NCAA March Madness ’98

PlayStation 1
Released in 1997 by EA Sports
Grade: C

This installment of 32-bit basketball is just as primitive as all the others, with some terribly frustrating quirks thrown on top.

Where it falls in the series

Coming two years after the 32-bit debut of the NBA Live series, this is the first of four EA college basketball games on PS1.

Praises and gripes

I’m pretty sure the thought process for these games was to take the engine from NBA Live, then ask, “How do we make this a little bit crappier?”

In this case, the graphics are just as ugly and the gameplay is just as basic as in NBA Live. Some of animations are even worse, the sliding sideline camera from Live isn’t available, and there’s no arcade mode that allows free-flowing action without sporadic fouls.

The defensive controls are a chore. This was long before developers had the sense to include a “defensive stance” control that helps keep your guy in front of the ball. There’s also no way to box out for a rebound. And with a simplistic shooting animation, it’s awfully hard to anticipate a shot and try to block it.

Offensive controls are simplistic but at least workable. I switched to a vertical camera, which has some choppy movement, but it at least helps you pass to the right guy most of the time. I do like that you have a decent playbook. You can put four plays in your arsenal at a time, with convenient “hold R2 + press a button” playcalling. The plays aren’t what I’d call authentic, but they can get guys open and offer a more basketball-like feel to the game.

Perhaps my biggest gripe is that fouls are random, with no adjustment options. There’s no arcade setting, but there are shoves. Somehow, you’ll get called for fouls just for making incidental contact, but sometimes you get away with a violent shove. What’s up with that?

I had some fun with this game despite its best efforts, but it’s just not worth the trouble, another one of those games that would make you go crazy if you tried to take it seriously.

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