NCAA Basketball 10 Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 Review

Time to bring it on home. (The game, that is.)

2K Sports folded up shop on its College Hoops franchise some time ago, paving the way for EA Sports to come through strong with its own power player, NCAA Basketball.  Last year, it did well enough, although a few players were hoping for something a little bit different.  They’re getting it this time around with NCAA Basketball 10, a game that implements a couple of cosmetic changes, while still bringing the rim-rattling basketball thunder we’ve grown to love over the years.

Most of the gameplay remains unchanged, but that’s not entirely a bad thing.  Some folks who have played NBA Live 10 like crazy the past few weeks will notice a few similarities, such as with fast breaks and setting up defensive plays.  However, there are a few tweaks made specifically for this college hoopster.  For instance, you can effectively call for a screen, setting up someone to run in for an alley-oop or getting into position for a three-pointer.  You can set yourself up defensively as well, swatting away at a player trying to go for a quick lay-up or setting up a steal for a fast break.

It’s a fast, smooth-playing game, but not without its hiccups.  For instance, your AI players are asleep at times.  They react sufficiently most of the time, standing in the post or lying in wait for a missed shot to come off the backboard for a rebound.  However, when a player comes charging in for a dunk, they do very little to stop it.  Furthermore, we’ve had a few balls roll loose, and rather than realistically diving for it, they just stood there and let us do all the work.  Hey, guys, it’s a basketball.  It’s not going to bite you.  These small errors aside, we have no qualms with how the game handles.

In addition to quick pick-up games, you can also log in to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network and play against friends, try to earn a championship through the game’s Dynasty Mode, or get right into a big tournament.  There is an option to create your own player and use them in-game, but we’re a little surprised that there’s no career mode to speak of.  How cool would it have been to fashion your player into a basketball god, and then convert them to NBA Live 10?  EA Sports should give this consideration in future NCAA iterations.  It’s a major feature that fans of the sport would take advantage of.

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Back to the good stuff.  The presentation is a slam-dunk.  The game moves fast and fluidly, like a real basketball game would, and watching the crowd go bonkers after you nail a shot is great.  It gets so intense that the screen actually shakes, just like a real arena would.  Some of the player models don’t look that hot, but considering that EA couldn’t use real NCAA stars for the game, they’re acceptable substitutions.

Fans will appreciate the inclusion of not one but two distinct broadcast styles.  Both ESPN and CBS Sports are present in this year’s game, complete with their own visual overlays and commentary teams.  Dick Vitale, one of the legends of the sport, provides his feedback along with  Brad Nessler and the ever-so-hot Erin Andrews for ESPN, while Gus Johnson and Bill Rafferty dish out their own two cents for CBS.  Surprisingly, both commentary teams have a superb balance, with Dickie V. whoopin’ and hollerin’ for his favorite teams and Johnson bellowing with a high amount of energy.  The commentary does tend to repeat at times, but overall it’s an excellent add-on we hope to see in future games.  The rest of the sound is superb as well, with home team chants and cheers fully intact.  You’ll really feel like you’re in the middle of everything, especially with the proper sound system.

While more modes would’ve been appreciated and we could’ve done without the sleepy AI teammates, NCAA Basketball 10 is a solid game of hoops.  The broadcast styles are unparalleled, the gameplay is good fun and the modes that did make the cut are more than enough to keep fans happy.  Now the only thing that’s left to decide is whether we want to listen to Dickie V. or Gus Johnson comment on our plays.  Hmmm, it’s looking like a coin flip…