Collegiate Competence- NCAA Basketball 10 Reviewed

After the improbably upset of Indiana, University of Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun famously stated that “athletic competition brings out things in players that are very, very special.”  Calhoun’s underdog victory was the result of creating an environment where a team thrived off friendly opposition. Two years ago, that was the case with college basketball videogames. The College Hoops franchise would square off rival NCAA Basketball, as each title tried to offer a more realistic and deeper diversion. In 2007, 2K Sports dropped out of the annual contest, leaving Electronic Arts’ series without a competitor and gamers wondering if NCAA Basketball would still be as ambitious in an unopposed environment.

While this year’s title may not offer the kind of innovation that would have crushed a contender, NCAA Basketball 10 presents enough excitement and atmosphere to please any college roundball aficionado. Most collegiate recreations borrow heavily from their professional counterparts, and NCAA’s inclusion of NBA Live’s mechanics is unmistakable. From the integration of the real-time team and player stat tracking, to a no-look pass mechanic, the title has assimilated its brethren’s feature set. Unfortunately, a number of misgivings has also made to the trip to college game- from the players tendency to go out of bounds to a curious lack of control in the low-post area.

While NCAA 10 allows you design a custom player, gamers can’t follow their athlete’s trajectory with the detail displayed in My NBA Live 10’s comprehensive campaign. Instead, the focus of NCAA 10’s Dynasty mode is the minutiae of recruiting promising high school players, maintaining a healthy roster of athletes, and dealing with the inevitability of star players leaving for a professional career. Participants may also host a local tournament for up to 64 players, but without any online matchmaking, a simulated March Madness will have to be confined to dorm and living rooms. At least players are a single thumb stick press away from an online game with a rival team.

With the game’s Dynamic Updates, gamers are due to receive a statistical update every Monday morning.  Although NCAA regulations prohibit the names and likenesses (and probably, a meticulous statistical breakdown) of student athletes from being recreated, team stats and top 25 rankings will be amended. Additionally, the game will update each team’s schedule to ensure seasonal authenticity.

Visually, NCAA 10 presents a college basketball experience that borders on broadcast quality. The familiar ESPN partnership returns, bringing the channel’s signature on-screen overlays, as well as commentary by Dick Vitale, Brad Nessler and Erin Andrews. Additionally, EA has secured the rights to the CBS Sports license, lending a feeling of authenticity around events like the NCAA Tournament. Players may choose between the two broadcast options for skirmishes, while the game’s Dynasty mode determines the proper channel for seasonal match-ups. A careful scrutiny of the game’s characters will reveal an improved model for calculating the sways and twists of player’s jerseys, as well as a greater variety of player models. Although the sporadic flutter in player animation can be observed, as well as the intermittent quiver in framerate, neither affects the game beyond an aseptic appeal.