Fixing the March Madness Series

Feature Article

Submitted on: 05/30/2008 by Will Soistman

This past college basketball season brought a championship to Kansas, but also left a reigning champion in the dust. The College Hoops series is no more, and that loss leaves gamers with a lone college basketball game: March Madness. The struggling series now has the responsibility of catering to the college basketball crowd and hopefully providing for those people.

Even dating back to the last generation of systems the March Madness series has definitely not been up to the level of the competition that has been presented. So hoping for a stellar outing next season may be asking for a lot, but why not hope for the best?

I will be presenting five ideas in the form of an improvement/wishlist that I would like to see in this series.

Two notes:
*I have played this game after the patch and with the downloadable bracket
*These are in no specific order

Fix The Robotic Animations

This is one of my biggest issues with the game. The game looks fine at a standstill, but the second the players start moving the awkward motions cause the action to fall apart. Simply put, the way the players move take away from any realism that is trying to be achieved whether -- whether it is the crossover animations that don't look smooth, or the way the players rebound where they jump straight up in the air hoping for the ball to warp to their hands. Overall, the animations are just sluggish in general no matter what is going on, and this fault needs to be fixed completely so March Madness can hopefully become a college basketball game that the sport deserves.

Make The Game Play Faster

When I first bought the game and turned it on for my yearly march madness fix during the actual tournament, I found myself fiddling with the gameplay sliders right away. Out of the box, the game seemed to move so slow no matter whom I was controlling. It did not matter whether I was Texas or CS Fullerton, they both moved and played the same.

Also, fast breaks seemed nonexistent as the opponent would easily catch up because there was no “fast” in the fast break. Basketball is a fast game and this needs to be improved in order to warrant a look next year.

Make The Game More Authentic

With College Hoops now being a series of the past we only have one place to turn for the authentic college basketball experience, but sadly March Madness did not have very much authenticity last year. The biggest issues are the lack of authentic stadiums and schedules in the dynasty mode. Both of these need to be addressed to add to the overall feel of college basketball and these should be non-issues seeing as how we are in the "next-generation" of systems.

What frustrates me about the lack of stadiums is the fact that in the '08 version of March Madness, the producers had a vote for which stadium they would include in the downloadable NCAA bracket pack. A vote? Are you kidding me? Why can't the producers just add all of those stadiums in the pack? Is that what this series has come to? Maybe next year people will vote for the stadium I want (OK so maybe that complaint is a little on the sour grapes side)...

Roster Share

Yes, I am aware of the EA Locker and it is decent. The main problem is having to be friends with the person before you can look in their locker. It just adds an unnecessary step and may create a hassle for some people as the friends list can only hold so many people. The producers should take a page from the College Hoops series and have a Roster Share-like option for people. This was such a great innovation by 2K which enabled rosters to be posted online in-game, and anyone could pull a roster up and download it to his or her hard drive. Genius.

Fix The A.I.

One last issue I want to touch upon has to deal with instances of the A.I. Sometimes in the game, the A.I. will show flashes of brilliance making a great give-and-go or a great post play to their big man. But in other cases, the A.I. can be just dumb and pointless. There are instances on fast breaks for example, where the A.I. opponent will catch up and force a 2-on-1, but once he gets there he does nothing.

Other instances include the opponent stealing passes that they had no business stealing, and the ridiculous amount of times the A.I. tries to draw charging fouls.

***

Were there things that were done right with this game? Absolutely, the post-game was brilliant and the dynasty mode was great in spite of the schedules. This game shows promise, but promise is not what we need, we need results.

NCAA Basketball 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 thomasgentry @ 05/30/08 03:00 PM

good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

# 2 yamabushi @ 05/30/08 03:46 PM

I dont think theres any 'fixing' for Madness or Live. The gameplay engines need to be canned, and re-started from the ground up.
But if Madden, their flagship title in No. America, cant get the funding and resources to make needed changes what are the chances for 'Madness'?

# 3 jdubnsu @ 05/30/08 04:40 PM

If they combined 2Ksports gameplay with Madness, then the game would be AMAZING!

# 4 yamabushi @ 05/30/08 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdubnsu


	If they combined 2Ksports gameplay with Madness, then the game would be AMAZING!

What do you think 'Madness' brought to the table that 'CHoops' didnt?

