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ESPN College Hoops 2K5

Going head to head once again with EA, ESPN College Hoops 2K5 takes on the very impressive March Madness. Usually ESPN games suffer from a lack of playability, relying on better then average graphics to make up for subpar gameplay and controls. How does this title fit into that characterization? Aside from a great career mode, pretty much right on.

As is the movement this year, College Hoops 2K5 features much improved defensive scheming, removing the action orientated fast past nature of other ESPN basketball games. There is decent to above average off ball movement and decent animation with moving around picks. The problem lies in the lack of creativity offered on offense and the poor speed and controls. The poor gameplay makes every game have the speed of most temple games, which might win, but is incredibly boring most of the time. The improved defense is noteworthy, but the differences in the each game’s AI make EA’s offering superior.

Fundamentals are the base of the game here, with little emphasis on glitz and flash. Shooting is reduced to a single button press with a certain rhythm to make shots. Even in the free throw mode, you’re supposed to depend on rhythm and in-game clues. The removal of the usual ESPN free throw shooting system is a huge improvement, removing that completely frustrating and annoying system, and leaving you to read your shooter and feel the right time to shoot the ball (PS2 owners get the rumble of the controller as a clue).

Legacy Mode (the career mode of this title) also emphasizes fundamentals. This is definitely the highlight of the game, and if not for a few bugs and annoyances, would be the best one out there. The ability to create, improve, move your coach, mixed with a decent to above average recruiting system, and decent AI, means that there is enough to get someone lost in the mode for days (ask me about it sometime). The lack of depth as far as offenses, as well as the constant popups make the mode lose a few points. Also included is the ability to bring your players into the pro verson’s draft feature, something missing from EA’s offering, but this is mostly something that gets in the way far more then it helps.

Coach Mode allows you to watch the game and call plays/make substitutions from the sidelines, so really, it’s just like normal, except you don’t have any true control over the players, which is sort of frustrating seeing as how you can do all of this from just playing a game. Also, it would’ve been cool if you could watch the game from where the coach is standing, but the only camera modes you have to choose from are the standard ones – those that you always have access to. What Sega should’ve done is made this more like its first person football, where you can call players over, call group meetings during time outs, and diagram plays. Instead, it just feels like you’re a fan watching the game.

Thankfully, the lack of glitz and flash doesn’t translate to the overall presentation of College Hoops. Character models look great, and animate quite well. Even the cheerleaders and coaches, the first circle of periphery characters look quite nice. It’s only in the audience that you start seeing the less desirable graphics—crowd members look about a generation and a half behind the rest of the game, which is a minor distraction sometimes.

ESPN’s announcing team does a decent job overall, with Mike Patrick and Jay Bilas manning the table. Their commentary keeps up with the events of the game fairly well. The pacing and frequency of the comments are also kept at a decent level, keeping a happy balance without becoming too annoying. They’re accompanied by arena noise, which includes screams, chants, and the pep band playing a few different tunes per game. Combined with the graphics, the sound helps to give every arena of play a unique feeling.

Online play is standard fare, with a handful of options and modes to explore. Xbox LIVE inclusion and is still a step ahead of the PS2’s features. Tournaments, leaderboards, instant messaging, and ranked matches online make College Hoops a no-frills title when it comes to online, but a fundamentally sound one nonetheless.

Overall, I am impressed with the overall game, but the poor gameplay really dampens what could have been the best ESPN title to date. The improvements to the career mode, and the graphics, particularly on the Xbox, make this a decent game. It still trails NCAA March Madness for the usual reasons, but if you could somehow take the career mode from this game, and the gameplay from EA’s title, you would have the best sports game ever made.

NOTE: All screens are from the Xbox version.

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Tags: ESPN College Hoops 2K5

Posted by Andrew on Jan 26th, 2005 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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