Just received March Madness 2003 for the PS2...

Post by **Jared** » Fri Nov 08, 2002 7:21 pm

I´ll be playing it in my spare time while I work on some other reviews. I don´t think I´ll have a review in the extremely near future. In the meantime, let me know if any of you have questions about the game...I´ll be more than happy to answer them.

FloridaGators · Post by **FloridaGators** » Sat Nov 09, 2002 4:04 pm

Are there A.I. sliders?
 How is the commentary?
 How is the game improved at all?

Heelfan71 · Post by **Heelfan71** » Sun Nov 10, 2002 2:19 am

how´s the crowd look?
 how are the graphics? Lots of jaggies?
 What are the names of the different slider adjustments?

CheckMate · Post by **CheckMate** » Sun Nov 10, 2002 2:37 am

Are the different zone D´s effective, and do players follow the correct assignments?

Vinceanity2k3 · Post by **Vinceanity2k3** » Sun Nov 10, 2002 8:27 am

Is the Dynasty mode like Bcaa football´s where you have a coach and if he sucks he will get fired?
 
 How the gameplay:rebounding,field goal percentages,does the gameplay represent the college game?
 
 How is the atmosphere?
 
 thanks jared

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Sun Nov 10, 2002 7:52 pm

What modes of play are there?
 
 Can you have multiple teams under user control in a dynasty?
 
 How does the atmosphere compare to EA´s college fb game?

arenas809 · Post by **arenas809** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 2:03 am

I´m surprised there aren´t more questions here...
 
 I´d like to know if there is a preseason tournament at the beginning of the season and if you have to be invited or you can just pick to play in it...
 
 Gameplay wise I´d like to know if it plays like college ball, I don´t care if it uses the live engine, if the game plays like college ball, all is good...
 
 Either way, I´m still gona get NCAA 2K3, only one flaw it seems with that game, NO SLIDERS...ugh

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 10:20 am

Arenas:
 
 I´m with you on the disgust over the lack of sliders in NCAA 2K3.
 
 Call me a cynic, but how can we expect Visual Concepts to nail college hoop on its first try when it hasn´t perfected NBA ball after four editions of the 2K series?
 
 NBA 2K3 is a very good game, but it still needs slider tweaks to make it realistic.
 
 Take care,
 PK

Post by **Jared** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 12:19 pm

OK...I´ll try to get to everyone in order.
 
 FloridaGators,
 
 1) There are sliders. Lots of them. Sliders for nearly every conceivable aspect of gameplay. And it´s a necessity...on the default level there are entirely too many blocks and dunks.
 
 2) Commentary is average at best. I´m not really a huge fan of it currently....there´s lots of dead time. But I haven´t put in any player names yet, so that might change things.
 
 3) Yes, the game is definitely improved from March Madness 2002. But then again, that isn´t a very big leap up....that game was close to pitiful.
 
 Heelfan
 
 Crowd looks somewhat animated, and a little flat. Nothing special here, but it´s not terrible.
 
 Graphics are good...not many jaggies, and player models are decent. HOWEVER, the transitions between animations are somewhat poor in my opinion.
 
 There are too many sliders adjustments for me to name off the top of my head (I´m not around the PS2 right now). But there are a LOT of them.
 
 Checkmate,
 
 Haven´t followed the D well enough to see how effectively they play the zones. There are different zones, and they are mildly effective. It can be difficult to get an open-3 on certain zones...but dunks on the inside game are still too easy. Haven´t tried playing with the dunk slider completely off....so that might help things.
 
 Vince,
 
 Yes...I think coaches get fired, though I haven´t explored that yet.
 
 Crowd atmosphere is decent...good crowd noise, and lots of team specific chants. However, the chants sound lame....like 20 guys in a studio with a script, not like a real college basketball game.
 
 Rebounding is solid...FG percentages really depend on the mode you play at and blocks. But on the harder levels with a normal amount of blocks, I´m getting 50% with Florida...but I´m also trying to play a "realistic" game.
 
 Kevin,
 
 Modes of play:
 NCAA Tourney
 Dynasty
 Exhibition
 Maui Challenge
 
 Arenas,
 
 I don´t THINK you have to be picked to play in the pre-season tourney...I started a dynasty with Florida, and asked to join the Maui, and they said yes. I might try to do the same thing with a crappy school and see what happens.
 
 Does it play like college ball? Hmmm....jury is still out on that one. Need to play the game a bit more (didn´t get to play too much over the weekend).
 
 OK...hope I covered everything. Lemme know if you´ve got more questions.

gmulion · Post by **gmulion** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 12:39 pm

How is the recruiting mode on the game?

Heelfan71 · Post by **Heelfan71** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 12:40 pm

Thanks for the Info Jared. I take it you have not messed with the sliders very much? Sounds like some tweaking will make the gameplay pretty realistic.

