March Madness 2001

Rippin Down The Boards Click To Enlarge

Take It To The Rack Click to enlarge

This is your true ticket to the Ncaa Final Four!

Gameplay:
All i can say is wow. EA Sports has really gone all out in the gameplay department for Ncaa March Madness 2001, which will probably be their last college basketball game for the regular Playstation. You will find an all new "Coach" mode in this years edition of March Madness, in this mode you are given a coaching job at a low Div. I team like Grambling or Princeton. You play multiple seasons recruting players and such. You are given goals to meet and if you accomplish them your ranking will move up and you can move to coach another school. This is a very fun and exciting mode and I hope all future college basketball games will incorporate this feature. There is also a mode where you have an Ncaa Tournament with the all time top 64 teams. Another new feature is where you can earn moves, the game gives you challenges like [Winning Atleast 10 Games] and if you meet that goal you might earn a new dunk or crossover. This is something else that makes you want to play the game. Another feature returning for another season is the much loved momentium meter. The way this works is if you're team makes so many baskets in a row, you get the crowd on your side and you'll find yourself making more shots. It is a neat feature and is very realistic, for example it is harder to get your momentium up if you are away than it is if you are home. Most of the teams have accurate player #'s unlike Final Four 2001. March Madness has all it needs to make it king of college hoops this season.

Graphics:
The graphics in March Madness aren't very good but they work. Each arena is accuratly represented but the player models are horrendous. There are very few models and every player looks the same. Lucky the players move very well and look good as far as that goes. The fans are just a wallpaper like any other Playstation games, but somehow you still get the feeling of a college atmosphere.

Sound:
The sound shines in March Madness. There are still two announcers and they finally got rid of Dick Vitale, he was getting annoying. They call the action just how it is, and when a big play is made they really get into the action by yelling and screaming. If you are the home team you will hear the crowd roar as you bust the big shot. Also the game features school fight songs so you get the full college atmosphere.

Graphics: 5/10
Sound: 7/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Lasting Appeal: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10


- Staind