Customer Reviews

Sega Sports: NCAA College Basketball 2K3

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's that time of year again... college basketball is in my veins, I'm watching/following my UVa Cavaliers, and what better way to occupy my time than buying a college basketball game to keep myself busy when my team isn't playing. NCAA Basketball 2K3 is an amazing game; despite several flaws, the game's pros put the cons to shame. I'm going to review this backwards so that you can finish feeling good about the game, and want to go out and buy it.

Cons:
Repetitive commentary- after playing two seasons with a team, you'll be able to recite the lines of the commentators word for word (for the most part)

Fouls are rare- besides the end of the game when you're winning, fouls are pretty much nonexistent in this game

Strange AI calls- when the computer is losing by two with five seconds left, they just dribble! i don't have to do a thing, they won't shoot the ball at the end of the game unless they're close enough to make it, meaning that half-court buzzer beaters NEVER HAPPEN

No name teams end up #1- as i entered the NCAA tournament, Baylor was my opponent for the final four, seeded #1?!

Teams have no legacy- if Duke has a poor season, it will take forever for them to get back on top... they will not be able to sign blue chippers, they will disappear off the top 25, and not even make the NCAA tournament

Crowds are once again, poor- when will the developers realize that people like to see crowds that are real? when the coach is shown close up, the crowd is very choppy and fake

Some things too easy- on starter (rookie) setting, i can steal the ball 25 times in a game, but the rest of the gameplay is about my level... it doesn't make sense!

Pros:
Pregame- the pregame is unbelievable.. you get to hear about the teams, the matchups, while watching the players do warmup shooting before the tip-off

Stadiums- the stadiums and courts look exactly the same as they do in real life.. U-Hall for UVa looks exactly like it does, with the pep band in the same spot, and the regular fans in the spots that they sit in real life

Free Throws are challenging- using the triggers for the xbox, the free throw system is wonderful and show ingenuity, people who complain likely need more practice

Fancy finishes- the dunks and 360 layups are so fun to watch in this game, you rarely see the same move to the hoop twice

Momentum meter- the momentum meter is a wonderful touch.. the home team racking up points, the crowd getting into the game, and the intense gameplay of the winning team, the meter captures the energy in the building

Crowds get into it- although they don't look real up close, the crowds start going wild, you can even hear individual shouts from fans

Running plays is easy- with the right analog stick and the ability to call your own offensive and defensive plays, picking up on a defense is a piece of cake, run the offense you want to run, when you want to run it

Dive for balls- for the first time that i can remember, players can dive for loose balls! hardcore basketball gamers know how frustrating it is to have a ball on the ground just roll out of bounds because you can't get to it, but with this button on your controller, diving for balls is one less complaint from this gamer

Good options- you can fully customize your game, from the offensive and defensive plays to the game tempo, to the substitutions, to the pressure, to the crashing of the boards

Graphics- seeing this game for the first time was like jumping into a cold shower... it took the breath out of me. my jaw must have hit the floor, seeing the pregame layups from each team, the gameplay, and after the game, the menus are even easy on the eyes

Editing names is a snap- although it does take a bit of time, many college basketball fans were turned off when they realized that players were replaced by numbers, but this year you can have the option of actually naming players what you want, it's pretty simple too. if you'd rather keep the players numbers, that's okay too, as the real life player corresponds with the number and position in the game. also, time is saved as the game has a name-recognition system that can find most names of real college players such as Duhon, Watson, etc. (p.s. announcers do a fine job of pronouncing most names)

Onto the legacy and its wonderful features...
...the legacy feature for hardcore gamers is wonderful. so much depth and so many features provide you for an unbelievable experience. you can choose open or career, meaning you can choose the team that you would like to coach, or start off a coaching career by being offered small-time team head coaching spots.

Recruiting- this feature is not only easy, it's also fun. at the end of a season, you get to see what big-time players are interested in your school. the more winning seasons you have, the more big-time players want to come there. give it some time, and soon enough a team like Lehigh (who i coached in my career legacy) will sign blue chippers.