Post by **Jared** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 1:17 pm

I´ve done some tweaking on sliders, mainly on stuff I think needs fixing (dunks, blocks). Will be changing other stuff as I play. But I usually like to play as close to the default as possible to get an idea as to what the developers expect are the best settings.
 
 And I haven´t done any recruiting yet...will be simming a season just to get to that sometime in the next few days.

Heelfan71 · Post by **Heelfan71** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 4:51 pm

Thanks for the info. Post back some impressions once you get some more playing time in. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">

CheckMate · Post by **CheckMate** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 6:18 pm

Can you give a rough estimate on the number of sliders that are available? Thanx.

Shadow · Post by **Shadow** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 6:46 pm

Jared:
 
 What can u actually edit on players already in the game. Is it the same as NCAA Football 2003. Thanks <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_biggrin.gif">

mmfan · Post by **mmfan** » Mon Nov 11, 2002 7:32 pm

Great stuff man. Finally I can get some hands on impressions of this game. The big questions I have is:
 
 *How many humans can be in a dynasty? (Usually all EA games have more than 1 player unlike Sega)
 
 *To repeat what Shadow said, can you edit everything about the players, especially ratings?
 
 *Is there an option to turn off players leaving early to the draft so that they could stay 4 years?
 
 *Does it play alot like NBA Live 2003, or is it slower?
 
 *Does the defensive AI close out on shooters better than Live? In Live, I always had to control the defender that was guarding the guy with the ball because theywould make 80% of the time if I didn´t.
 
 *How´s Cameron Indoor Stadium? Is it unique? I´m a Carolina fan, but I´d like to go into Duke with all that stuff going on.
 
 *Is the momentum meter better this year?
 
 *Are the camera angles the same as Live or are there different ones?
 
 *Is there post-season tournaments? (ACC, SEC, etc tournaments)
 
 *Any additional dynasty info would be a plus as well
 
 Thanks alot for answering most of the questions. I know I would be playing instead of answering questions, but thanks for doing it. What´s the official release date by the way?

Post by **Jared** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 12:06 pm

Checkmate,
 
 Rough estimate: 20 sliders or so
 
 Gmulion,
 
 Recruiting is nearly identical to NCAA Football 2003, except less of a focus on dividing things by state. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing yet...
 
 Shadow,
 
 Player editing is essentially (i think) the same as NCAA Football 2003. Takes a while to load up each player though...kind of annoying.
 
 MMfan,
 
 I can´t answer all of those questions right now. The ones that I can answer:
 
 There are conference tournaments (and automatic bids). It´s a nice touch (though it should be expected).
 
 No option turning off players leaving early for the draft (that I could see).
 
 Can´t compare things too much to Live since I´ve only played a little bit of it.
 
 Momentum meter doesn´t seem to make a big difference....but there definitely are hot and cold streaks in the game.
 
 Haven´t played at Cameron yet...however, they´re coming up on my dynasty schedule (at Duke), so I´ll be able to give my opinion of it soon.
 
 I´ll try to answer more of these questions soon....in the meantime, feel free to ask more.

CheckMate · Post by **CheckMate** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 12:59 pm

Here´s a question no one has asked.......are you having fun playing or does it seem monotonous?
 
 Since you can´t compare it to Live, can you compare it to last year´s MM "effort"? Thanx.

Heelfan71 · Post by **Heelfan71** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 2:48 pm

yes, are you having fun?

mmfan · Post by **mmfan** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 4:24 pm

Big question. How many users can be in a dynasty?
 
 What team are you playing as? Played Carolina yet?
 
 Is it easier to play defense in this one without the computer making everything. What are the shooting % of the cpu
 
 Thanks

mmfan · Post by **mmfan** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 4:34 pm

Which type of team is tougher to play defense against? A pro style offense or a 3 point shooting team like Duke and Florida.
 
 Is it still a perimeter game or does the post game open up everything else?
 
 What´s the best little thing that you were suprised about MM?
 
 What´s the worst little thing that you were suprised about MM?

Post by **Jared** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 6:44 pm

Hahaha....the having fun question is great. Probably the most important one.
 
 So far, the answer is yes/sort of. When I first started playing, the default sliders annoyed the hell out of me. Unrealistic blocks and entirely too many dunks (one of my major basketball game pet peeves is when a defender is in the post in perfect position but somehow the ball-handler inexplicably dunks over/around him).
 
 But then I took down block height and blocks (two different sliders, by the way) and dunks on the slider, played on the three-star level, and it started to get a lot more fun.
 
