Three seconds left, it’s up, it’s…..
Most people consider the college-based games that EA produces as teasers for the professional versions. Mostly because people can’t stand the fact that the NCAA has such a horrible choke hold on players in games. If you’re not familiar with the situation, the players are represented by numbers and not names. So for John Wall on Kentucky’s team he’s represented by his number. As silly as it sounds people really do consider the effort of changing a number into the name of a player a big turn off; thus, the professional basketball game is preferred.
With that said, there’s a lot here that EA put into their series that hasn’t been done before. They made this game worth getting and there’s enough here to entertain even the most hardcore fans. With every good there is a bad though and there are plenty of elements in this game that need some drastic improvement. So, without further rambling, let’s get on with the goods/bads.
Some of the improvements over the last version of this game are in the inclusion of new motion offenses, such as the dribble drive (go UK!), Princeton (ZZZZZ), Flex and few others. You don’t get those standard crappy offenses that usually come down to setting a pick and rolling out for a shot. You get very specific, difficult motion offenses to run that will put you closer into the game. This is for the most intense college players out there and may not interest everyone. For me, I loved not only running the dribble drive (DDMO), but learning how it works and moves was interesting. I guess that works two-fold when you’re playing the game, which is great. The only problem with running motion offenses is if a player just wants to come in and play the game without learning such detailed things. This particular part of the game is where I think EA probably lacked a bit.
For gamers looking to dive in and play an ‘arcade’ style of ball you’re in for a rude awakening. Without the set offenses and the set plays, what you’re looking at is very drab, sometimes horrible gameplay. The game can work well, but there is no guarantee. For me, there are times where I prefer just to drive the ball up court, pass it around and shoot. Sometimes I want my player to drive when there’s a ‘one-on-one’ situation. As a basketball fan, you’ll want some freedom without thought when it comes to gameplay and I think this is where NCAA Basketball 10 lacks a bit. For example, when I was playing in Dynasty Mode (which I will get to later), I was going up against Central Michigan with my point guard. I had a very wide up lane and was driving. The CM player stepped in front of my guy and I pushed the controls to the open portion of the court; all that did was horizontally move my player to the right. Would it not make sense that if I’m running the court at full-speed that my player can cut to the right without having to push an extra button that could disrupt my final shot? It’s very clunky when it’s not a set offense and it’s extremely clunky to be forced to push extra buttons during a fast break. This leads me into another argument about controls; they are simple, but they can work against you at times.
I like the simplified control scheme, but I detest that my big man can’t throw down the ball with authority; rather he chooses to gingerly try an acrobatic layup. If you’re not driving to the hoop, at least from the free throw line, you will virtually have no chance to dunk the ball; no matter how wide open your player is. I found multiple occasions where my big man down low was wide open to dunk the ball, but instead chose a crappy, worthless, bricking layup that forced me to use curse words. For the life of me i cannot understand why there can’t be a small script in a game that gauges percentages of how close the player is to the basket, his height and skill, and how many people are around him to determine whether a dunk should be made. Not everyone plays like Duke University where no authority is thrown down when they’re close to the basket. Now, with that said, the game says you must push down R2 on the controller while pressing the square button to achieve a dunk. My poor R2 button has been abused more times than Duke University in the NCAA tournament the past five years, so I know I’m doing it right. The game simply doesn’t respond consistently to the command of ‘dunk’.
Moving on, let’s talk more about controls.
While my complaints of dunking and clunkiness have certainly been expressed, I do like the controls and the feel of the overall game. There’s nothing quite like driving down a lane, kicking the ball out and hitting a three. It’s incredibly simple. The controls, for the most part, are easy to figure out and simple to use. The flip side to this is how the players respond sometimes to driving the ball into the lane. I know I’ve complained about dunks and what not, but my biggest complaint is how a player, regardless of talent, will drive down an open lane and suddenly/awkwardly lose the ball underneath the basket. For example, there was a moment where my small forward (Dodson) was driving the baseline towards the basket. I had one player on me, who I could beat, and when I hit the open lane I awkwardly lost the ball. It happened multiple times. It was if the computer didn’t like that I could actually beat it down the baseline, so it made my player (who was untouched by anyone) do this sort of muscle spasm movement and lose the ball. This also brings up the question, “How many 6’11” guys do you know can reach down and take the ball from a 6’0″ speeding point guard?” They are far and few between, yet I had continually had this issue.