# 5 IgotSyphillis @ 05/30/08 06:32 PM

Sadly we all know with basically 100% certainty that there is no chance of any of these things happening. This is a series that still has no multi-player dynasty mode. Seriously? What is this, 1995? But maybe we should look on the bright side, at least they are giving us a dynasty mode unlike Madness 2002 which not only lacked a dynasty mode but also had no season mode. Yes a sports game released in 2002 that only had tournament mode. Thats when I gave up buying these series. I now stop in for a quick rental or play at a friends house but this series is pure crap. And I have seen no reason why that will change at all.

# 6 BlackRome @ 05/30/08 08:09 PM

There is only one way to fix EA's basketball series.

EA will have to buy 2k and slap a March Madness sticker on NCAA 2K9 and a Live sticker on NBA2K9.

Problem fixed.

# 7 thescoop @ 05/30/08 09:14 PM

I'll just look for roster updates for 2k8 again next year and just keep playing that game. I liked the orginal march maddness games, but it has been garbage ever since the first time on ps2.

I do agree with BlackRome. If EA did that, it would fix them. Problem is I'm afraid if they do buy 2k they'd stick with their team of no-nothings in reguards to basketball and we're still left without a good title. Like I said, 2k8 will be my game of choice for two years.

# 8 goldjfootball @ 05/30/08 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yamabushi


	What do you think 'Madness' brought to the table that 'CHoops' didnt?

Yeah, seriously, 2K has been ahead in EVERYTHING for years running. Combining them will just dull the great aspect of 2k's version

# 9 tril @ 05/31/08 05:24 AM

dont plan on getting the PS3 until later this year but I think Ill buy a copy of college hoops 2k8 this weekend if I can find one. I dont think March Madness 09 will be able to cure my college hoops 2k addiction.

Buying a game before owning the system, what has the world come to. This statement alone should tell EASPORTS something.

# 10 Behindshadows @ 05/31/08 12:11 PM

Man you create an article about a game and the haters come out the wood works!

I get so tired of defending this game, for all the people that want to continue to knock it. I love how we got 2 pages of negative remarks!

Well let me throw some monkey wrench's into your remarks! For the guy who state no multiplayer dynasty! Did you even play MM08's Dynasty obviously not! Or you wouldn't have made that statement. Not to mention MM08's Dynasty mode killed 2k Legacy Mode! Yes I said it, because it did!

Secondly, even with generic stadiums, this game looked 10x better than College Hoops 2k8. The players did move slower than College Hoops and the animations were better in College Hoops! But not so bad, that people can just call the game trash! For this dev team to come out of no where and try to save this series, from the people who made and ruined live 07, and MM07. I think they did a great job in a 10 month period. Now case and point, they have a full year now, to do what they want with the game. And all this doubt is just ridiculous!

But I will blame them for some things, using Q&A before the release of the 09's is the worse thing they can do. We don't want answers anymore we want results. So for them to improve next years and say they did, isn't going to work. Its time for results!

I agree CH2k8 engine was nice when runnings, but the graphics were so outdated, it was like been there and done that. I'm a die-hard 2k nut! But give EA some props. This game did come out nice, even the Create-A-Player was better, the edit a player was better, even with a few glitches. Not to mention they did something College Hoops struggled with this year! Keep the game fun! Atmosphere and everything in MM08 killed CH2k8, not to mention the commentary in MM08 was 5x better!

I agree the game does need to improve I won't knock that, but don't place so much negative crap in here, without knowing the positives. Majority of the posters have never even picked up the game, they are going by word of mouth! Because some of the comments are shooting you in the foot.

If you plan on up****** the rosters in CH2k8 and playing in next-year why even post in here. We don't care! The topic was fixing the March Madness Series. Not how you hated it, and how back in 2002 this and that.

This is a new team. And Marcus and the others are hard at work at 09. This I know for sure, because why the others are bashing them. I've been keeping touch with them, and hopefully giving them good advice on what could be added to attract the masses!

Why don't you try giving some mature criticism, instead of negative fanboyism comments!

A Wishlist thread was created and all you did was post the same negative and immature comments in there. College Hoops Series is dead! Why not give the game that still exist, some mature comments or ideas that you'd like to see in the game, to continue to have your College Basketball Fix.

In other words, grow up! You don't get results in the world with negativity! You get it with positive outlooks and objective ways.

If madden burned you so what! This isn't Tiburon and Marcus has come into this thread many time to try to give us positive insight and views on the game. At least show some respect to the team, and its Content Manager, I mean he does make sure the developers get this info! But if the information is nothing but negative statements and remarks. Its not helping!

My rant - Peace!