 I´m still not terribly happy with offensive computer AI...they seem to ignore the open shot quite often, allowing me to be a bit more aggressive on D. And sometimes they seem like they just HAVE to shoot the ball, regardless of who´s open. They also don´t really use the pump fake at all in the post.
 
 BUT they do try to avoid getting blocked....that´s a step up. And the defensive AI is not that bad. I´ve had fun so far in a new dynasty...beat Oklahoma by 6, but then got blown out by Indiana (both in the Maui)...I´m playing with Florida.
 
 So it´s fun so far. Not ground-breakingly amazing. But a LOT better than March Madness 2002.

Post by **Jared** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 6:57 pm

On to more specific questions...
 
 MMFan,
 
 I´ll get to the dynasty question (how many players) when I can. I´m not going to have any time to play today, so I´ll try and let you know later in the week.
 
 I´m playing as Florida (my alma mater...and I worked courtside for the basketball team for two years....so my allegiances are squarely with them). Haven´t played Carolina yet. I didn´t put them on the schedule for my dynasty, so I won´t be playing them unless I want to check them out in an exhibition. I´m probably gonna start a dynasty with a poor team (likely an Ivy like Brown or Yale) at the same settings to see how big the differences are between teams.
 
 It is easier to play D without the computer making everything. Shooting percentage varies...the lowest I´ve seen the computer shoot is around 45%...but they hoisted up a lot of ill-advised 3s to try and make a big comeback. Largest was 65% (against Indiana...they were just unstoppable).
 
 It´s definitely not just a perimeter game. I try to work the ball inside to Bonner and Lee. Seen some pretty nice hook shots. I´ve had some success in taking the ball inside, watching the zone collapse on the middle, then dishing it out to Nelson or #21 (who isn´t on the Florida roster, but I assume is either Roberson or Al-Kaleem) for the 3. Very realistic.
 
 The problem is that the inside game is not hard enough for you to want to settle for mid-range jumpers. My shot charts are filled with shots either in the paint or beyond the arc. I don´t like games that don´t force you to develop a mid-range game...it´s an integral part of basketball, imo.
 
 Haven´t played enough games to tell you what style of play is tougher to play defense against...they haven´t varied much so far. But I´ll try to be aware of this with my next batch of games.
 
 Best little thing: running through a season and seeing a list of teams that are "on-the-bubble". Just thought it was a nice edition. (Don´t think there´s an NIT in this...though that would be incredible.)
 
 Worst little thing: They keep running this stupid scene where the mascot sneaks into the coach´s seat while he´s up yelling at players...the coach almost sits on the mascot, gets angry, and shoos him away. It came up 4 times in a game. What an unnecessary add-in....wasn´t that funny the first time.

Post by **Jared** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 7:13 pm

Also, I´ll be posting a hands-on preview on the main page...probably later this week (or maybe early this week...I´m extremely busy right now). It´ll focus mainly on game structure (seasons, recruiting, etc.) and less on AI...gotta save something for the review.
 
 In the meantime, keep the questions coming...I´ll try to answer as many as possible.

mmfan · Post by **mmfan** » Tue Nov 12, 2002 7:26 pm

Thanks for answering. I got some more little questions.
 
 You mentioned the computer AI being pretty good. Did EA make the zone defense AI better or are there still flaws? For example, if you keep taking it in and score all the time, will they switch to zone to make you shoot 3´s?
 
 Does the CPU run plays against you or is it pass,pass, shoot.
 
 Do big-time shot blockers (Okafor) make it tough to take it inside or is it easy?
 
 Does the CPU go to its strengths? For example, UNC, other than Sean May, doesn´t have any post players and are a perimeter team. Do teams like them shoot the ball with their top guys (ie Felton, May, Williams) or do average players like Jackie Manuel, Will Johnson take just as many shots.
 
 Is there a slider for adjusting the speed of the players? (I´d probably want to make it more fast-paced.)
 
 I´ve read that the crowds are pretty good. Did they make the graphics good on this issue?
 
 Is the crowd noise different as you go into different arenas? For example, going into Florida or Kentucky would have a lot of noise, while in a place like Vanderbilt, it´s not that much. Is there a big difference in that?
 
 Do we have to use the analog sticks to play like in Live?
 
 I will probably have some more once I can think of some stuff. Again, thanks alot. The best place to get info about this game is from this forum.
 
 Who has the better dunk rating, James White or David Lee. White should be the best in the nation. We recruited him and if it wasn´t for Doherty coming in then he probably would´ve been a Heel and you guys could´ve kept Jackie Manuel, but after seeing the way he acted at the McDonald´s game, (he thought he was all good and would make these stupid hard expressions so that we could think he was tough) I didn´t really like him. He transferred from Florida so you should cut him, but it´s tough to cut a dunker! haha [ This message was edited by: mmfan on 12-11-2002 15:38 ]