Customer Reviews

NCAA March Madness 2004

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As far as gameplay, this game plays pretty well. No real complaints. The freestyle mode is a little tricky, and as always, EA throws in games where an unranked 8-12 team plays like the '97 Bulls and defeats your undefeated, #1 ranked team. The dunks are great though, and it is a fairly entertaining game to play. However, quality control went out the window as far as accuracies. Stadiums all pretty much look cookie cutter. Game dates aren't consistent as to when the team actually plays them,(unlike NCAA Football),conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament sites are either generic or inaccurate. There are teams in incorrect conferences (Charleston Southern in the Mountain West Conference!!!) Outdated uniforms (Colorado State's have the WAC logo, even though this is their 5th year in the MWC.) The list goes on. Mascots and fight songs that EA Sports have in other titles aren't included in this one, which seems like it would be easy to include them. Even the cheerleaders just have generic uniforms, they don't even have the team logo, like the NCAA Football game does. Held up against the NCAA Football 2004, it is obvious where EA's emphasis lies. I haven't played any other basketball titles, and this is kind of fun, but if you expect the same EA Sports quality of detail, you won't find it.

The gameplay is amazing. You can play it every day for the next 20 years and it will not get boring. The sounds, Graphics, and gameplay are just amazing. It also has a dynasty mode that is better than NCAA football and may be just as good as the Madden 2004 dynasty mode.

I researched and read reviews for both the ESPN and EA Sports college basketball titles. Everyone has a different opinion. The simple truth is that you will have to judge for yourself. First of all, you must ask yourself the following question: What do I look for in a game?

If you buy a game based purely on looks, then graphically speaking, ESPN has the advantage this year. If you buy a game based on the control and how it plays, then EA Sports is the game for you this season.

I bought March Madness because of my familiarity and history with NBA Live, and after 13 games of a dynasty season, I have not been disappointed. The game plays well, there are good options, and the excitement of the college game is there.

Is it the best basketball game ever? No. Is it going to win any awards? Probably not.

BUT...Is it a fun game to play and does it have good replay value? Yes, definitely.

Hint: I bought my copy of March Madness at a game trade-in shop and got a great deal!

This is not the greatest game ever, as some would like you to believe. This is an OK BBall game. Forget all the great crowd chants and mascots. Over time we all know it's about gameplay. This one is OK. Not even good but OK. I am off to try ESPN, let's hope it's better.

I think this game is one of the best college games out there if you are looking for a game with longevity. I've enjoyed playing it for several years now, but really only liked playing it head to head against friends. I thought the dynasty mode was a little boring, but playing heads up is intense!!!!!! Basically we set up 5 game playoffs (that we keep track of) between the two teams we pick and do a 2-2-1 series to determine the winner each time. The winner of the previous series gets home court advantage in Games 1 and 2, and in Game 5 (if necessary). I know it sounds cheesy, but when you get a chance to partake in it with a friend, and you both have mastered the game, it's great.

The only downside to the game I would say is there are some glitches here and there. Sometimes you can pass a ball over-and-back, but if the guy you pass it to who's behind the center court line passes it back to the frontcourt fast enough, they won't call the violation, which is kinda stupid. Also shots under the basket where the offensive player just bulls into the defensive player, a foul is often called on the defense who did absolutely nothing wrong. Full court presses are also a bit extreme as it's too easy to steal the ball defensively. In our tournaments, we make a rule that you have to be down by 10 or more in the second half to be able to use the full court press. Outside of that, everything is fairly realistic. The scoring runs/droughts OCCASSIONALLY get a bit excessive, but timeouts can halter them if you play like in real life or you can adjust the swings in the settings if you don't want to call timeouts just because someone hit 3 or 4 shots in a row. I actually enjoy that aspect of the game as it brings realism into the mix.

If you can accept a few of these what some people call "glitches", this game is unbelievably fun. If you plan on playing it by yourself alot, you might get bored with it after awhile.But if you have someone to play against and is as passionate about winning as you are, then it wouldn't be anything to be playing this game 5 years from now and to create some intense rivalries over that period. This game brings out the competitor in anyone and I would very highly recommend making the purchase, especially now when you can get it for relatively cheap anywhere.

