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Platform: Xbox 360
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Publisher: 2k Sports
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Developer: 2k Sports
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Medium: DVD-ROM
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Players: 1 - 8
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Online: Internet
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Also on: (n/a)
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Back to school – but no time for class.
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College basketball is known best for the 64 team tournament that crowns it's champion every spring, so 2k Sports' release of the newest edition of College Hoops may seem early. But if football games can release in July, before anyone has even strapped on a cleat, there's no reason we shouldn't enjoy some college hoops in December while we watch preseason rankings fall apart before the holidays. NBA 2k7 has set the bar, for now, when it comes to the next generation of console sports gaming. None of the football, baseball or hockey games have offered as strong a combination of gameplay and graphics, so College Hoops has a lot to build on. Unfortunately, the first impression of College Hoops, or any game, is the menu system, which is about as bad as it could be. It's nothing you won't get used to, but it's still bewildering. As tempting as it may be to ask about the thought process behind this new and wacky way of navigating through options, the answers to those questions might be more terrifying than the menu itself, so let it simply be said that the menu system is terrible but you'll figure it out. If you've played previous versions, or other recent basketball titles, it only takes a few games to realize that 2k7 has had serious attention paid to familiar issues. Defensive CPU switching, for example, is far better than in previous years. It's still possible to get a favorable matchup after a pick, but it's not as easy as it used to be – it's much more realistic. If you or the CPU get scraped off your man and end up in a complete mismatch, like a center on a point guard, the game knows this and makes the switch back as early as possible. If it's a less egregious matchup, like a small forward for a point guard, it's a little tougher to get your man back from the computer. The CPU also does a better job of choosing shots. Your opponent is no longer afraid to launch three pointers if they're open. If anything, he'll do his best to match you if you decide to throw the playbook out the window and chuck it up for no good reason. Along the same lines, the computer works very hard to look for an open shot. Even playing against mediocre teams, when you really buckle down and play strict defense, the CPU will do its best to avoid a bad shot. They'll work the clock and pass just like they're supposed to. On some teams, they focus almost too much on a very good player, but that makes a lot more sense than the alternatives. If there's a new learning curve in the gameplay, it's fast breaks. It's very tough to get the timing and controls just right so you can avoid the clunky pass-stop-shoot motion and make the move to pass-pass-shoot. Players just don't move correctly unless you time it perfectly, but once you get it down it looks great. Players also seem to have a serious problem under the basket – there are far too many missed lay-ups and power-ups around the rim. Here it comes: This can be helped a lot with the slider settings. Of course, you shouldn't have to use sliders for something so basic, but the good news is that's the only portion of the gameplay that definitely needs tweaking out of the box. The new headline feature for this year is Team Unity. This gauge is meant to measure how well your team plays together, takes direction and whether they're likely to play beyond their ability. It can have a huge affect on how players perform – bad teams can become far too good because of the ratings boost. As it is, it's too much and too noticeable, but you can turn it off once you've given it a try. The Legacy mode has two options – Closed and Open. In a Closed Legacy, you'll take whatever team is willing to offer you a job. It's going to be a low-rated program, which can be fun if you like to build a loser into a winner. Recruiting is challenging, which means you'll have to pay attention to all your prospects because you won't get great leftovers from Duke and NC. The only problem is that you might never get offered a job at a top-tier school. You'll move up, but even offers from mid-majors don't come very often. Instead, you can start in an Open Legacy, enjoy the same features of the mode and do it from a team of your choice. While Legacy mode includes the addition of the NIT tournament, which is great, it also favors the upset more than it should. There are upsets and strange seeds every season, but far too many in this game. Every year, there was at least one huge program missing the tournament because of a slightly off record, and that just doesn't happen. One of the biggest attractions of college basketball is the upset, so striking a balance is difficult. This game leans a little too far toward Cinderella. Online play is a blast. There are minimal cheesy ways to play the game (the guards are a little too fast, for example), and that makes online play a mostly positive experience even if you don't have a huge list of regular players. Also, the player models look great in motion and in replay, but the real standouts are the arenas. I have no idea of Navy's court really looks like that, but you'll see all kinds of detail and depth in each school's home court and it's fantastic. College Hoops 2k7 is part of a rare collection of sports games that offers more interesting results the more it's played. Because the AI has improved, the number of games that are fun and memorable far outnumber those that aren't. You'll see different defenses, offenses and, simply put, a more realistic challenge than in other games. Sports games on the new generation of consoles have been hit or miss because of a lot of rushed ports, but this is a game that should not be missed by basketball fans.
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