifying player stats. In fact, nearly 70% can be achieved in a 40-minute game. Oddly, EA actually sets up a couple real challenges for beating the CPU at the high level of difficulty, but doesn’t assign the same stipulations to the achievements that offer the most points. The ridiculous ease of completing these achievements will please the junkies among us, but fails to offer true replay value for the average 360 owner.
Graphics:
Loading up a game for the first time will impress and disgust all at the same time. The engine looks fantastic as the player models are exceptionally detailed, arenas are articulately designed, and the crowd is very lifelike. Unfortunately, the frame rate and load times are ultimately disappointing. The frame rate chugs along as the game opens, especially when tip-off is eminent. Also, waiting for a game to crank into action seems much longer than NBA 07. Animations aren’t particularly smooth, specifically the ball handling. The ball seems to float away from the player’s hand when passing rather than speedy, quick movements.
Audio:
The auditory elements of the game are pretty solid. Player voices on the court, yells from the coaching bench and crowd cheers give NCAA 07 an authentic feel. Also, the music emanating from the small pep band is usually specific to the school when it comes to fight songs and rousing school cheers. ESPN radio is also a nice touch when connected up to the multiplayer menu. Electronic Arts has always excelled at creating an appealing audio environment on most of their sports titles.
Overall:
As the actual March Madness has just kicked off, one has to wonder if NCAA 07 March Madness has the legs to last until the following season. Sadly, the lack of difficult achievements and mediocre multiplayer eliminate any replay value that’s present after the single player becomes tiresome. It’s not worth full retail price especially compared to the superior College Hoops 2K7. Unless you are absolutely in dire need of a gamerscore boost, leave this on the sale rack and hope for improvement in next year’s version.
Gameplay:
As far as game modes go, NCAA 07 has an average selection. Quick play, Tournaments, and Dynasty mode are the main selections available to the college basketball fan. Tournaments include the NIT, NCAA, and the Maui Invitational. The main NCAA tournament is the most entertaining, but is actually more satisfying in the Dynasty mode. Building a fledgling school from scratch is definitely rewarding. Crowds will start to grow as the team gains popularity and the school campus can undergo upgrades. For instance, the school can upgrade their practice facilities and general school attributes like students and cheerleaders. It’s fairly involving for a dynasty mode and seems like a worthwhile upgrade for the series.
As far as the actual game mechanics go, offensive and defensive performance from the CPU is below average. While the player can run through plays to beat the schemes, it’s often simpler to just pass until hitting an open man. Additionally, driving the basket is almost too easy. Offensive fouls are not called very often and defensive fouls almost happen religiously. It’s often tough to select the correct player to pass to and can be frustrating late in the game. Failed passes are often picked off, which is excellent for stifling folks who just jam the ball down the court as fast as possible.
During any game, each player has a composure meter, which feeds into the overall team effectiveness meter. As the game unfolds, mistakes and achievements will tally up for each player. For instance, having a shot blocked will lower the confidence of that specific player and the player has a greater chance to miss the next time on offense. Conversely, players who continue performing well on offense and defense will get bonuses to their confidence. As the meters build, players can unleash crowd-pumping actions that increase the overall effectiveness of the team. It’s not a necessary tool to win the game, but it’s certainly entertaining.
Typically I wouldn’t mention this as I see replays as a necessary aspect to sports games, but Electronic Arts takes advertising to a new level in the replays during a game. You will be visually assaulted with endless mentions of State Farm at every single highlight replay. It’s overkill and absolutely abrasive. I realize advertising will take on new forms in video games, but this level of insanity actually makes me want to avoid State Farm.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is fairly standard for an Electronic Arts title, but the execution can be spotty. The player is treated to the typical barrage of user agreements just to sign into EA’s service. Lag is a persistent issue during actual games, perhaps due to the sub-par EA servers. The gaming experience isn’t vastly improved over single player either, mostly due to the lack of ranged shooting ability to most teams.
Per typical Electronic Arts fashion, the achievements are mind numbingly simple due to an absent achievement structure. The vast majority of the gamerscore points can be knocked out within a couple games by modifying player stats. In fact, nearly 70% can be achieved in a 40-minute game. Oddly, EA actually sets up a couple real challenges for beating the CPU at the high level of difficulty, but doesn’t assign the same stipulations to the achievements that offer the most points. The ridiculous ease of completing these achievements will please the junkies among us, but fails to offer true replay value for the average 360 owner.
Graphics:
Loading up a game for the first time will impress and disgust all at the same time. The engine looks fantastic as the player models are exceptionally detailed, arenas are articulately designed, and the crowd is very lifelike. Unfortunately, the frame rate and load times are ultimately disappointing. The frame rate chugs along as the game opens, especially when tip-off is eminent. Also, waiting for a game to crank into action seems much longer than NBA 07. Animations aren’t particularly smooth, specifically the ball handling. The ball seems to float away from the player’s hand when passing rather than speedy, quick movements.
Audio:
The auditory elements of the game are pretty solid. Player voices on the court, yells from the coaching bench and crowd cheers give NCAA 07 an authentic feel. Also, the music emanating from the small pep band is usually specific to the school when it comes to fight songs and rousing school cheers. ESPN radio is also a nice touch when connected up to the multiplayer menu. Electronic Arts has always excelled at creating an appealing audio environment on most of their sports titles.
Overall:
As the actual March Madness has just kicked off, one has to wonder if NCAA 07 March Madness has the legs to last until the following season. Sadly, the lack of difficult achievements and mediocre multiplayer eliminate any replay value that’s present after the single player becomes tiresome. It’s not worth full retail price especially compared to the superior College Hoops 2K7. Unless you are absolutely in dire need of a gamerscore boost, leave this on the sale rack and hope for improvement in next year’s version.