Outside of that issue, I do want to give a few more kudos to EA for the fake move when shooting. There was a single time where my small forward (Dodson) faked a shot, got the defender in midair and drove hard to the basket with a dunk. When you can do this in the game it’s a beautiful execution of a play. The lesser teams will go for the shot fake, while the better teams are more disciplined; so you have been warned.
Switching gears, let’s talk about modes you’ll be running into. There are a few modes included in NCAA Basketball 10:
– Play Now – This is the quick version of ‘I want to play and don’t ask me to do anything techincal’. The game runs on the current stats of the team (you might want to use the Dynamic Update Hub to update those stats), but allows you to freely play a game quickly. You may have to learn the offenses if you want to run them, but you’re certainly welcome to ignore them and treat it like an arcade game. The arcade feeling to this is pretty unrewarding, but it certainly could be worse. I think that most people will only do this if they’re in a rush, but real gamers will go straight for the next mode.
– Dynasty – So, can coaches not be represented in an NCAA game either? I had to create John Calipari in the game and I want to publicly apologize to Coach Cal for doing that. I have given you an enormous forehead; for that I apologize. Anyway, this is the bread and butter of the game and the one mode that will keep your blood flowing. Much like Play Now, you’ll probably want to update your team before you start this mode. You get the schedules, you get the motion offenses, you get the various venues. If you play as Kentucky, you’ll get to beat Tennessee twice in the regular season. It’s a solid mode and the one that offers the most beef.
– Campus Hoops – Practice… we talkin’ about practice. Not the game, not the game…. practice.
As for the game’s presentation, I think that EA certainly stepped it up this year. As opposed to the NCAA Football game that EA makes, which didn’t look or feel anything close to Madden, it was nice to see that EA wanted to make NCAA Basketball 10 as pretty as possible. They instituted both ESPN and CBS graphics with Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery included. You also get the maniacal Dick Vitale, who had a problem repeating general terms over and over again. With him you get the wonderful Brad Nessler and the always welcomed/entertaining/gorgeous Erin Andrews. Everything that you would hope for in the actual broadcasting from both networks seems to have made it in the game. The only thing you don’t get is the constant television time outs. Anyway, the presentation of the game is nothing short of gorgeous, as EA has properly instituted the graphics package and voice overs. There are times, like I mentioned before with Vitale, where the announcers do repeat. I wish there was a bit large variety of things for them to say as it’s nothing close to what you’ll find in Madden or NBA Live.
As for the environments, this is probably the best part of the game. You’ll get perfectly recreated arenas that have loud and obnoxious crowds when you’re winning and silent crowds when nothing is going in the home team’s favor. If you are on a run your crowd will literally shake the picture of your screen (okay, not literally — but it simulates it in the game). That will, in turn, feed you some energy to keep that crowd loud and proud. I have never seen a more gorgeous representation of Rupp Arena in a game before. It looked nothing short of perfect.
Finally, the player models are okay. I think that Patrick Patterson’s character looked more like a fat man with muscles. I’m not sure if EA isn’t allowed to get close to the players actual representation or not, but you hardly saw a representation of your favorite players included in the game. The NCAA makes everything difficult when it comes to games. They should pay the players and get them involved in the games. Yes, that was my soapbox stance. Anyway, you will forgive the models, which are well done, just not representative.
Is it worth the money?
When it comes to NCAA games that’s always the biggest question. If you’re a huge fan of college basketball then yes it is. You’ll find a lot here that will keep you entertained. Playing with four friends (why not five?) is a great experience when you can work together as a team. It’s a great game for college campuses; without a doubt. The added features and the perfectly recreated arenas just reinforce how much effort EA has put into this title. With that said, you should know that EA simply hasn’t made the same cookie-cutter game that some people would assume. There is enough here to justify the $59.95 price point. There fact that you can update your team’s stats through the Dynamic Update Hub is fantastic (especially for Kentucky fans this year). If you’re looking for an online experience with the NCAA game then you might have to turn elsewhere. You’re only granted a one-on-one play, which is sad. Still, if you have enough friends to play locally then you’re going to be thrilled.
You know my pros/cons about the game and it’s really up to you on if you want to purchase it or not. For me, I would purchase it because I’m a huge fan. I would forgive some dreadful flaws (such as dunking when I ask for it) and enjoy the rest of the game that EA has crafted. It all depends on how dedicated you are to the sport.