ESPN College Hoops

 Xbox
ESPN College Hoops Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: ESPN College Hoops brings you all the tradition, pride, and competitive spirit of real college basketball with authentic college gameplay, 3-D crowds, and over 100 mascots. Compete on both sides of the court with the new IsoMotion, listen to stellar commentary from Jay Bilas and MikeESPN College Hoops brings you all the tradition, pride, and competitive spirit of real college basketball with authentic college gameplay, 3-D crowds, and over 100 mascots. Compete on both sides of the court with the new IsoMotion, listen to stellar commentary from Jay Bilas and Mike Patrick, or dive into the robust Legacy mode that allows you to recruit year-round. ESPN College Hoops has real play, real emotion, and real heart.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Play Magazine
    100
    The best overall college basketball game on the market. [Jan 2004, p.80]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Gaming Age
    91
    The best basketball game on the market today. The depth of the Legacy mode will keep you busy for months, and it provides the gameplay to match.
  3. Operation Sports
    89
    The best college basketball game this year on any system.
  4. GameSpot
    84
    With solid gameplay feel, exceptional customizability, and a deep legacy mode, ESPN College Hoops is easily recommendable to any college basketball fan.
  5. GameZone
    80
    From the opening sequence, I could tell this was special.
  6. GamePro
    80
    There are some great innovations, like the lead pass from this year’s ESPN NBA game, that are sorely missed in the College version. This becomes a crucial factor considering rival March Madness bases its game engine on basically the same one as its newest NBA Live installment.
  7. GameNow
    50
    Compared with the graphics in "March Madness," ESPN College Hoops' visuals look a few years old. [Jan 2004, p.63]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. JerryN.
    Nov 15, 2003
    9
    Basically the college version of ESPN NBA Basketball. The gameplay is great and Sega has integrated the college atmosphere into the game Basically the college version of ESPN NBA Basketball. The gameplay is great and Sega has integrated the college atmosphere into the game successfully. I know there are minor control issues but Legacy mode and the Slam Dunk contest put this over the top.… Expand
  2. TremereV.
    Nov 16, 2003
    7
    Let me explain why. The more I have played this game, the more I have begun to see how choppy the gameplay is. No matter what the camera Let me explain why. The more I have played this game, the more I have begun to see how choppy the gameplay is. No matter what the camera angle is, the gameplay is too jerky and choppy. Sad. Yes, there are sliders to adjust the speed of the game (NORMAL is the default setting), but FAST really makes the players move around like an ant farm, and SLOW makes everything rtdiculously slow. I am sorry to say that this product is looking more and more like last year's product. In fact, that inbounds-steal glitch has popped up again. Once I caught onto the defense, I began to see that it does just about the same thing on every inbounds play. There is no slider setting that can fix this kind of crap. I'm sorry, guys. At first I thouht this game was great (no, I don't buy the "the game will grow on you" crap), but the more I have played it the more I have seen how limited the animations are, how so many frames are missing from the animations, how the players run around like they are on steroids and turn on dimes. Sega, why can't you make a decent college basketball game? Why did you spend so much time expanding the franchise aspect of the game, and so little time with the gameplay, cameras and AI? Guys, I'm returning this piece of garbage. I've played MANY basketball games over the years, and while I will say this game is in SOME ways better than Sega's NBA version this year, the product they put out CLEARLY feels rushed to incompletion, and the gameplay is really very shallow once you have played a couple of games. At first I thought the cutscenes were cool, but now I think they look very cartoonish. You'd think that with the XBox, the graphics (stadiums, players, atmosphere) would look pretty realistic, but that is not the case here. I mean, what the hell is this "let's make the mascots taunt the coaches" crap? How realistic is that? The animation with the coach getting upset on a foul is rediculous. Just one animation. Sad. The free throw mechanism is plum stupid. Also, I noticed a couple of times where the stats were not correct in games, like when one of my players had four points, and after making a three he STILL had four points. I'm not going to lie about this. I was really looking forward to getting this game, but sadly the previews that come out anymore at sites like IGN, GamePro, etc. are very vague (intentional), and don't provide nearly an accurate picture of what the games are really like. There is no doubt in my mind that screenshots are doctored, and only the best screenshots taken are the ones that are shown. I understand, it's a business. But, wow, this business seems to become less honest every year. Hell, I've even seen reviewers writing articles in such a fashion that they seem "just like one of us" with the language they use. Anyway, I hope the rest of you have fun with this game. This could have been a great game, but this not has been Sega's year, that is for sure. I don't really see the sense in simulating my games, because this really isn't a prodct intended for that kind of game. If you want simulation you buy OOTP5, or something along those lines. Oh well, perhaps the upcoming baseball game will be decent. At least I'll be able to get my money back … Expand
  4. Sweety
    Feb 15, 2004
    0
    sega makes long skinny human figures with weird proportions and hands look like fly swatters. since the dreamcast days they havent changed sega makes long skinny human figures with weird proportions and hands look like fly swatters. since the dreamcast days they havent changed their style and it's time to hire a new designer. if you want decent graphics and a realistic representation of athletes in a game then look at what EA is doing. their college hoops game looks and sounds better. so i give an absolute zero because this game has been given a huge amount of love by the press and particularly IGN...i used to trust IGN but they reviewed this game like the coming of jesus, and infact it is a major crap in a box. don't believe me?...just watch a trailer of it and see for yourself. EA rules!!!… Expand

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best Xbox Game of 2003