AS a former
, I gets no love. People associate Green Day’s spawning ground with two things: (1) Hippie chicks with carpet samples for armpits who stick daisies in gun barrels between BAMN rallies, and (2) the marina where one totally innocent Scott Peterson was fishing at the exact same time his wife Laci’s preggy corpse was being dunked in the Bay (what a strange coinkydink).
But guess what? The People’s Republic of Berkeley has a third charm: college hoops, yo! UC Berkeley — my alma mater, thank ye very much — was home-court to Sean Lampley, where he was Cal’s all-time leading scorer. And long before Jason Kidd was beating/getting beaten up by his wife, he was the star point guard on the Golden Bears, leading them to five NCAA tourneys in the ’90s.
So, um, wait. What was I talking about again? Oh right, EA Sport’s NCAA March Madness 2007 (dontcha love taking the scenic route?). Hit the jump, chump. The Xbox 360 finally has a game that celebrates Cal’s oft-ignored athletic excellence (or, if you must, play as one of 300 other NCAA schools).
Far beyond a run-of-the-mill b-ball sim, March Madness has tons of behind-the-scenes gimmickry for hardcore fans. Scout and recruit players, drop them when they flunk out of Linear Algebra, and other coach-y stuff. Take your customized squad to the NCAA tourney, the NIT, even the kinda creepy McDonald’s High School All American Game.
The game’s attention to detail is nothing short of amazing. I pitted my Bears against the lame-o Stanford Cardinal in a classic rivalry game, and Haas Pavilion looked exactly like Haas Pavilion, down to the floor paint. Old Blues packed the stands in their blue and gold rugby shirts. Even Oski, our pear-shaped ursine mascot, was on hand to cheer (and jeer, the bastard).
The only detail not true to life? My Bears actually beat Stanford! Instant replays helped rub it in along the way.
The controls are a little complicated at first. Sometimes “a” passes, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes “b” shoots, yada, yada. Learn to call plays, select which player to pass to, time your shots, and you’ll get the hang of it.
I’ll be honest. I haven’t really played a basketball game since Double Dribble — never even dropped a quarter on NBA Jam’s super-deformed lot. But EA’s bringing me back to the genre. I give this solid points for great detail and infinitely customizable gameplay, but yoink some of those points right back for Dick Vitale’s excruciatingly obnoxious “baby, baby, baby” color commentary (which sometimes doesn’t even match what’s going on) and shameless in-game advertising.
GRADE: B
