NCAA 07 March Madness

NCAA March Madness 07 is an innovative entry to the series, and adds a fun and interesting new dynamic that holds it above the rest. Check it out as you get ready for tournament time.

NCAA March Madness 07 has a few gameplay issues. If you list them, they do add up but in practice the game is enjoyable and will prove fun to all but the most picky of gamers. Despite those few flaws, though, it nails the graphics and most importantly, the college atmosphere.

This title, while not being the success story that its professional counterparts have been, is still a pretty solid entry into the basketball arena this year. With decent graphics, authentic sounds (with Dickie V!) and a deep gameplay mode offering some great moments, no fan of college hoops should do without this sucker during this coming Spring. Best of all, for only $30, this game is really a steal, so go out and snag it today.

NCAA 07 March Madness is definitely a game that’s not without its problems, but for college hoops fans, it should be a pretty good contender. Definitely worth a rent to see if it lives up to the hype, NCAA 07 is a good game with good gameplay that is plagued by a few bugs. Check it out if you’re a fan.

But there is still room for definite improvement. NCAA March Madness needs to fix the offensive rebounding aspect, improve its presentation values and ratchet up your team’s assisting A.I. to perform more realistically based on the situation, especially when players are in foul trouble, before it can undeniably cut down the twine in celebratory fashion as being universally better than the aforementioned 2K Sports’ college basketball title.

March Madness 07 is a nice step in the right direction for EA basketball games, but there is still a long way to go before this title is a must-have hoops game. The new intensity control feature adds another level of gameplay to the franchise, and you can really feel momentum swinging in your favor. While Madness struggles from some framerate and animation issues, the crowd, models and arenas all look great. In the booth, Nessler and Dicky V. sound awesome, baby, but there are a lot of repeats and poorly-timed comments. But with the excellent crowd, this doesn't hurt the college atmosphere one bit. And the atmosphere is great this season.

The more I write about this game and the strategies involved I realize that we are talking about a game that is trying to personify the flash, emotions, and the ups and downs of the road to the final four. The hype of this tournament is definitely very difficult to duplicate. My thoughts are for EA to please, fix the in game problem that has plagued every single version of this college game. On Defense with a full court press on, get the angle right and you can run them out of bounds, every time. If you are expecting the something unique and taken to a new level, look no further. This EA Sports fanatic was disappointed with an experience that left me playing a run and run style. If you are looking to experience for your self, the sights and sounds of “March Madness” go out and buy this.

The impressive Dynasty mode and new Team Intensity Mode (which lets you track and alter the individual momentum of your players) off some interesting strategic aspects to the game, but in the end March Madness still ends up a few baskets short of it's competition.

NCAA March Madness 07 doesn't end up finishing perfectly, but it's definitely a promising next-gen start for EA Canada's college hoops franchise. With such a good start, who knows what next year could bring. March Madness just might be the basketball franchise to go all the way.

The main complaint most people will have with this game (and any college sports game) is clearly an unavoidable one. As rabid as KU fans are, I have to imagine that they'll be disappointed by the absence of Julian Wright, Brandon Rush, and the rest of the team's likenesses. It's obviously no fault of the game, it's just an unpleasant legality. If you're fine with that, the great representation of Allen Fieldhouse and the rest of the nation's arenas should help hype you up for the tournament.

Although eminently more playable than NBA Live 07, this title still suffers from disjointed animation transitions, a ball that wraps into players' hands, and a general clunky feel. I'm glad EA is making progress with it's hoops game, because one more brick and the house is done.

Overall, NCAA 07 March Madness provides gamers with a very enjoyable college basketball game. EA has added more depth to Dynasty Mode to make it more worthwhile, and the change from “the go-to guy” to intensity meters works well. Still, it doesn’t make enough of an improvement to make it a great game. It’s quick to pick up and play, and All-American difficulty will make you strain for a win, but with a $60 price tag, this is only for the most die hard of fans. If you don't fall into this category, rent it.

