NCAA March Madness 06 Dynasty Spotlight
The long road to the Final Four begins here. We take a look at March Madness 06's dynasty mode.
Few sporting events inspire as much passion as March Madness, a magical time of year when sports fans from across the country tune in to watch Cinderellas and powerhouses alike make the final sprint for glory in one of the most exciting tournaments in sports: the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. For six years now, EA Sports has been attempting to capture that very special sort of lightning in a bottle--or, at least, in a video game-- through the publisher's NCAA March Madness series of games. We've been spending some time with the latest version in the series, NCAA March Madness 06, and even though college hoops doesn't start for a couple of months, this game has already got us thinking about cutting down the nets in 2006.
March Madness 06, just as in previous versions of the game, features plenty to do from the get-go. Of course, you can expect to take up games in your standard exhibition, rivalry, practice, and season modes, but the real meat of any college hoops game is the dynasty, where you dig in as your favorite school's coach and lead your team to greatness (and, if you're lucky, you'll gain a few national titles along the way). While those modes are good for dabblers, it's in dynasty mode in MM 06 that the most rabid hoops fans will want to spend the majority of their time. Luckily, there's plenty to keep you occupied here, so let's break it down for you.
Once you enter dynasty mode for the first time, you'll need to choose the school you wish to control, set your game preferences (for things like half length, skill level, and dynasty length), give your virtual Bobby Knight a name of his own, and then move on to setting your schedule. Your conference opponents are locked in, but you can make adjustments for any non-con game on your schedule, which is a great way to up your strength of schedule from the outset, but it can also be a great way to begin the season with a hefty losing streak if you're not careful. With your slate of opponents set, it's time to handle some important preseason business, such as cutting or redshirting players, altering your coaching strategy, or checking up on your program standards (which breaks down your NCAA sanctions, or lack thereof).
The most important decision you'll make before the season begins is how you allocate your team budget among three important areas: recruiting, discipline, and game plan. How you distribute your budget will determine how many points you have to spend in those three areas of your team. The more recruiting points you have, the more opportunities you'll have for scouting and recruiting talent; the more discipline points, the better you'll be able to keep that pesky NCAA infractions board off your back; and the more game plan points you have, the better you can prepare for upcoming games on your schedule. Game planning is a new feature in MM 06, and we'll discuss it a bit more later on. In our experience with the game so far, discipline is still a problem with players, and it's not uncommon to have to suspend multiple players throughout a season--which just doesn't seem in line with what we've seen in the real world. As such, you'll be busy fighting a volatile battle between maintaining team order, trying to win with your starters on the bench, and trying to keep Big Brother at the NCAA pleased with your discipline approach.
He's draped over that guy like a fur coat. March Madness 06 puts a premium on strong defensive play.
You'll be playing games soon enough, but before the season begins you'll have one more opportunity to get the most out of your players by sending them to training camp. Here, you can assign points to a number of different hoops fundamentals, such as shooting, defense, offense, and conditioning, and then take a look at how your training regimen improved members of your team. From there, it's hoops time!
NCAA March Madness 06 Quick Links
Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices
- EA Sports
- EA Canada
- Basketball Sim
- Release: Oct 11, 2005
- ESRB: Everyone
Games you may like…
-
NCAA March Madness 2004
(PS2) -
NCAA March Madness 07
(PS2) -
NCAA March Madness 2005
(PS2) -
NCAA March Madness 08
(PS2) -
NCAA March Madness 2003
(PS2)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games
1 Comments