For my money (all $10 of it), College Hoops 2K8 remains the most fun you can have with a basketball game.

Of course, that statement says just as much about the quality of 2K’s College Hoops swansong (superb) as it does about the quality of the competition in this year’s playing field (mediocre).

While many football fans have already gotten used to revisiting retired superstars for a virtual fix of their favorite sport, it would be nice if basketball fans were not forced to carry out a similar fate.

So here are three things current basketball developers may want to take note of and imitate –- these things have helped make College Hoops 2K8 one of those rare, phenomenal sports games that can earn a spot in a gamer’s starting lineup for more than just its freshman year:

Presentation

To call College Hoops 2K8’s presentation "flawless" would be as much a lie as saying Tyler Hansbrough is a complete offensive player.

In the same way that Hansbrough might not measure up to the competition in terms of his jump shooting and athletic ability, College Hoops 2K8 struggles to keep up with today’s games when it comes to graphics and animations.

College Hoops 2K8 also battles smaller issues, like a clunky, confusing menu system and a dull, repetitive commentary crew. But in the same way that you do not expect most centers to be great jump shooters, you can forgive College Hoops for dropping the ball in areas that the other major players at its position simply are not much better at.

I do not mean to say that College Hoops does not have special presentation elements either. College Hoops 2K8 really rises above the competition when it comes to the implementation of "studio reports" via the College Hoops Tonight team of Greg Gumbel and Clark Kellogg.

In College Hoops 2K8’s excellent Legacy mode, Gumbel and Kellogg get together every Saturday in the 2K Sports studio to recap the week’s top action and preview the most exciting matchups for the coming week.

At the end of the season, the two-man team will even host a lengthy "Selection Sunday" special that goes through each bracket of the NCAA tournament in a manner that parallels the duo’s real-life selection show on CBS.

It is amazing that, to date, College Hoops 2K8 and NFL 2K5 are the only sports games to incorporate studio reports into their franchise modes. In fact, it is truly shocking, because this feature really has a way of pulling users into the game world by making them feel like their team is actually a part of a real league -- not just playing games in a vacuum with the other 30-plus teams floating around in an empty space.

College Hoops 2K8's studio reports also provide the simple delight of seeing your team represented in the national spotlight, which is a type of "proud parent" moment that no other sports game can offer.

Given the fact that game companies like EA have access to the ESPN licenses and the colorful Gameday/NBA Shootaround crews, there really is no reason why some of these other sports franchises cannot take a hint from College Hoops 2K8 and inject a little television drama into their own games.

Atmosphere

Other basketball games might have gimmicks like shaking screens and rumbling controllers, but none of them are able to sound or feel quite as exciting as College Hoops 2K8.

The sheer loudness of the crowds in College Hoops 2K8 is impressive enough, but when you start to take into account little details like rumbling bleachers, spirit sticks, pep bands, crowd chants, cheerleaders, etc. it becomes obvious that the atmosphere in College Hoops 2K8 is simply more alive than any other basketball game on the market –- that is, as long you are running a program with strong fan support.

You see, unlike other basketball games where all the arenas are packed with lifeless, monotone crowds, College Hoops 2K8’s spectators actually react to what is going on in your games, both individually and collectively.

Is the other team running you out of your own gym by halftime? Expect to play the rest of the game in silence, where for once, you can actually hear the squeak of the sneakers and the ongoing chatter between players and coaches.

Are you just having a poor season overall? Expect less people to start showing up at the games and do not count on being able to feed off the crowd’s energy.

It is truly impressive that the developers actually went so far with the crowds in College Hoops 2K8 that they even built in an entire "momentum" feature, which can give home teams a temporary boost to their players’ fatigue and attributes as big moments in the game occur and crowd noise reaches critical levels.

Likewise, the road team, if it is low on confidence or chemistry, can be forced into mistakes when the home crowd goes bonkers, which really forces coaches to manage their timeouts and play a more conservative game on the road.

Customization

Only two weeks ago, College Hoops 2K8’s name came up when discussing the history of the "create-a-play" feature, and for good reason -- no other sports games this generation, outside of NHL 08/09, have given users that option.

The truth is, custom plays and custom playbooks are but one of the many great customization features that place College Hoops 2K8 way ahead of the competition.

As great as College Hoops 2K8's play designer is, competitors should also take note of the game's detailed create-a-school feature, which allows the user to choose everything from the team’s mascot, to the paint patterns on the home court, to the outfits of the cheerleaders.

When all their school’s details are finished, users can fill out the coaching staff, create a team of players to fill out the roster, assign a custom playbook for the team to run (filled with custom plays), and even create custom chants for the crowd to yell at specific moments during those crucial home games.

Essentially, College Hoops 2K8 gives users the ability to customize everything they could ever ask for in a basketball game.

The Silver Ferns are going to the Final Four!

And as a nice bonus, users can even post and share all their customized content with other players online through the excellent 2K Share feature. If you check the College Hoops 2K8 forum on this very site, you will find a roster file with all the new transfers and freshmen for the current 2008-2009 NCAA basketball season, which is already in the process of getting a mid-season update from some of our dedicated forum members.

So here is to you, College Hoops 2K8. You may not be the tallest or strongest player on the court; you may not have the hundreds of scouts watching you; and you may not have the the million-dollar sneaker endorsements getting thrown your way. Nevertheless, when it comes down to what really matters most in basketball games –- having fun –- you make it happen with a style and charisma that none to date can match.