Media coverage- when your small-time team does well, the team makes it onto TV/radio

Conclusion---

This game really captures the essence of college basketball, it has emotion and the real feel of college hoops. Sega did a wonderful job and should be commended for doing so. I'd give this game an A- for certain problems that continue to reappear (such as crowds), but the rest of the game is great. I recommend it to anybody of any age that enjoys a great game, sports or not, and I hope that my review was helpful!

-Sam Latter

After being sorely disappointed with March Madness 2002 for PS2 last year, I upgraded to an XBOX for anticipation of this year's ncaa basketball 2k3 from sega.
WOW, what a great decision. this game has it all, graphics, camera angles, espn license, great gameplay, difficulty settings. Whatever you envision in college, it's here. You even start off at a small school in hopes of landing that top notch job at a big time program in hopes of cutting down the nets. Run, don't walk to get this game.

I had read more than a few negative things about this game before I bought it. Namely that the graphics "aren't as good as they -should- be," and that unpredictable AI more or less ruins the realism. Personally, I totally disagree. The graphics are great, and while I'm sure it would be possible to improve on them, it would be equally possible to do so for most of the games on the market today. Secondly, I haven't experienced anything during gameplay that wasn't a totally believable representation of the college game. Sure, it'll break your heart when your star point guard misses a lay-in; but college players miss lay-ins. Sure, you'll have games where you go 3-for-20 from behind the three-point line; but so do a lot of college teams. The fun is in playing through these things; in working the ball against the zone defense; in waiting for that next big game when Arizona or Duke comes to town.

The only downside is that the NCAA doesn't allow its players' names to be used in video games, so you have to make do with their jersey numbers, or hand-key in the names yourself. Rest assured, all the players from the 2002-03 season are there.

All in all, a wonderful game.

This game is a must get for college basketball fans. Every division 1 team is there so you use legacy mode to turn Pine Bluff University or something into a powerhouse in a couple of years. The graphics are good and you can rename players from the huge name list. Now the flaws- I know some other reviewer said the free throws would take practice but come on! During the season with Boston College, I made 2 free throws out of over 100 tries and i practiced about 50 of them in the practice mode and made 3. Otherwise from this and the repetitive commentary, this game rocks.

I love college basketball and the 2k3 series... so i thought what could be better then this game? I found my answer... Nothing. This game is the best out there by far. I love NBA2k3 and this feels like NBA2k4 with college players. All the small problems in NBA 2K3 are improved in this game. The big deifference is the atmosphere in game and the options outside of the ingame mode...

Atmosphere- Lots of little cool things that make it great! Players do layups before the opening lineups, Mascots run around very animated, Bands cheerleaders and school colors everywhere you look, signs and animations by the crowd. What else could u ask for? Not much

Options- This game could have been released with out the actual playing of the game. Thats how good the out of game options are. The career mode lets u become then coach of a team and guide them to the top for as many years as you'd like. Being a Hofstra "Pride" fan (they've been to the tournament 2 times in the last 4 years but are not very known) i was very impressed with the accuracy of the players. Their stats and numbers matched up to them.
Scouting is very fun. Not only do u get to visit the player and try to talk them into coming to your school, but you can also play as them in High School All Star Games. You can alsdo set up your schedule as you'd like. You can schedule games against duke as lets say the college of Charleston, except they'll be very harde to win and at Duke. But if you do win ur prospects will look at ur team on a higher level and you'll beable to play some good teams at home.
These is just a quarter of thge options available in the game... If i were to list them all id never stop typing (player editor, tournament, season, role play). All in all... if you like NCAA basketball, BUY THIS GAME!

im saying that in a hypothetical sense, since it is the only college hoops game on the Box. let me go through the pros.

Pros: LEGACY MODE: Magnifico! Sheer Brilliance! A triumph for sega!

GYM RAT MODE: a little arcade in this game, unlike NFL 2k3

WIDE SELECTION of TEAMS: from Sell-out crowd Duke to small time Coastal Carolina, all division-I schools are here

MAN VS. MAN: A Good 2 player game on or offline

LEGACY MODE: i know i already mentioned this, but it is all the rage. Beautiful!

Cons: FANS: Ugh, Sega can do better than CARDBOARD Designs!

SOME FEATURES IN IN-GAME PLAY: too easy to get backcourt violation, fouls called too seldom, way too easy to steal, goaltending rule is whack, and the free throw system takes some time to get used to, but ull get the hang of it.

