Common Sense Note
Parents need to know this basketball game features scores of college teams from around the country in realistic action. Players will be exposed to some in-game ads, and examples of unsportsmanlike behavior in excessive celebration upon scoring, taunting of other teams, and delivering rough fouls. However, the game really focuses on the on-court play. While the difficulty levels are adjustable, some of the controls, menus, and modes are probably too complex for young players.
Families can talk about the importance of teamwork and good sportsmanship. What kinds of plays do you find appealing: showy breakaways and dunks or coordinated efforts involving the whole squad? Since this game is set in college, families can discuss the role of athletics in school. For online play, parents may also wish to discuss trash-talking, proper sportsmanship, and etiquette for video games.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Andrew Bub
March is the time of the year when hoops fans start going a little crazy. March Madness refers to the yearly college championship tournament that pits school against school and alumni against alumni. Boy, has EA got a game for them! Typical of an EA Sports title, MARCH MADNESS '08 shows off gorgeous graphics -- especially on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The gameplay is tight and the game mostly adheres to realistic play and real basketball strategy. A deep dynasty mode lets you take control of a College team and handle the schedule, recruitment, and more. You can then automatically simulate the season, play every game individually, or even try a combination of the two.
The gameplay works well, but there are oddities on occasion. Some fans claim the computer starts cheating a bit if you get ahead on points, and fouls aren't nearly as frequent as the real thing. The announcing is only fair, because the commentators get an awful lot wrong and sometimes their commentary is a little late.
The controls work well and its easy to run plays, drive it to the hoop, perform an assist on offense, and steal the ball, jam, or block on defense. All the colleges, the colors, and even the mascots and fight songs are here. All told, there are over 200 teams represented. The game links to ESPN, so during the season, if your console is on the Internet, you'll get real-world scores via a ticker at the bottom of the screen. We can imagine players playing each match-up in the tournament -- while they have the actual game on a TV nearby. The overall feel of the game is true, the gameplay is deep, and the teams do play to their real-world strengths and weaknesses -- in short, this game does a good job of imitating college basketball.
If you like this game, you might want to consider College Hoops 2K8. For street ball, consider NBA Street HomeCourt. And for something more offbeat, Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the DS.
Platform Notes
PlayStation 2
Inferior graphics, missing features like management mode.
PlayStation 3
Same as Xbox 360 version -- better graphics and deeper gameplay.
Xbox 360
Same as PS3 version -- better graphics and deeper gameplay.
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
 |
 |
|
ViolenceRough fowls, but no more than you would see on TV. |
|
|
|
|
Language |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social BehaviorEmphasis is on teamwork, planning, and playing well. But also includes examples of unsportsmanlike behavior: excessive celebration upon scoring, taunting of other teams, and delivering rough fouls. |
 |
 |
 |
|
CommercialismTechnically the universities are being advertised here and, like the real thing, there's a lot of product placement and branding. |
|
 |
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
|
|
Educational ValueTeaches about college basketball and kids will also learn something about universities. |
|
|
|
|
