NCAA March Madness 07 – 360 – Preview

Last
year’s Xbox 360 entry in the NCAA Football franchise did things a little
differently by having a definite focus on making the stadiums as accurate as
possible, as well as allowing the roar of the crowd and the momentum of the team
to have a huge impact on the course of the game. Now, it looks as though EA is
applying many of the same concepts to their college basketball game. NCAA March
Madness 07 is the latest entry to their college hoops series, and the first to
make an appearance on a next-gen console. This entry utilizes the crowd’s favor
as a booster for your team’s performance and really pulls you in to the dynamic
of an actual college game. 


Starting out, March Madness 07has a menu interface similar to the NBA Live games
for the Xbox 360. Playing out like a mini-game, you can control a player and
shoot baskets by your lonesome while you set up your game and choose a mode to
do. However, whereas in the Live games did this as a diversion, March Madness 07
has you doing this in order to gain a momentum boost. IF you can get a certain
number of points in the 90 seconds before the game starts, than you’ll gain
a boost that will start you off with an advantage over the other team.



NCAA March Madness 07 Xbox 360 screenshots

As you
play through a game, you’ll gain momentum boosts by scoring and stealing the
ball away from your opponents. Adversely, you can lose momentum points by
missing shots, fouling and getting scored on. You’ll know each time you and your
opponent gains or loses momentum as a plus or minus will appear over the players
head. Gaining the crowd’s momentum allows your team to perform better, making
better shots and so on.

Fan
intensity doesn’t only have an impact on individual games. In the dynasty mode,
your school’s appreciation for your team will also have an overall impact on how
well your team fares generally. You can build up new facilities on campus that
will garner you more student support, and also get better on-court assets, like
pep bands and cheerleaders that will affect your boost and performance.



NCAA March Madness 07 Xbox 360 screenshots


Graphically, March Madness 07 is shaping up quite nicely, with some detailed
character models and great looking arenas. The courts are extremely detailed,
capturing the look and feel of an actual college game nicely. Many of the
schools in the game’s roster are accurate down to a T, with all kinds of nuances
that you’d only notice if you actually when to the school. The framerate needed
to be cleaned up quite a bit and was pretty sluggish throughout, but that’s
something that could be polished before the game launches.



NCAA March Madness 07 Xbox 360 screenshots

The
music in March Madness 07 is what you’ve come to expect from the series, meaning
a variety of fight songs unique to the schools and marching band renditions of
well-known radio hits, like Walking on the Sun by Smashmouth. The commentating
is also pretty good, with Nessler and Vitale sounding off on the game.

With
accurate college settings and a real focus on momentum, NCAA March Madness 07
offers up a dynamic game of college basketball that will appeal to the inner fan
in all of us. Check it out later this month.