This game was just what I was looking for. I was reading some other reviews and got kind of nervous because they were saying that this game was sorry. Im glad I got it. The game play is great and the Dynasty mode if fantastic. However, if you enjoy creating teams and players, and want a game just because you like to do that, this is not the game for you. There are about 5 team colors and you dont get to make your uniform like in NCAA Football. The school creating really sucks. But all other parts of the game I love. Great announcing, gameplay, and graphics. I LOVE this game.

Allright, I have been an EA sports fan for quite a while now, and because of that, there have been times where I have bought crap that I thought was good because of their name. This leads to this game, I love their football games, Considering that I thought that maybe this game was going to be close to their NCAA College football game, which I cant stop playing; But its not, it's graphics and sound are a good 4/5, but the gameplay and dynasty mode are horrible, its just not fun playing, because sometimes it seems that I have no control of the outcome of the game, please, there are better games to invest your money than this game, so rent it, and learn from my mistake

I just got this game on December 17.I play with UK and it seems to me that,yes, getting off rebounds are hard to get, but it doesnt really matter. The gameplay is relatively smooth.Don't get espn college or nba bball games,trust EA. There's a reason every game they sell is #1 in the franchise,because they play better and have the most authentic atmosphere.Also,the feature where you are making your own scheduale is interesting. If a team thinks they're too good to play you,they'll reject your invitation to play the.Funny, huh?Dickie V i love you baby!Go UK!

First of all, forget everything about last years game game (was only released for PS2).

This game is much improved, infact the difference is day and night between March Madness 2003 (PS2) and March Madness 2004. EA Sports has done a good job with the first installement of March Madness on the Xbox. The gameplay is perfect, the rosters are updated, and there are plenty of bonus's. The "dynasty" mode is in this game and it will have you hooked on for days! This game has everything, from the big dance in march to rivalry games to maskots! Even the venue's are recreated to real life counterpart!

There are are drawbacks to this game. First one is the graphics. The graphics are not in par with its NBA cousin, it looks good, but graphics look a little outdated. There are few slowdows, although they dont affect the gameplay all that much. There arent many plays, and the AI can be really dumb at time. Also, unlike NCAA College Hoops (Sega sports), March Madness 2004 isnt online on the XBOX, its online only on PS2. I think Xbox version is a better game, but PS2 version is a little better because of Online battles!

In conclusion, if you like college hoops, then this is your game! If you want the awesome online action, then wait for College Hoops (another great title). Besides the gameplay, this game shares lots of options from NCAA Football, and thats a really good thing! You wont be complaning about the graphics after a few minutes of NCAA March Madness 2004 on the Xbox!!

I was hoping that EA Sports had taken what they'd done in NCAA Football 2004 and applied it to college basketball. I knew that the potential was there, as NCAA Football 2004 is arguably the best college football game available for the PS2 (if not the best ever). Perhaps the March Madness franchise will deliver eventually, but right now it's an OK game at best.

The gameplay itself is intuitive and entertaining, if a bit repetitive. I went to a small school back East, and decided to play them through a few seasons. I was surprised at how much tension and drama there was once I actually made the Big Dance. That the game generates a random non-conference season for you adds some excitement, as it's fun to see who you'll be playing each season.

However, the focus of my problem with this game, though, is in Dynasty mode, which I consider to be the heart of a sports game. EA Sports seems to have ported over a very basic part of the NCAA Football dynasty engine, and it just doesn't translate very well. First of all, the features in recruiting aren't as deep, so it feels like you're playing a stripped down version of NCAA's recruiting engine. Second, and more important, while it's great for football, where you can recruit 15 or so players, in basketball you can only go after 4, maybe 5 players. As a result, the energy of the recruiting process is totally different. It should be more high-pressure, but it winds up being less interesting, especially if you play with a smaller school that will run out of recruiting points.

Watching my players develop was interesting, but it never captivated me the way it did in NCAA Football 2004. There, I actually bought Madden 2004 only so I could see where my players were drafted. Haven't played a down. I thought I'd do the same with March Madness, but it just hasn't been interesting enough to go to the trouble. By the way, I don't even know if there's a trophy room in MM, but if there is, it's not as good as in NCAA Football.

The bottom line: The gameplay is fine. However, if you love NCAA 2004, and want to see how a great Dynasty mode translates to college hoops, you'll be disappointed by March Madness 2004.