NCAA March Madness 2005 is a better game than last year's edition, but it is only a marginal improvement over that game.
The gameplay in NCAA March Madness 2005 is pretty much unchanged from the 2004 edition. The control scheme introduced last year by EA Sports for their basketball games returns intact. There is still the two button shooting, with one button for layups and dunks, and the other for jumpers. The pro hop move is back, but like in NBA Live 2005, it is much less effective, and it's very easy to misuse it and lose the ball or get called for an offensive foul. There's nothing new to say about the presentation, as the graphics are on par or a bit better than last year's game. Brad Nestler and Dick Vitale return to provide the commentary, but they don't really say much.
As in NBA Live 2005, many of the problems present in last year's game aren't addressed. The game simply doesn't feel like real basketball. It's too fast paced, the players don't really move around realistically, and the jerky animations look unnatural. Players kind of zip from place to place, assuming that the CPU allows them to. But in situations where you try to dribble somewhere the CPU won't allow you to, such as into the key with a defender closely guarding you, your player will run and dribble in place, seemingly blocked by a force field. This looks extremely silly, but for some strange reason, every recent basketball seems to exhibit this behavior, including the 2K series and the last two NBA Live games. There are still plenty of blocked shots, and too many missed fast break layups. As mentioned before, the animations don't really look natural, and you'll see some awkward looking shots, especially a particular layup animation where the player switches hands in midair.
Last year's crop of basketball games from EA Sports and Sega had AI issues, and this still hasn't changed. Players still often lob their passes inside, and aren't smart enough to determine when a quick pass is more appropriate, such as to a teammate open near the basket, allowing time for a defender to come over and contest the shot. The AI still doesn't go after loose balls after a block or turnover. If no one is close enough to a loose ball, players on both teams will just stand around, instead of going after the ball.
It seems like with every new installation of an EA Sports game, a new gameplay mechanic is featured. This year it's the new Floor General play calling system. Hitting up on the D-pad allows you to access six customizable plays, which are a little more involved than the simple plays you saw in last year's game. It works pretty well, and once you learn the plays, it makes scoring a lot easier. Clicking the right thumbstick will also show the pass and dribbling options if you forget how the play works. Your teammates will actually show some semblance of basketball AI, and will come around screens so that you can pass to them for a shot. However, it seems like the CPU will also run these plays, and what's frustrating is that there are some plays that the CPU will score with, no matter what you do on defense. For example, I've never seen the CPU miss midrange baseline jumpers.
Another new feature is Arena Pulse. In 25 arenas that the game has deemed the toughest for opposing teams to play in, the crowd will get rowdy, the camera will shake, and your controller will vibrate. All this serves to distract you, especially during free throws. You can quiet the crowd by sinking a few shots in a row, or by maintaining a lead.
The game's franchise mode places a heavy emphasis on recruiting during the season, and it works similarly to the recruiting system found in Sega's College Hoops series. You have a set number of points to spend on scouting recruits, sending them packages to show your interest in them, inviting them to a home game, or watching their games. Once you're set on a player, you can offer them scholarships to fill the voids in your team created by graduating players. The PDA in NBA Live 2005 is also here, and you'll get plenty of emails from your athletic director hounding you if you don't spend time recruiting. A new element of the franchise mode is maintaining program standards to avoid trouble with the NCAA. During the season, your players will commit violations, such as low GPA or not going to class, that will attract unwanted attention from the NCAA. You have a number of discipline points to use in order to punish the player in the form of game suspensions. The more you discipline your players, the lower the interest from the NCAA.
Other modes of play include Rivalry games, Mascot games, and Pontiac College Classics, as well as the tournament modes, which allow you to play the NCAA tournament, the Maui Invitational, or set up your own tournament. Pontiac College Classics allow you to replay college basketball's memorable games and moments. These includes Michael Jordan's game winning shot, and Christian Laettner's buzzer beater. Completing these unlocks the classic teams involved for use in the exhibition modes, and also unlocks banners in the Student Lounge. You can unlock more banners by winning some games in Rivalry mode. There are other unlockables you can purchase in the Campus Bookstore with points you earn for accomplishing in game tasks, which include shoes, gear, and more historical teams.
When it comes to customization and accuracy, March Madness 2005 is clearly inferior to ESPN College Hoops 2K5. Since actual player names aren't allowed to be used in an NCAA game, in order to reflect the actual rosters, you can enter the player names, but it's a time consuming task, and there is no database of built in names and shortcuts like in Sega's game. In my experience, the rosters are not as accurate as College Hoops' either. The rosters in March Madness 2005 are somewhat limiting, as the maximum number of players that can be on a team is twelve, unlike College Hoops, in which you can have reserve and redshirt players. Some of the names you input will be recognized, and the commentators will say the actual name, but it appears the number is far fewer than in College Hoops. Also unlike College Hoops, March Madness doesn't have the actual schedules from the 2004-05 season.
Unfortunately, the basketball offerings from both EA Sports and Sega this year and last have been lacking, and if you want to play a college basketball game, it's either this game or ESPN College Hoops 2K5, neither of which are truly outstanding. The action on the court may not be ideal, but if you're a huge college basketball fan, given the lack of quality choices, it's easy to overlook NCAA March Madness 2005's flaws for a chance to control your favorite school and capture the excitement of college hoops.