ESPN College Hoops 2K5

 Xbox
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
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  1. JoeK.
    Jan 6, 2005
    10
    More bang for your buck. Similar to EA in most areas but crowd noise, college atmosphere and price make this a must.
  2. DouganF.
    Feb 1, 2005
    10
    This the best college basketball game I've ever played. I don't care about recruiting and setting up practice schedules as I'm way more into pure gameplay and classic teams and this game has it all. Good job VC & Sega. I pray you make many many more!
  3. MikeH.
    May 5, 2005
    8
    The Good AND the Bad This game is pretty good and for a college basketball game, great. But major upgrades are needed. GAMEPLAY: It's way to easy to deflect passes because every pass is within reach; if you get between a cross-court pass, you'll knock it down 90% of the time. Maybe this is just the sliders but the passing AI still needs work. Post moves are very good but the The Good AND the Bad This game is pretty good and for a college basketball game, great. But major upgrades are needed. GAMEPLAY: It's way to easy to deflect passes because every pass is within reach; if you get between a cross-court pass, you'll knock it down 90% of the time. Maybe this is just the sliders but the passing AI still needs work. Post moves are very good but the fade gets blocked everytime cuz they don't fade and ESPN still needs a dunk button. Guys can't shoot simple layups when they get it down low and they take the hit way more than in real life on penetration. However, playing aainst someone else is really, really fun and you can have some great games once you get the sliders how you want them. LEGACY: I think it is too easy to recruit above your program's level--let's face it, some programs just will never be able to recruit All-Americans no matter how many 20-win seasons they have. Don't even bother setting your substution patterns or style of play because it seems the computer does what it wants. If your team sucks, everyone plays; when they're good, only 6, maybe 7 play. The offense type selection is limited as well and I don't think the simulation accounts for it much anyway. Another thing I didn't like was the rebounding averages--it's almost impossible to get 10 per and your average has nothing to do with skill or even much with who else is on the squad. It's positioned based (4s and 5s get the most) but pretty much random. GRAPHICS: I bought 2003 and not 2004, so 2005 disappointed me. 2003 had the best player details I've ever seen in any game but 2005 is same old, same old, amybe worse. There only 6 faces I believe and the hairstyles suck. (For those of you who don't know, 2003 had probably 6 different types of cornrows alone). As always, the announcers say all the names and these are substantial--every name in college ball right now plus a few others. But the sound sucks overall as the announcing team is boring and repetitive. Finally, my game broke down really quickly and it freezes A LOT. One of my dynastys just stopped working too. Maybe I got a bad copy but it seems to me that ESPN has a lot more of these problems than EA, who worked them out years ago.… Expand
  4. TheGoon
    Dec 1, 2004
    9
    Awesome gameplay experience. The legacy mode is deep and thorough. The only MAJOR beef I have is in the legacy mode though. I love the fact that the recruiting is handles in-season. However, why are you given a set amount of "points" allocated to recruiting? These points can easily be burned up in a month! They should have given the user unlimited recruiting points. Of course, the more Awesome gameplay experience. The legacy mode is deep and thorough. The only MAJOR beef I have is in the legacy mode though. I love the fact that the recruiting is handles in-season. However, why are you given a set amount of "points" allocated to recruiting? These points can easily be burned up in a month! They should have given the user unlimited recruiting points. Of course, the more recruiting you do in the week, the less time you can spend on training and game preparation. So, why not an unlimited recruiting budget for the season? It will hurt you in other areas if you do too much recruiting...let gamers have that option.… Expand
  5. CoryK.
    May 7, 2005
    10
    This game is the best basketball game of 2005. I probably would give it a 9 but it's only $20 and that's a lot of bang for your buck.
  6. JS.
    Dec 28, 2006
    9
    Great game everything is pretty realistic with what real coaching is like... and I am one so I know... by the way to that guy that wants unlimited recruiting points, there are rules in NCAA that limit how many you have in real life, you can only make so many calls have so many visits etc... they're annoyingly complicated but the game does a good job of depicting them.
  7. JordanM.
    Apr 27, 2007
    4
    Good game but it freezes ALOT during legacy mode. Would be great if you didn't have to reset your game every other time you play it!
  8. LukeS.
    Nov 22, 2004
    9
    Great game, passing is improved.
  9. JimA.
    Nov 23, 2004
    10
    Great game! Lot's of fun! Good AI. Even better than NBA 2K5.

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Best Xbox Game of 2004
58
#58 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Xbox Nation Magazine
    60
    The sweat-while-you-play intensity just isn't there. [Jan 2005, p.92]
  2. Operation Sports
    100
    Well…I'm two weeks into playing this game non-stop and the other shoe hasn't dropped. I can't find a major problem with this game, and I've just been enjoying it.
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  3. GameZone
    90
    Not only a gorgeous-looking game but also one of the sweetest college hoops game to come along this year.
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