Everyone from curious gamers to hard-core "Cameron Crazies" will find this game enjoyable.

User Rating: 8.7 | ESPN College Hoops 2K5 PS2
By Iridium0 | Review Date:
With all the chaos associated with Sega and EA regarding licenses and exclusive rights, it's good to see that college hoops are free of the fights that have hurt Visual Concepts. ESPN College Hoops is a solid game that should appeal to anyone with at least a passing interest in college basketball. College Hoops is based on the ESPN College Basketball engine, and it models the game quite well. Passing is crisp, and taking shots requires a combination of isolation and accuracy, not just mashing the turbo button heading towards the hoop. There are dunks in this game, but they aren't as plentiful as in the pros, and a reliance on just the big men will quickly lead to a deficit as blocked shots happen frequency. There is more of an emphasis on scripted plays and screens, which can be pulled up and run by pressing the D-pad and then a corresponding button. Shooting the ball isn't just pressing a button and watching; to ensure the most accurate shot, one must release the square button at the top of the shooter's jump or watch it clank off the rim. The AI plays a mean game, and is able to adapt to your play style. If you put in all big men and try to protect the paint, prepare to have 3's rained on you. If you try to do a similar thing, they'll switch to a zone and double-team your guards. At higher difficulties and with the right team, the AI can create the sense of dread that a real team might have entering a powerhouse like Duke or Syracuse. Of course, if one wants a human opponent, online play is handled well, with little lag. Xbox Live is included, but even on the PS2 online play is acceptable. Not all is the perfect however; the sound leaves something to be desired. The sounds of the game itself are fine, with the clang of a missed shot and the swoosh resonating. Where the game falls short are the crowds and the commentary. The crowds seem lifeless, and even in top gyms, the crowd just doesn't seem loud or excited enough. Sure, they shout a "Let's go " or a "De-fense! De-fense!", but sometimes the crowd will just go silent. The commentary, by Mike Patrick and Jay Bilas of ESPN is good, but there just isn't enough of it. Bilas will often repeat the same things every game, which is unfortunate because he could really give some insight. Perhaps the greatest part of ESPN College Hoops is the legacy mode. In this mode, one creates a coach, and starting at the lowest, most desperate schools, one tries to become one of the greatest coaches in the NCAA. There is a bit of RPG stylings to it as you gain points that can be applied to your coach, improving his teaching, offense, and defense. If one doesn't want to start at such powerhouses as Princeton and Alcorn State, one can go into open legacy mode, and start at every school. Recruiting, creating schedules, and the tournament itself are all handled well, and the payoff from winning the NCAA Tournament is quite large. NCAA regulations prohibit Visual Concepts from using the players' actual names in the game, but there is a way around that. A player can edit the names of their players, from a list that has seemingly every player's name (I have yet to find a name that's not on there), and Mike Patrick will starting using their name. The players are researched extremely well, with the appearance from the top players to the career benchwarmers researched with accuracy, even on teams that aren't considered powerhouses. Visual Concepts really did their research on every team's players, and that should be applauded. Everyone from curious gamers to "Cameron Crazies" will find this game enjoyable. The game is researched and implemented with a great attention to detail, and a polished game is the result. It would be a shame if Visual Concepts were to get out of the sports business... they know what makes a good sports game.

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