It is hard to believe that Football season is already half over. It seems like only yesterday that I received my copy of Madden 2006 and was checking out the preseason games on TV. On the swing side of things, if you are a basketball fan you know that Basketball season is about to be in full gear and we are drawing ever closer to March Madness. Since this time of the year has come EA Sports has released their latest college basketball game unto the gaming world. Read on to find out more about their latest college basketball game.

As with any sports game that EA develops, there are several different modes of play to take part in. First there is the Play Now mode which allows players to get down and dirty into a game to get their college basketball fix satisfied. There is a Season mode which allows players to take a team through an entire season and see if they have what it takes to become the best basketball team. This mode is a really good training tool to check out if you are hesitant to dive into the Dynasty Mode. Next there is a tournament mode which is a king of the hill type game where up to sixty four team’s battle to see who is the best.

If you want to play some of the classic college basketball games that are still talked about today, then college classic is for you. With a rivalry game you can play with some of the most heated rivalries in college basketball and see if you can make your favorite team win. Mascot game is also a hilarious mode because this is where the college mascots go onto the court and show what they are made of. There is also a really nice practice mode which allows you to practice any offense skills in order to prepare for the big game. A new mode that was put into this game is the March Madness Retro which allows you to play the game from the 1993-94 series. This is really a blast from the past to see how far the game has advanced since then.

Even though all of these other modes are really nice, the real meat of this game is the Dynasty mode. In this mode players will be able to take over every single aspect of handling a college basketball team. You will have to train your players in a training camp, manage your team schedule and review your calendar to make sure nothing conflicts with anything. When your players get in trouble, either by breaking team rules if their GPAs are low, you will have to suspend them or kick them off the team because if you don’t the NCAA may limit the school in terms of scholarships and other things that are vital to a college. Then when you are in off-season you will have to evaluate your team for the next season and preparing it for the challenges that will be before them. This is only the tip of the iceberg on the different options that you will be in control of. Needless to say this mode will take up many hours of your life.

One of the mantras of this latest college basketball game is “Defense creates offense,” and players will be able to tell this from the minute that they load up the game. NCAA March Madness 06 is really catered to a deeper and more toned defense with the inclusion of the lockdown stick and defensive floor playcalling. First the new lockdown stick gives players a more aggressive style of defense that creates turnovers more frequently. Players perform this move by getting in front of a ball-handler and pressing the right analog stick down. This will trap your opponent and force him into a turnover or bring up another man to double team him, either way it is a good situation for the player to be in if they can pull this move off.

The other huge addition to the game is the defensive floor playcalling; this allows players to take more control of the game by choosing which defensive formation you want your players to come into. Players will be able to choose from various man-on-man to zone defensive and even customize your playbook to your particular style of play. This addition alone makes the game more realistic and better to play with since it truly gives you more control of your team.

The graphics for NCAA March Madness 06 are pretty nice. One of the better things about the graphics section is the player animations. Thanks to the new lockdown stick there are a whole new slew of animations dedicated just around this new move. Besides the lifelike and better done animations, the player models are also really nicely done and have a lot of detail included in them. It is truly amazing how each year the graphics look better and better, one has to really wonder what the next generation of consoles will bring to the gaming fold with its increased processing power.

The sound for this game is pretty well done. First of all, the crowd noise is really well done and gives players the feeling like they are really in a stadium watching a real college basketball game. This effect is even more drawn out if you have the appropriate stereo setup. Another decent thing about this game is the commentary. While the commentary is not the best for this game it is not the worst either, there are plenty of other sports games that really falter when it comes to the commentary and thankfully this game does not suffer the same fate. Where this game really drops the ball in is the music. The music itself is decent, but there is an “EA Sports” track that is the worst thing I have heard in recent years. Whoever composed that lyrical garbage is a sad sad individual.

If you get bored with playing against your friends on the couch, or there is no one around to play with then you can play NCAA March Madness 06 online as well. The game runs really smooth online and there is a lot of different modes for you to take part in. You can play an instant “Play Now” game where you can get your basketball fix or you can jump into a tournament to bring your team to victory. Playing online is a really nice addition and is especially appreciated since I rarely ran into any lag while playing it.

NCAA March Madness 06 is rated E for Everyone. It requires up to 2,110 KB on your memory card and can play up to 1-8 players (via multitap). To play online you must have the Network Card and broadband or dialup. It also supports the Logitech/PS2 USB Headset.

Gameplay: 8.3
NCAA March Madness 06 is a really fun game to play and the new attention to a heavier defense is really nice addition. Everything has a really nice flow to it and you will enjoy this as you play through the game.

Graphics: 8.3
The graphics for NCAA March Madness 06 are pretty good. The first thing that you will notice is that the player models are really well detailed. Also the animations for all of the characters are really good and pretty lifelike.

Sound: 7.0
The sound is a mixed bag. First the sound effects and the crowd noise is really well done. I have to wonder though what was EA thinking with that lame EA sports fight song. That is one of the worst pieces of music I have heard in a long time. Mute button please.

Difficulty: Easy
It seems like the AI in this game decided to take a break sometimes because at times the game seems really easy. I suppose the players in this game didn’t want to make it to the pros.

Concept: 8.2
NCAA March Madness 06 has some really nice features in this years version. What I really like was playing around with the Retro and seeing how far the game has really come. Two new additions to this game that really helped the flow was the lockdown stick and the defensive play calling, which helped make this game more like a real college basketball game.

Multiplayer: 8.1
You can play up to eight players in one room or play against people from all around the United States! The online mode is nicely setup and best of all I never encountered any lag while playing online.

Overall: 8.1
If you are looking to satisfy your college basketball fix then you need to look no further then NCAA March Madness 06. While there are things that could be improved upon this game will capture you for many hours while you are trying to just get one more win.