NCAA March Madness 08

The weather has cooled down and winter is arriving, meaning that we are closing in on the college basketball season. To get ready for it, EA Sports is currently prepping their latest college basketball title, March Madness 08. The latest entry of the series offers a few new features to the game, mainly stuff that was featured in the most recent NBA Live game, as well as builds upon the concepts featured in last years game. The court game has been made a lot more playable, offering smoother framerates and a more deliberate pace to the gameplay, and the result is a lot of fun. College basketball fans get ready, March Madness 08 hits this December.

The big new feature in March Madness 08 is the inclusion of classic teams from college years past. Among the classic teams are ’79 Indiana State team (featuring Larry Bird) and the ’76 Hoosiers to name a couple.

NCAA March Madness 08 Xbox 360 screenshots

The dynasty mode has also been cleaned up a bit from last year’s showing, boasting a new user interface that streamlines the look and makes it a lot easier to navigate.

One element that is returning from last year’s game is the intensity meter, which is basically a gauge of how pumped the crowd is and how that works in your favor. After a basket, you can hold down the left bumper and push the right thumbstick in a direction in order to pump the crowd, your teammates, yourself, or taunt your opponent. This will actually serve to weaken the spirit of your opponents and could turn the tides of the game.

Much like NBA Live 08, the gameplay feels noticeably slower than last year’s March Madness, which is not at all a bad thing. The new deliberate pace allows you to play a more fluid and natural game of basketball without frantic moves and a general lack of strategy.

NCAA March Madness 08 Xbox 360 screenshots

The game features the same kind of post-play mechanics found in NBA Live 08, allowing you to perform complex moves and combinations in the paint in order to get the drop on your defenders. These additions are a great touch to the game’s formula and feel a lot more natural than mindlessly passing the ball around. You can perform post-play actions on defense, as well, effectively blocking shots and stealing the ball.

The game’s look is a marked improvement over last year’s March Madness, with the framerate staying consistently at a smooth 60 frames per second. Additionally, the animations have also been cleaned up and look a lot more fluid and natural. March Madness 08 also features a lot more authentic stadiums than previous years, complete with tons of details like mascots and crowds, both of which react realistically to what’s happening on the court.

March Madness 08 offers a much cleaner on-court game and offers up some good additions to the series’ formula, like the inclusion of classic teams. Look for a full review when the game releases next month.