March Madness 2000
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Lace up your shoes and get on the court with EA Sports' NCAA March Madness 2000, an intense and exciting basketball sim that is not only looking to win the college hoops videogame crown, but it also matches up with the big boys of the NBA.
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Take It To The Hoop
EA Sports takes virtual basketball realism and gameplay to new heights on the PlayStation with the impressive 2000 edition of March Madness. From outstanding gameplay (with smart, situational AI) to ultra-realistic sound and exceptional PlayStation graphics, MM2K has it all and then some. Pick one of the over 200 teams and play them through multiple seasons in Dynasty Mode. You'll follow your team through the Top 25 Rankings, keep your eye on your conference opponents and even pick up some post season awards for your star players. Or if you'd rather play women's roundball, hoop it up with the Sweet Sixteen of the ladies' NCAA Division I.
Besides the exceptional extras, MM2K delivers the fundamentals of basketball as well as any game out there. And anyone who knows hoops knows that champions are made with the fundamentals. EA added depth to all facets of the game, most noticeably ball handling, to bring the intense feel of college hoops to the PSX. You'll see bodies flying after loose balls and defenders stepping in to take the charge. The intensity is so great, it's contagious, and before you know it, you're sucked in.
Gotta Get A T.O., Baby!
MM2K is simply the best looking basketball game on the PlayStation. The realistic looking and extremely well-animated players will definitely surprise you. The myriad of moves (both offensive and defensive) flow smoothly throughout the game, and the better you get the more motion-captured animations you'll discover. The only thing to break the graphical realism is the way the aging PSX handles the benches and the crowd, which look like cardboard stand-ups.
Sound is just as impressive, with pep band fight songs, team- and situation-specific crowd taunts and chants, and solid in-game sound effects that create the perfect excitement-inducing environment. The game adds Dick Vitale's patented enthusiasm as color commentator, but he and the play-by-play are limited and overly repetitive. You'll get very tired of hearing "He pulls up" and "Number three should shoot the ball more" halfway through your first season of Dynasty Mode.
Control is the jewel in MM2K's crown. The AI is tough, so you must be creative to win at Senior level, but you have so many choices in dribble moves, head fakes and passes that you'll soon be your own human highlight film. Two "shake and bake" buttons (square and triangle) mixed with the D-pad, plus R2 as a modifier for even more moves, should do the trick to get you open. If not, you can pass the ball off a shot, "give and go" or just oop it to a big man. The shooting touch is really easy to master, so you should definitely raise the difficulty level for a more realistic feel.
Going To The Big Dance
Some games may have flashier graphics, but no basketball game offers deeper or more addictive gameplay. If you like college hoops, you have to buy this game, and even if you're just big into the pros, give MM2K a whirl. You might want to stay in college forever.
