NCAA March Madness 2002

If you're looking for a dominating basketball game on the PS2, this is the one—if by "the one" you mean the one that fails in many of the same ways NBA Live did. But not all the ways, which is March Madness' saving grace.

Here's a quick history of the MM series: It was great two years ago; last year it was rotten. This year the game isn't all that fun. I love college hoops, but besides the crowd, and the improved camera, this game feels like Live. Which I'm not fond of.

Make no mistake, it's heads and shoulders above 989 Sports' college hoops game, but that's like saying a hamburger is more edible than rancid, worm-covered meat.

MM looks good. But the curse of the PS2 strikes with more cut-scenes than gameplay. When this game lets me grab rebounds instead of break backboards, I'll be happy. But thank goodness for the alley-oop button! I can play a whole game by only scoring on alley-oops. And win. Bad, bad.

There is a really well-done Create-A-School feature, but it's overshadowed by the lack of a Franchise mode. Without the threat of my star player being recruited to the NBA, there's less drama. Which is a metaphor for this entire game.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.