Difference in Opinion

NBA pros have to come from somewhere. Although some commercials may lead you to believe they hatch out of basketballs on the court, in fact most star NBA players are discovered from playing at their college. 2K Sports’ College Hoops 2K8 looks to simulate the college experience as much as possible (or at least the baseball portion). There are some things in this game that fall short of it’s big brother, NBA 2K8, while other features offer a lot of enjoyment.

In college sports, passion is the name of the game. There are no paychecks involved here which makes playing the game all about being passionate, and cheering all about supporting your college. One of the best things College Hoops 2K8 does is simulate that college basketball passion. From when you first load up the disc in your tray, you are asked who your favorite team is and pitted against a rival in a quickmatch to help get your feet wet. Each college stadium has been accurately replicated within the game to really give you the feeling of the homecourt advantage when you see appropriated colored shirts blend together in a collage of cheering fans. The ‘Creation Zone’ even offers a ‘Chant Creator’ in which you methodically link together a number of letters, words and drum beats to create your own crowd chant. After you save your chant (Achievement Unlocked!), you can assign it to specific teams and specific scenarios, and even upload it to the 2K Servers so others can do the same. If I only had the time I would make the crowd constantly yell the lyrics of You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi.

Some of the other standout features are the extensive Legacy Mode that will take you in depth into coaching strategies, and various events like the Pontiac Tournament, College Hoops Classic and All-American Training Challenge. The Legacy Mode simulates the job of being a coach. You have to hire assistants, manage your team effectively, and scout players. If you do a good job then you can get a better job offer and move your way up in the ranks. If you do poorly, then you can get fired. The Pontiac Tournament will allow you to complete offline or online against other teams and try to fight your way to the top. The College Hoops Classic will let you take your team through the 2K sponsored tournament that takes place in pre-season.

All in all, this game has some great features. The part which becomes the most frustrating and inconsistent is the actual gameplay. Some plays and stealing moves will work perfectly at times, and go horribly wrong the next time. If you put some time into learning the pace of the game and how to accurate choose plays and run them then it will make the gameplay a bit smoother and more consistant. If you are an college basketball fanatic then there will be a lot of enjoyment in this game. If you are new to basketball games and on the fence then I recommend holding off for a better title or getting either of the NBA games out now.

Final Score
Gameplay: 7 out of 10
Graphics: 7 out of 10