College Hoops 2K7

Rating ESRB: Everyone Genre sports Publisher 2K Sports External Links Official College Hoops 2K7 Website

Expecting a direct rip off of NBA 2K7, I was extremely surprised by the style and game play of NCAA College Hoops 2K7. The game is a very accurate portrayal of college basketball, especially where the AI is concerned. It focuses much more on fundamentals and an overall slower style of play rather than mad dashes for the basket. Computer opponents take their time with the ball, waiting patiently for right shot. As time winds down at the end of each half, the computer will willingly hang out around the half-court line and just hold on to the ball rather than take an ill-advised shot.

The control scheme of the game is a rather easy one. The basic controls have you passing or shooting with relative ease. Like most college athletes, the players in College Hoops don't have a wide array of fancy moves. The fanciest move you can have them pull off is a basic crossover dribble. From time to time, however, if executed just right, you can pull off a pretty mean alley-oop.

College Hoops gains points for the portrayal of a realistic background atmosphere based on certain conditions. For example, when playing at a larger school such as UCLA, you can see the stands packed with fans representing their home colors as they burst out into sporadic chants and cheers. When a three point shot goes up, the crowd will giddily exclaim "THREE!" or when a visiting team fires and misses the basket, they will utter "AIRBALL!" in unison. Conversely, when you come to a smaller school, such as Eastern Illinois University, and if the team has with an abysmal conference record, the stands are empty, complete with commentary on the emptiness and lack of fan enthusiasm.

For all of the ups in College Hoops 2K7, there are a few pratfalls. While the sound effects are wonderfully accurate to real life, the commentary can prove a trifle grating at times. All of the squeaks and thuds of a college court are packed in to this game perfectly, but hearing the same comments game-in, game-out, gets irritating after a few games.

The Legacy mode has many great features, including recruiting players and giving pep talks, but the fact you have to start on the bottom of the ladder and work your way up really makes the game a somewhat tedious task. Players wanting to just leap right in to the game and start destroying North Carolina while playing as Duke will have a rude awakening in store when they find out they have to play through an entire season while coaching for a small school out of Montana.