This installment retains the flaws in last year's game with no improvements to offset its deficiencies.
The game appears to use the same engine as ESPN NBA 2K5, but there are some notable differences. The default camera view remains the baseline view, as opposed to a sideline view in ESPN NBA 2K5. The free throw mechanic has finally been changed, and it's an improvement over the old system. Instead of lining up bars, it's a more intuitive hold the button and release action. The spot on the floor after shots that indicates where the ball will drop that was in introduced in ESPN NBA 2K5 also appears in this game.
In addition to the modes that appeared in last year's game, which include Legacy, Tournament, Rivalry, Gym Rat, and Practice, there is a new mode called Coach Mode, which allows you to focus on the strategy aspects of a game. However, unlike the Full Authority mode in ESPN NBA 2K5, you watch the action unfold on the court instead of simulating it, and make real time decisions on plays, matchups, substitutions, and defensive strategies. The Slam Session mode in last year's game has been removed.
The graphics definitely have a different look and feel than in March Madness 2005, but don't quite match that game. The player models aren't as good, but more attention is paid to the crowd and in creating arena atmosphere, with closeups of the pep band, and with models as opposed to the cardboard cutouts in March Madness 2005. The arenas are more detailed, and have dynamic scoreboards that show the actual score, something that NCAA March Madness 2005 doesn't have. As for the audio, you'll hear the ball bounce, sneakers squeak, crowd cheers, and even cheerleaders and their cheers. Commentary is provided by Mike Patrick and Jay Bilas, and they do a sufficiently good job. A cool feature is that after a game, you can view a generated news article about it, and it will also contain a generated replay from the game.
As awkward as the animations in March Madness 2005 are, the ones in ESPN College Hoops look worse, and even worse, lead to problems with the gameplay. The game is full of awkward looking and slow animations, resulting in disjoint game flow. Players move stiffly, and transitions between animations look awful. Some animations look really weird, especially hook shots. Shot animations, especially jumpers and layups, take too long, which causes problems on what should have been a fast break situation, as it allows defenders time to recover and contest the shot. The same goes with dunk attempt animations, which can be slow enough for the CPU to block you from behind.
A frustrating phenomenon of the game is that often players will take a short jumper when a layup is more appropriate, which was also a problem in last year's game. An all too common situation is during a 2 on 1 fast break situation, after you make the pass, the player receiving the ball will choose to shoot a short jumper instead of a layup. Then, because the shot animation takes so long, the defender has time to switch and you end up taking and missing a contested shot. Adding insult to injury is the frequency of missed shots close to the basket, another problem from last year. Even in the times when your player manages to get an open shot under the basket and doesn't throw up an awkward looking hook shot, they'll miss a maddeningly high percentage of wide open layups, dunks, and short jumpers.
The controls have changed a bit, and not necessarily for the better. Using the default control scheme, Y now performs a lead pass, which can also be accomplished by double tapping the A button. The left trigger, instead of backing down your opponent, is now used as a shift button. This allows you to perform the hop step by using the left trigger and B, which is awkward, since in last year's game it was a one button press. The right thumbstick performs the same IsoMotion moves in ESPN NBA 2K5, but these are useless if your player isn't an elite guard, even if he happens to be the fastest player on your team. It's extremely rare that you'll be actually able to beat a defender or spin past them, since the moves are slow canned animations. Even performing a simple crossover in place can cause you to turn the ball over.
Recent basketball never seem to get AI right, and nothing's changed here. Players still amble around, never really sprinting down court on fast breaks, and they still stop in their tracks to catch passes, even when you use the lead passing feature. CPU players will continue to foul you in the late seconds of a game, even after you've sunk a few free throws to put the game out of reach. On fast breaks, even if the long animations weren't a problem, you still have plenty of chances botched since your CPU teammate will get in the worst position, bunching up near the defender in the key.
It seems that there is some sort of momentum system in the gameplay. When the CPU gets on a run, they can't seem to miss anything, yet you will struggle to make even the easiest shots. It also has to be said that playing defense is pretty much useless. You can play the best defense, yet the CPU will somehow find the space to take and make a short jumper. Getting a block is fairly uncommon, and at times, star players are unstoppable.
While the game doesn't have actual player names preset, if you're inclined to edit the rosters to reflect reality, College Hoops 2K5 has most of the names in its database, no matter how obscure you think a name is. The database of names is huge, and just as in March Madness 2005, there are some names that are recognized in the play by play commentary. But College Hoops 2K5 one ups March Madness 2005 in this regard, not only because it recognizes many more names, but because the arena announcer will also announce the name after a player scores. College Hoops 2K5 is also a lot more accurate than March Madness 2005 when it comes to rosters and arenas. Overall, capturing the college atmosphere is actually something the game does quite better than March Madness 2005.
Like what can be said about every basketball game released in the last year, the game hardly resembles real life basketball. Awkward animation, stiff controls, frustrating gameplay, disjoint game flow, and poor AI kill the game. It fails to fix the issues in last year's edition, and doesn't offer any new features or improvements to offset its deficiencies. While NCAA March Madness 2005 has its own problems, it's the better college basketball game this year, and it's far more enjoyable than ESPN College Hoops 2K5.