PlayStation 2

NCAA College Basketball 2K3

The fact that NBA 2K3 lords over its competition in terms of pure simulation quality is clear, and it’s been well documented in past issues of GamePro. NCAA College Basketball 2K3 is a complete school-ball experience that’s both fun and feature-rich. The freshman debut of this series has quickly moved to the head of the class, but it has to share the seat of honor with March Madness.

With NCAA 2K3, Sega Sports has yet another brilliant and enjoyable basketball game that’s truly a class of its own. While the graphics are not as superior as it was with NBA 2K3 or the controls as super smooth as NBA Live 2003, the game is still a shining example of how a college basketball game should be made. See you out in the courts.

If you're not a big college fan but love hoops, you may still want to check NCAA out. This is a unique experience, different and more enjoyable than NBA 2K3. On a technical level, sure, NBA 2K3 excels, but NCAA will be in my PS2 far more over the coming year. It's the fact that NCAA could have been so much better with just a little more attention to detail that upsets me so much. It's so close, but just isn't quite there. Next year, though, I have high expectations. We'll see if Sega is up to the challenge.

Now, the college hoops war is over and Sega has once again come out on top. NCAA College Basketball 2K3, with its depth of play and online action triumphs over March Madness 2003. Now, it's up to the folks at the House of Madden to collect themselves, lick their wounds, and come back strong with Triple Play 2003.

NCAA College Basketball 2K3 is a solid basketball game with plenty of modes to choose from, but it ultimately falls short of being an accurate simulation of college basketball. The passing system is far too slow and imprecise to break down the zone defenses effectively, even when running plays. This also affects the post-up game, which is almost rendered useless for anything but a pull-up jumper. Casual fans probably won't notice such problems, but the hard-core college basketball fan will more than likely be frustrated with them.