There’s a good chance that the current b-ball engine for EA won’t change much in this console cycle. If this is the case, expect many jeers from the crowd, as it seems as though this thing was doomed from the start. There are enough good points in NCAA March Madness 07 to still make it a competent title, but it’s hard to give it a full blessing when its core seems a bit off. If you played NBA Live 07 and had issues with the way things ran, then you may want to hold off on picking NCAA March Madness 07 up new. College b-ball fans and those wanting to check out the new features should ante up of course, as the merits of NCAA March Madness 07 nearly balance out the negatives.

EA still needs to find a solution for why player and stadium models are a generation behind in visual evolution, why the pace and action still carries a hefty resemblance to playing at an arcade, and do a better job of eliminating quirky bugs like 90 percent of the audio cutting out for several seconds at a time. Till next year, 2K is the way to go for a well-rounded college basketball gaming fix.

NCAA March Madness 07 looks great, has a wonderful collegiate atmosphere, and at its heart has the potential to be a great game. With some work it could truly be a great game, but the 07 version is not Final Four material yet.

These issues notwithstanding, EA avoided what could have been a terrible disaster. By dodging most of its NBA Live pitfalls, the company created a solid basketball game that does tremendous things for the sports genre, yet still fails to best the competition. With that being said, every hoops fan needs to play NCAA March Madness 07, and every video game developer needs to copy and perfect its Team Intensity formula.

NCAA March Madness 07 is a good rehash. That might sound like a bit of a contradiction, but it’s true. The game doesn’t showcase anything you’ll remember six months from now, but that’s only because this game has been done several times over. It’s not a step up, but it’s not really a step down either. It’s just kind of…there. Worth renting, but pass if you have last year’s edition, or can get the more promising version for Xbox 360.

If you want a straightforward simple game of college basketball with nice graphics, March Madness is the one for you. But overall, 2K7 is the more complete college game. It may be a bit behind in the graphics and sports ticker end of things, but they really pack in the features. EA has the ESPN license, and is just a step ahead on the graphics level, but that isn’t enough to sway me from 2K7’s College Hoops.

NCAA March Madness 07 for the PS2 isn't a bad game by any stretch, but it's well worth the extra $10 to get the 360 version if you're able to. Though you do lose some gameplay features, it's a worthy sacrifice for the vastly improved play experience (and, of course, the far better technical presentation). If you must go for the PS2 version, it's certainly better and more fully realized than some of the other basketball options out there (we're looking at you NBA Live 07) but, unless you're a hardcore hoops fan, it's not likely to stay in the rotation for very long.

March Madness 07 isn't a bad game, but it clearly could have used more time in development. The players and the courts look great, but you can only admire the graphics for so long before you realize they're hiding some pretty mediocre gameplay. Like a talented yet inconsistent freshman that hones his skills in the off-season, there's potential here, but the developers need to spend more time working on the fundamentals.

Overall, NCAA 07 March Madness provides gamers with a very enjoyable college basketball game. EA has added more depth to Dynasty Mode to make it more worthwhile, and the change from “the go-to guy” to intensity meters works well. Still, it doesn’t make enough of an improvement to make it a great game. It’s quick to pick up and play, and All-American difficulty will make you strain for a win, but with a $60 price tag, this is only for the most die hard of fans. If you don't fall into this category, rent it.

NCAA 07: March Madness for the Xbox 360 is not a bad game — it just feels rushed and empty. With its frenetic pace, NCAA 07 is very different from its competition, Visual Concepts' College Hoops. The title is plagued with too many issues to be a big contender this year, which is a shame because the core gameplay is a lot of fun, proving that this series, like the young NBA hopefuls, is full of great promise and potential.

March Madness 07 isn't a bad game, and the action on the court is solid, but there's not enough new here to justify the $30 price tag, especially when you can find 06 for $13. It's hard to fathom just how EA spent the 15 months between releases. The graphics are ugly and the new gameplay features amount to little more than marketing catchphrases that exist only so EA has something to put on the back of the game's box.