# 11 KG @ 05/31/08 01:44 PM

There is no way that MM08 dynasty mode killed CH2K8's legacy. 2K8s legacy was the best season mode that I have ever played. The depth that they put into the game was absurd. Coach carousel, advanced scouting, torney selection show.

I'm not a 2K or EA fanboy but unless the 09 Demo blows me out of the water, I will stick with 2K8

# 12 Behindshadows @ 05/31/08 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgx2thez


	There is no way that MM08 dynasty mode killed CH2K8's legacy. 2K8s legacy was the best season mode that I have ever played. The depth that they put into the game was absurd. Coach carousel, advanced scouting, torney selection show. I'm not a 2K or EA fanboy but unless the 09 Demo blows me out of the water, I will stick with 2K8

Again another pointless post!

Again, you want to dispute me, but you've never played the game! And there is no dynasty on the demo. So again your points aren't valid or even worth the convo.

Play the game, see the dynasty mode first, before trying to dispute someone who has played.

Take Care.

P.S. I have both games, and completed the legacy on CH2k8 and the Dynasty on MM08. So my comparisons are valid and proved.

You've never even played March Madness 08 or 07. I checked your complete gamertag out! Peace!

# 13 tril @ 06/01/08 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behindshadows2


	Man you create an article about a game and the haters come out the wood works! I get so tired of defending this game, for all the people that want to continue to knock it. I love how we got 2 pages of negative remarks! Well let me throw some monkey wrench's into your remarks! For the guy who state no multiplayer dynasty! Did you even play MM08's Dynasty obviously not! Or you wouldn't have made that statement. Not to mention MM08's Dynasty mode killed 2k Legacy Mode! Yes I said it, because it did! Secondly, even with generic stadiums, this game looked 10x better than College Hoops 2k8. The players did move slower than College Hoops and the animations were better in College Hoops! But not so bad, that people can just call the game trash! For this dev team to come out of no where and try to save this series, from the people who made and ruined live 07, and MM07. I think they did a great job in a 10 month period. Now case and point, they have a full year now, to do what they want with the game. And all this doubt is just ridiculous! But I will blame them for some things, using Q&A before the release of the 09's is the worse thing they can do. We don't want answers anymore we want results. So for them to improve next years and say they did, isn't going to work. Its time for results! I agree CH2k8 engine was nice when runnings, but the graphics were so outdated, it was like been there and done that. I'm a die-hard 2k nut! But give EA some props. This game did come out nice, even the Create-A-Player was better, the edit a player was better, even with a few glitches. Not to mention they did something College Hoops struggled with this year! Keep the game fun! Atmosphere and everything in MM08 killed CH2k8, not to mention the commentary in MM08 was 5x better! I agree the game does need to improve I won't knock that, but don't place so much negative crap in here, without knowing the positives. Majority of the posters have never even picked up the game, they are going by word of mouth! Because some of the comments are shooting you in the foot. If you plan on up****** the rosters in CH2k8 and playing in next-year why even post in here. We don't care! The topic was fixing the March Madness Series. Not how you hated it, and how back in 2002 this and that. This is a new team. And Marcus and the others are hard at work at 09. This I know for sure, because why the others are bashing them. I've been keeping touch with them, and hopefully giving them good advice on what could be added to attract the masses! Why don't you try giving some mature criticism, instead of negative fanboyism comments! A Wishlist thread was created and all you did was post the same negative and immature comments in there. College Hoops Series is dead! Why not give the game that still exist, some mature comments or ideas that you'd like to see in the game, to continue to have your College Basketball Fix. In other words, grow up! You don't get results in the world with negativity! You get it with positive outlooks and objective ways. If madden burned you so what! This isn't Tiburon and Marcus has come into this thread many time to try to give us positive insight and views on the game. At least show some respect to the team, and its Content Manager, I mean he does make sure the developers get this info! But if the information is nothing but negative statements and remarks. Its not helping! My rant - Peace!

What you fail to realize is that once the PS2 and those current gaming consoles were released, EASPORTS literally had one chance to get it right. Up until then there wasnt much competition in the basketball genre. EA up till that point was the premiere basketball title.

2k sports offered everything that EA sports wasnt. I dont know if 2k sports lucked out but they perfectly timed the release of sporting titles with sophistication for a maturing gaming audience.
EA seemed to be stuck in the same place. run and gun, fancy dunks. they chose to stick with an older model and it backfired.
It only took me one purchase of a EA basketball title in I believe 02 or 03 for me to realize the game no longer kept my interests. I chose to get a 2k sports title because of the total disappointment of an EA product.

