Customer Reviews

NCAA March Madness 07

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am rather baffled at the moment: here it is mid-January and March Madness shows up two to three months late. It should have been released in November -- at the beginning of the college basketball season. I figured EA had something special, someting 2K7 bunker buster -- a dagger in the heart, a slow, painful death to its competition.

No can do.

March Madness again falls, sinks, skids, and does not even come close to its counterpart, College Hoops. And I was not fond of College Hoops to begin with. Don't need to explain why since this review isn't about College Hoops 2K7, but we gamers love to compare and contrast similar simulations. MM has some nice things, don't get me wrong. I like the Intensity Control; the Dynasty mode and School Pride is great as well. The front-end menu and load screens are the best, out-doing anything 2K could present. The graphics, as always, shines, and probably to a degree, are a two-month-ahead better than CH 2K7's.

What about MM's gameplay? There shouldn't be excuses. EA had plenty of time, right? I guess not enough time. Honestly, the gameplay is pretty bad. Seriously. At first it may seem fine, it may seem cool, on the edge of innovation, and then the game does some interesting stuff, ala stupid programming errors -- stuff. These are glitches that should not be in a next-gen game. I mean, here we have people shelling out $500 or more for "next-gen" consoles and $60 a pop for a game and all we get is an annoying glitchy basketball sim. Come on!

I'm not going to rant and complain. There will be a few of you out there who will do a fine job at that after playing MM a few times. I tried to give this game a chance, I really did. I spent most of the day playing it, and maybe I'm rushing it a bit, but whenever your edited player suddenly disappears (AWOL from the bench), no where to be found in the lineup when you want to substitute him back in, then something is terribly wrong. This happened twice to me. I will also add that you'd better not dribble within three feet along the baseline without it calling you out of bounds. Add that in and along with some horrible foul calling. The players simply react like current-gen instead of next-gen.

Finally, I really wanted to like this game, something I was delusional about with NBA Live 07, but with all its glitchy gameplay, I just can't. Sorry EA, but you let me down again. Hopefully when the Ps4 and the next Xbox are out in five years we will see a true "next-gen" basketball simulation.

I waited until this week to buy College Hoops 2K7, expecting great things from this EA Sports title. When I rented March Madness 07, I was extremely disappointed.

The graphics are very good, which is really the only advantage this has over College Hoops. I did not, however, find any camera angle within the game that captures the "spirit" of college basketball like College Hoops does.

The gameplay in March Madness is absolutely awful. I could not find a way to alter the controller configuration. Unlike College Football, the controller configuration for March Madness is not easily laid out. I often found myself hitting what is usually a "shoot" button, only to attempt a lay-up from 3-point range.

This isn't to say that College Hoops doesn't have down-sides, but this review isn't intended to discuss that title. If you're debating between the two titles, don't waste your time on this one.

I bought this game because it was on sale, I am glad I did. The graphics are really good but that is where the good part ends. There is no way to change the controller, your shooters can't hit a 3 point shot to save thier lives yet the AI can, the recruiting is horrible. This is a bad game by EA, don't waste your money.

do not waste your money on EA sports games. they have not fixed any of the bugs and never will. Rent it and find out for yourself, but save your pocketbook some cash. Also, try 2K8 sports games

I don't really know what it is about this game that was such a disappointment to me. Nothing really stands out as exceptionally bad, it's just that the whole game has an awkward and clunky feel to it. The players don't respond well, the control is far from being intuitive and easy to use, and the game is just, overall, pretty bland. There are some nice touches, like being able to encourage your teammate or fire up (or mock if you're playing an away game) the crowd, but the whole game just feels lacking.

March Madness features the ability to create your own player, but the game places no cap on his stats. Want a 7 footer with a 99 rating in stealing, dribbling, and 3 point shooting as well as rebounding and blocking? No problem. The ability to create these supermen players really detracts from the player creation in my opinion.

The Dynasty mode and online options have some interesting features, but with such weak gameplay these things really don't matter. Actually playing basketball isn't fun, and no amount of customization in the Dynasty mode is going to save this from being a subpar game.

EA you have really dissappointed me this year from Madden to baseball and Now this. First of this Grafics are merely ok, the gameplay totally sucks the players move slow and moving rather sluggish even when u speed up the game i tried to like this game merely because i wanted to make myself believe i didnt just waste 60 bucks I put it in my 360 on several different occasions only to turn it off and pop college basketball 2k7 in. EA you can no longer live Off of your name alone how about makin a good game. Dont bother buyin this game if u must have a college Bball game get 2k7

I need to consult for EA Sports. I remember writing one of these reviews last year, just being funny, and found some of my recommendations in this game. Ironically, however, I get the feeling that they should have either a) Asked for my list or b)had someone who actually is familiar with Basketball work on this product. Either way, this is a JV game, at best. I equate this to a 6'9 8th grader walking into the gym in Jordans, and can barely touch the rim.

To begin, I would have loved for this to been a BASKETBALL simulation. Not some pretty game that is all beauty, no brain. No, i'm talking a game a coach can actually use. After all, the college game is based on the name on the FRONT of the jersey right? How about this:
1)an actual COACH roaming the sidelines! How about showing the coaches shaking hands, or getting a t in the heat of the game, you know, something that screams COLLEGE!

2)Hmmm, basketball IQ would be nice. Did you know that you can sub on EVERY dead ball? Of course you do, but EA doesn't. Just bring in the guy who did MM 06's AI on P2 for next years, HE got it right.

3)Wow, kind of touchy for me, but here goes... let's EXPAND the limits of what this thing can do! I'm talking Blue Chips baby! You got the McDonalds All-American Game- great move. How about the Jordan Roundball Classic (the shoes already in the game), or the Magic Roundball, or the
Indiana/Kentucky High School Game?

Sticking with this, in the summer how about the ABCD camp all star game so we can evaluate (it's possible, Reebok/Adidas is in the game also). How about the Indy Nike All-Am Camp? You know, make me feel my 60$ bought me something.

Also, PLEASE bring back the recruiting map of NCAA Football/March Madness 06 for PS2. I like to break down by state, you know, not just a lumped list. That was plain lazy.

I know this is a reach, but i'll ask anyway- How about some schools that AREN'T in a conference? like Independents! Can we have like 3 DII conferences? some JUCOs? Let's make it interesting... how about 10 or 15 of the storied High School (they already are all over CSTV and ESPN) like DeMatha, or Cthe King, or Lincoln, or Gary Roosevelt, or Oak Hill, or Mt. Zion, etc.

Finally, I like hearing the announcers, but if you want to actually go the extra step, how about a pre/post game show. Not that nonsense you have now, i'm talking a real one. How about the option of watching a 30 second ESPN style update show every Sunday in dynasty. How about a good Preseason and Tourney selection show. Can we get a Midnight Madness?

Obviously, we know what EA was looking at- THE FACE. But word of advice, just like it was a sinking ship on PS and PS2, its only a matter of time before people get hip to the fact you ignore THE SUBSTANCE.

This game has so many features that the other basket ball games just don't have. It plays well, it's intense, it works. If you are going to get a basketball game, get this one.

I have not played March Madness 07, so take your advice from these reviews. I have however, played College Hoops 2K7 and enjoyed it. 2K7 has,in my opinion, great, smooth gameplay. The menu navigation for College Hoops is confusing at first, but you'll eventually figure it. It has a good legacy mode, where you coach your team to hopefully, a national title. The graphics didn't blow me away, but the gameplay was good enough for me not to notice when I played. If you enjoy college sports, add this to your collection!