We’re back with another meeting in The War Room. Since EA recently released a demo of NCAA Basketball 09, our round table topic centers on the game. Will NCAA Basketball be an improvement over March Madness and NBA Live 09? Will it be better than the College Hoops series? Or is it just March Madness with a new name? We discuss it...Then you can discuss in our forums.
Moz:
I think it will be better than MM (imagine that) but not as good a game as College Hoops. Even though I knew quite a few people who played CH2K, I still don't think they realized how good that series really was. I highly doubt NCAA Basketball will be on that level since; after all, it is an EA hoops title.
Sider:
I was extremely disappointed in the fact that 2K was no longer making a college hoops title this year. I’ve never really enjoyed the March Madness series nor the NBA Live series by EA. Although my beloved Cards are very good this year, I may not even purchase this game for the simple fact that I’m accustomed to the controls of NBA2K and CH2K. It’s a shame that I’ll miss out on such a great installment that could have been with College Basketball 2K9.
Masta Solidus:
It will not be better. I have no faith in EA being able to do anything other than incremental improvements and “shine”. I actually think it will basically be March Madness with a new name.
Tdoggy:
I don’t foresee any reason for this game to take such a step up. It has no competition and it's the only option for college basketball gamers. I see it being better than March Madness was, and probably better than what March Madness 09 would have been. But in the end a new name won’t make this game any better. There isn’t enough yet to take it past College Hoops 2K.
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Mercury53:
College Hoops in the best choice in the video game market for a college basketball game. I don't think that this new release will be able to top it, but it might be able to beat NBA Live 09, a game that was a major disappointment. I think EA is more focused on gimmicks and advertising to sell their games then good gameplay. Just like the CEO's of the banks that have collapsed, I think the owner of EA Sports needed to find a new job. If anybody is looking for a good college basketball game, go for College Hoops.
LucianoJ:
It seems like basketball should be the easiest team sport to do. 5 on 5 has to be easier than programming AI for sports like football and soccer. The majority of the work has to go into doing all the college unis, mascots, cheerleaders and arenas. Going with Blue Ribbon Sports to help with rating the real world college players has to help NCAA Basketball 09. Hopefully, the guys at Tiburon will bring in Phil Steele to help with NCAA Football 2010. With the added involvement of real college coaches, I hope EA will make NCAA hoops more of a basketball sim. We will see if EA's winning streak of improved game franchises will be extended.
Fred:
Like ‘Sider I’m very used to the controls of the 2K basketball games. This was one of the main reasons why I couldn’t continue playing NBA Live. Well that and the fact that I just didn’t think it was a better game than NBA 2K9. I see this first installment of NCAA Basketball as laying the ground work for a game that could possibly be everything a college hoops fan wants later down the road. I think we’ve seen this in the NBA Live series. The game has progressively gotten better on the 360 and PS3 year after year. I did like reading in our producer interview with Connor Dougan that they intend to make NCAA Basketball what NCAA Football, only for basketball. I guess time will tell.