Every year since then as Ive gotten more mature, sophisticated, and knowledgeable in sports, 2k has managed to keep up.

the big concern now, is that EA sports will not be able to, or even care to, cater to, that core audience/genre.

I can speak for myself and probably everyone else on this board, if it werent for Intelligent sports games with depth, most of us probably wouldn't care about own gaming consoles any longer. (war games is another exception)

EA really has the potential to kill this joy, with everything that they plan on doing with Madden, and with what they can potentially do to the basketball titles.

# 14 Behindshadows @ 06/01/08 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tril


	What you fail to realize is that once the PS2 and those current gaming consoles were released, EASPORTS literally had one chance to get it right. Up until then there wasnt much competition in the basketball genre. EA up till that point was the premiere basketball title. 2k sports offered everything that EA sports wasnt. I dont know if 2k sports lucked out but they perfectly timed the release of sporting titles with sophistication for a maturing gaming audience. EA seemed to be stuck in the same place. run and gun, fancy dunks. they chose to stick with an older model and it backfired. It only took me one purchase of a EA basketball title in I believe 02 or 03 for me to realize the game no longer kept my interests. I chose to get a 2k sports title because of the total disappointment of an EA product. Every year since then as Ive gotten more mature, sophisticated, and knowledgeable in sports, 2k has managed to keep up. the big concern now, is that EA sports will not be able to, or even care to, cater to, that core audience/genre. I can speak for myself and probably everyone else on this board, if it werent for Intelligent sports games with depth, most of us probably wouldn't care about own gaming consoles any longer. (war games is another exception) EA really has the potential to kill this joy, with everything that they plan on doing with Madden, and with what they can potentially do to the basketball titles.

What you failed to realize is EA is a Brand, not a development team! Its multiple divisions of developers! The people who damaged this basketball series is gone! I'm not even going to get into Madden because I still think Tiburon are half-assing the job!

But I will speak for the dev team that is working on the basketball games. They came in, after the painful outing of Live 07! The team who damaged the NBA Live name are gone. These guys came in working on a new engine that the old devs were working on, and didn't have enough time to really do what they wanted.

As far as PS2 and all that jazz, who cares! The PS2 has always been a limited setback system. Thats why sports games had so much more to offer on the Xbox. Even then the previous devs short stabbed the market as well. But just looking at the movements from Live 07, March Madness 07 to the 08 Series. Was a good jump in such limited time.

But now they have more time, with the 09 series. So all I'm saying is instead of ignorant post with dumb remarks from people who haven't played the game isn't helping. 07 series was so bad, majority of the peeps in 08 didn't even really give 08 a try! The ones who did, had a good experience. Even with the limitations and shortcomings. The games were good this year Live and March Madness.

Comparing to College Hoops, who has had the same devs since DC isn't saying too much, they've had over 8 years to work together! Not to mention a company named Take-Two who is holding them back. College Hoops 2k8 could have been an amazing turnaround if they would have been given a new graphics engine, but its the same one since xbox.

I know you are trying to make a point about people's disappointments with EA Sports games, but again, different groups make different games.

Thats why some love Nascar, some love Tiger Woods, Some Love NCAA Football, a lot hate Madden, some like Live, some like MM. Because not all of them are bad! Different dev teams make different efforts. I think Marcus and Joe and the rest of the team are putting in some efforts.

I just wish when they come for informations and help to improve, people would be more optimistic and more mature about how they carry their words. I joined OS because I felt like I found a group of adults and mature sports gamers.

But some rant on like children when talking to grown developers. Who are just looking for some insight!

Again, stop comparing to CH, march madness is its own game and always will be. Work with what is present and have them evolve or better what is already right and make what is wrong, right along with the rest. In otherwords, help them fix what is broken with mature ideas and thoughts, instead pointing the game out as if the whole think was a bust.

-Peace

# 15 Shinyhubcaps @ 06/01/08 01:36 AM

tril, you mention that you bought a 2K product because of your disappointment of an EA product. You know how I got started on 2K? Because EA didn't even release the 06-07 series of its hoops games for the PS3. Talk about skimping on a finished product, this is the most notorious example. Did they not see the PS3 coming? How do you miss an entire year of your games?

Of course, this is before I became interested in the NCAA. It's still relevant, because March Madness and NBA Live are pretty much the same thing, and they both missed that year (and the year that Xbox 360 was out but the PS3 was not).

