NCAA March Madness 06
- January 27, 2006 00:00 AM PST
While franchises like NBA Live and NBA 2K battle it out at the pro level, NCAA March Madness never fails to hold its own on the basketball court.
While franchises like NBA Live and NBA 2K battle it out at the pro level, NCAA March Madness never fails to hold its own on the basketball court. That's because just as in real life, the college game is a different brand of b-ball.The Dean of Defense
This season it's all about defense. You wouldn't think that highlighting and bulking up this working man's aspect of the sport would make such a marked improvement but it does.
Case in point is the Lockdown Stick, which March Madness uses to set up its aggressive D. Pressing the right analog joystick towards the man you're guarding enables you to stick to him almost like glue as you use the left stick to move and stay in his face. You press R1 to try to steal the ball as he dribbles. This system works like a charm to establish an active, physical style of gameplay.
You can team Lockdown with another new feature called defensive Floor General playcalling to create defensive schemes. Floor General enables you to preset defenses you think are best for the skills of your team and them call them on the fly by pressing the direction pad during a game. Working these two together brings an entirely different aspect onto the videogame court, where defense can dictate the outcome of a game just as well as offense.
These smartly done controls make the action come to life thanks to some great animations that emphasize defensive movements and a lot of bumping and fighting for position down in the paint. Your team A.I. is also pretty defensive minded, depending on how good your team is supposed to be overall. North Carolina is basically "smarter" than, say, Hawaii, but then that's where your skills with Lockdown and Floor General come into play.
Become an "A" Student
NCAA offers a broad curriculum, too. There are six major modes which a rich mix of gameplay. Dynasty mode in particular is an engaging challenge that invites you to build a major program for as long a 30 years. Of course, if recruiting woes begin to cause you a headache you can run amuck in the famous Mascot Game. Make the Syracuse orange dudes pound on those Stanford tree guys and maybe you'll earn a degree in Silly.
Someone once called basketball a thinking man's game. NCAA March Madness 06 certainly got that right.
KEY MOMENT: It's the fourth quarter, and you strip the ball from the opposing point guard to go in for a score.