It’s easy to see that March Madness 2007 is not the best college basketball game on the market. It’s not even close. Still, if you are just looking for a new college basketball game to play, or if you are able to ignore the awkward animations, I wouldn’t discourage you giving the game a rental. If you are looking for a "sim" basketball game, I can’t suggest that you buy this game unless you are prepared to make massive slider changes and possible ratings changes. Even with those changes, the game doesn’t come close to the competition. Here is hoping that next fall, EA will present us with a better representation of college basketball.

As the actual March Madness has just kicked off, one has to wonder if NCAA 07 March Madness has the legs to last until the following season. Sadly, the lack of difficult achievements and mediocre multiplayer eliminate any replay value that’s present after the single player becomes tiresome. It’s not worth full retail price especially compared to the superior College Hoops 2K7. Unless you are absolutely in dire need of a gamerscore boost, leave this on the sale rack and hope for improvement in next year’s version.

While the 360 version of March Madness 07 does a lot of things right for the college game, the current gen version of the game falls short. The largest strike against the game is the minimal improvements to last year's formula while not fixing persistent issues, such as fatigue, animation clipthroughs, and questionable AI. While it's obvious that more attention is being focused on the next-gen versions of the game, if there does happen to be a March Madness for 08, let's hope that some of these generic issues are solved.

As this is pretty much March Madness 06 with a new cover athlete -- which we liked fine a year ago (it scored a 7.5) -- we don't see any reason to choose this over the better and cheaper College Hoops 2K7.

This year's March Madness captures the heartbreak and helplessness of being overwhelmed by a better team and a crazed crowd; it brings atmosphere like no other game before it. But the game has too many flaws, and can't compete with the minute-by-minute gravity of the competition. It's a distant No. 2 to this year's unquestionably better College Hoops 2K7.

From top to bottom, this EA's March Madness 07 is a decent game. While I think that we were all hoping for a blow out type game, EA has found itself in a dog fight with 2K in the world of college basketball. March Madness 07 definitely swishes on a lot of aspects but misses the goal completely on others. EA has made some great strides in the right direction with March Madness 07, but when it comes to being able to hit the clutch shot in overtime to win it all, March Madness 07 falls short.

When the final book is written on NCAA March Madness 07, the game simply does not deliver a pleasant, realistic or even challenging experience for most gamers. Both 2K Sports’ NCAA College Hoops 2K7 and Wolverine Studios Total College Basketball are much better representations of the world of college hoops, and both deliver far deeper immersion experiences, with far better navigation features for tasks like recruiting, than anything NCAA March Madness 07 has to offer.

In the end, March Madness is still playing second fiddle to 2K’s college basketball game. If you have College Hoops and enjoy it, you really should fight the urge to spend a few bucks even on a rental of March Madness 07. It just doesn’t hold up well, and is nowhere near as deep or as enjoyable as its competition.

Offline, the game moves choppy enough. Online, it was worse. There were times when we really felt like there was a 2-second delay between button push and the resulting action. If you're Dick Vitale's love child and have to play every college roundball game known to man, March Madness 07 might fit the bill. If you want to play the best college hoops game on current-gen, check out the 2K offering.

have an old 360, probably one of the first off the line. I love it, but it has problems. It freezes during many games, usually once for every ten to twelve hours of gameplay. However, during NCAA 07 March Madness, that freezing goes up to about once every hour of gameplay. Maybe I need a new machine, but I like to think freezing is just the 360’s way of telling me I need a new game.

In terms of audio, it's always great to hear the excited commentary of Dick Vitalle, but the play-by-play guy is pretty repetitive. March Madness 07 is a raggedy game, but what will infuriate fans most is the game's complete lack of coaches. How do you expect to recreate the feel of real NCAA basketball with no coaches on the sidelines?! It's especially glaring when a timeout is called and the players simply "huddle up". I wasn't expecting EA's first college basketball for the 360 to be perfect, but this is madness!!