Anyway, on the topic, I don't see myself buying March Madness unless the demo is spectacular. I'm actually saving College Hoops 2K8 for next year just for when I'm disappointed in March Madness. The fact is, there are only a few games out there where the effort really shines through, and March Madness and its engine mate, NBA Live, are on the completely wrong end. They can do so much more with what they have, and yet the effort remains very hard to see in the finished product. I'd say that the biggest change should be the fluidity of gameplay (and, of course, animations, which are equal parts graphics and gameplay, and are entirely horrible in Live/MM). However, I think the future of the franchise is a lot of little changes, along with maybe some big hit-or-miss feature, likely repackaged from College Hoops or a prior version of March Madness.

You can try to fix the series, but if I were them, I'd start working on March Madness 2010 right now and skip the month off. Heck, skip the rest of the time you're working on '09.

# 16 tril @ 06/01/08 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behindshadows2


	Again, stop comparing to CH, march madness is its own game and always will be. Work with what is present and have them evolve or better what is already right and make what is wrong, right along with the rest. In otherwords, help them fix what is broken with mature ideas and thoughts, instead pointing the game out as if the whole think was a bust. -Peace

your points are well taken, but I personally never lobbed any criticism at EA SPORTS. Im just hesitant/concerned, based on past experience. You also have to realize that 2K really upped the ante. Again, folks are worried about a let down by MM, and will feel this way until the game is actually released.
Folks are worried that EA overall isnt concerned about the dedicated sports gamer.

Unfortunately I dont know enough about the MM sports title to give any suggestions for improved game-play, features etc. Maybe I should pick up a copy and reintroduce myself to the MM/NBA-LIVE franchise.

# 17 F3rN @ 06/01/08 02:53 AM

I will admit I have not played mach madness since im guessing 04, I really want a college basketball game for '09. So all I have to say is make it a fun game with realistic play, schedules, stadiums and a deep dynasty mode with some highschool games tournaments and also stats for recruits. I just hope EA puts as much effort into this as they do their football games.

# 18 bears5122 @ 06/01/08 02:54 AM

I just don't think it can be fixed in a year. It's just a bad game when compared to what else is out there. But I'll bite:

- Gameplay needs to be re-done from scratch. It's just not good. It plays like an arcade game and there are too many things that can be abused. It doesn't have a college basketball feel at all where teamwork is important. Too much focus on one-on-one, not enough focus on getting open mid-range, 3-point shots. The passing being so delayed and slow makes this tough to emulate real college basketball.

- Dynasty needs to get deeper and more realistic. Simulations scores are way off still and scheduling is screwy. Player ratings aren't even close and the roster size is too small. There aren't enough preseason tournaments and thousands of other minor details that 2K has that MM doesn't. And I can't remember for sure, but didn't this game leave out multiplayer dynasties? I do like some of the options about upgrading facilities, etc.

Those are the two most important areas for me, and the only reason I buy college games. They have a lot of flaws, particularly in terms of gameplay. I can stay here all night and list other areas where MM doesn't stand up to CH. Most who have played both games know, and most chose CH as their primary college hoops game.

I'd love to see this series become great and become better than CH. Unfortunately, EA has shown that once competition leaves, so does their motivation to make a better game.

# 19 KG @ 06/01/08 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behindshadows2


	Again another pointless post! Again, you want to dispute me, but you've never played the game! And there is no dynasty on the demo. So again your points aren't valid or even worth the convo. Play the game, see the dynasty mode first, before trying to dispute someone who has played. Take Care. P.S. I have both games, and completed the legacy on CH2k8 and the Dynasty on MM08. So my comparisons are valid and proved. You've never even played March Madness 08 or 07. I checked your complete gamertag out! Peace!

P.S. I've played both Demos and they weren't enough for me to get it and go into the dynasty mode.

I'll give it a shot when the '09 Demo drops though.

# 20 whittleboy615 @ 06/02/08 10:55 PM

I agree with BShadows. Let's try to fill this thread with comments that can improve March Madness 09.

There is no point in harping on how much you disliked MM03 and the MM08 demo (by the way, demo's are never as good as the actual game) or how EA is out to destroy all sim sports games.

Let's be productive. Complaints will not bring back the College Hoops series, but we can help improve the existing March Madness series with intelligent ideas and feedback. These EA Canada basketball devs are willing to listen to the OS community, so don't turn them off by telling them how much EA sucks and their product sucks and will always suck (especially in feedback threads like this one).

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