| March Madness News: |
| If you appreciate good coaching, teamwork and fundamentals, forget the NBA and start flipping through college ball games. Youll still find plenty of insane And 1 mix tape highlights from time to time, but by and large, the college game is all about playing the game the way it was meant to be played.
So its a little disconcerting that EAs March Madness series has stopped differentiating itself from EAs NBA Live series. The latest, NCAA March Madness 2005, features the same engine, menus and gameplay as its NBA counterpart, but wearing dorm clothing. If youve played any EA basketball game in the past two years, youve already played this one. There are a few gameplay changes since last year, at least. Like NBA Live 2005, March Madness 2005 has dialed back the efficacy of the pro hop button, rendering it almost useless unless youre collecting charging violations. Freestyle control is back again and is even more effective than before, allowing you to shake defenders with just about anyone on the court. Freestyle Air has also been imported from Live, which allows you to tip-in rebounds and change shots in mid-air. Perhaps the best new feature is the Floor General approach to playcalling. This takes the classic D-pad control a step further by letting you choose from any of six play sets on the fly, and possibly many more plays depending upon how you run each set. You might call 1-4 High and pass off to the shooting guard after he wraps through a few screens, or you might pass off earlier to the power forward and run a pick and roll with the center down on the block. The variety is excellent and the system brings playcalling to life. |
| NCAA Final Four | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Mens Final Four |
NCAA Womens Final Four |
| NCAA Regionals | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Mens East Regionals NCAA Mens South Regionals |
NCAA Mens Midwest Regionals NCAA Mens West Regionals |
| NCAA 1st & 2nd Round | National Invitation Tournament |
|---|---|
| NCAA 1st & 2nd Round Tournament |
National Invitation Tournament |
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| Should come as little surprise, then, that the bulk of the gameplay is pretty solid. The combination of Freestyle control with the Floor General leads to a more active half-court game than youll find in other basketball games and captures the spirit of college teamwork admirably.
But not all spirits are friendly, and in March Madness 2005 you'll be haunted by players who tend to slide around with far too much momentum, fast breaks that are halted as your teammates stop at the wings rather than cut to the hoop, and the ridiculously common blocked shots; big men will literally fly down from the free-throw line to block easy lay-ups. The most aggravating flaw is the fact that your shots still seem to make or miss at random, while the CPU has a penchant for nailing shots if theyre taken in the flow of a play, even if contested perfectly. Small, weak teams like Dayton or Florida International will run some basic play and drain threes like Ray Allen even if youve got five hands in the shooters face, while your point guard miraculously blows two open lay-ups. Id like to see the algorithms used to determine my fate, please. |