Every spring, as the winter snow melts away and the first flowers of the year poke through the damp earth, the productivity of American workers slows to a trickle. Thanks to the NCAA Tournament, office drones everywhere spend the third Thursday and Friday of every March glued to their computer screens or televisions, following the first round with a completed bracket in one hand and a red pen in the other. Judging by the staggering number of office pools, it's easy to see that the event appeals to nearly everyone.

It's funny, then, that NCAA basketball games haven't caught on more. While they're good games overall, they usually seem to follow in the footsteps of their NBA brethren. I was excited, then, to get a look at EA's NCAA March Madness 2005, which has been rebuilt from the ground up to bring the collegiate experience home. With a heavier reliance on play-calling and homecourt advantage, it brings a lot more to the hoops table than the NBA game.


Nearly everything in the game has been reworked since last year's version, beginning with the graphics. The player models have been updated, and they move much more realistically than the previous players. Most impressively, however, is the new lighting engine, which throws gorgeous reflections off of everything from the parquet to the backboards. This is by far the best-looking college basketball game to date, and might even be one of the nicest hoop games period.

Of course, looks are no good if you don't have something to offer as far as gameplay is concerned, and NCAA March Madness 2005 has plenty to bring to the table. The biggest change, and one that is truly innovative, involves the new play calling system, which promotes a team mentality over the play of an individual. As your point guard brings the ball up the court, pushing the D-pad will call up a display similar to the three play calling screens in Madden football. You can then choose the offensive formation you'd like to use, as well as any play you'd like to run.


While this makes setting up and running plays a lot easier than ever before, the offensive team isn't the only one that can change formations. On defense, you can use the D-pad and that same three screen display to pick a new formation, depending on what you think the offense might run. Herein lies one of the best parts about college basketball. Rather than assuming that the other team will simply clear out and let their star player take the game over, you have to try to match wits with the other coach, in a sort of chess match on the parquet. The development team has even talked to coaches at some of the bigger colleges to create school specific playbooks.