A QUESTION: how do some fans in a block hold up a big sign that says, "ESPN" on it? and then the same group of people put up Brick signs when they come up to the free throw line?

I was really hoping to enjoy this game, but I was very disappointed to find that it's one of the worst games I've ever played on the XBox. The graphics are poor, the announcers are horrible, and the game play is terrible. By my 3rd game I was stealing the ball 80+ times w/ the game set to the hardest level (not because I'm particularly good or anything). The only thing that is half-way decent is the recruiting mode, but recruiting and simulating a season is only fun for so long.

NCAA Basketball 2K3 is one of the most interesting games I've played on my X-Box, and it is the one I've played the most. The reason I am not able to give it a 5 star rating deals more with a few bugs than with the enjoyment of playing.

I will rate it across a few categories that many Players of games use. Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Value, Tilt.

Graphics - 3.5 stars
The Graphics are good, but not great. Some players look too much like other players, possibly due to the generation process. On a normal television it is often difficult to make out the numbers on each player. It may be better on an HD-TV, but I can not speak to that. Some of the animations are ugly, such as the finish of a jump shot, and the collision detection may be over pronounced at times. Overall the courts look good, the crowds are part of the atmosphere, and there is enough variety to be interesting. It is fun to watch players falling down going after the ball.

Sound - 4 stars.
The crowds are a definite part of the game, as well as the bands. The thing that pulls down the sound is the repetitive phrases of the commentators, though this is somewhat expected as it would take a lot of additional work to cover an entire season with a more variety. The sounds of the game (ie the dribbling of the ball, the squeak of shoes) are not pronounced and do not get in the way. There is no talking by the players, it would be nice if they occaisionally celebrated or groaned.

Gameplay - 4.0 stars
The gameplay is very strong with a certain amount strategy. The coaches AI is poor when it comes to timeouts, and questionable as to substitutions, but you can mannually handle this. Overall the control scheme is easy to learn, but it is different from the NBA 2K3 scheme, which is a bit of a challenge if you come from the NBA 2K series. Passing leaves you very vulnerable to turnovers, but you can return this favor by making an unseemly amount of steals. Errors in the game such as an injury bug, a Roster Export failure, and a few others hurt the game a bit.

Value - 4.5 stars.
There are a number of modes that make this game replayable, even with the same teams. One could play for weeks and never really reach it's depth.

Tilt - 4.0 Stars
I liked NCAA Basketball 2K3 quite a bit. It allows you to do a lot of things. With a few less bugs and a slightly improved Graphics and Commentary this would be a 5 Star game all the way. It is worth its cost, and to top it off, it is fun, admittedly more fun if you are a college hoops fan, or if you ever wanted to lead your school to the NCAA Championship. There are over 200 colleges to choose from, from Elon in North Carolina, to Florida A & M, to the Big names. It is well worth the investment.

This game, despite its numerous faults, was unfortunately quite addicting. With all the "street ball" in the NBA, I found it refreshing to get back to calling the ol' Pick and Roll, or a little 2-3 Zone. The other benefit of this game is the fact all Div. 1 schools, stadiums, and songs are included. Unfortunately, there are quite a few glitches programming wise that wear on the nerves:
-In-side scoring; Post-up your best player, dunk, repeat
-Difficulty; Went undefeated 3 consecutive seasons with the Campbell Fighting Camels (Go Camels!)
-Commentary; This was the most annoying of the glitches, as the commentators would often mix-up who was in the lead or trailing.
-Gameply; Much too easy to steal, especially in a full-court press.

Overall however, with all the problems, I did end up playing over 250 games of basketball, and definately got my $$$ worth. I would recommend it for it's adictiveness, just keep the sound turned down.

This is a terrific game with lots of depth. The best is the Franchise mode where you become a coach of a lower level team and have to work your way up to coach at the prestegious colleges.

Some of the gameplay is a little strange. Specifically the amount of times you may be right under the basket but instead of a dunk the player does a jump shot type.. but thats minor.

My one major gripe is that the top 25 list is always wrong. It always seems to pick the worst team for the top. 1-11 and you are in as #1?

But overall a solid game with many hours of gameplay ahead.