NCAA Final Four 2001 (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.3 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Shahed Ahmed
• Reviewed on: 01/03/2001
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 12/18/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: NCAA Final Four 2001 (PlayStation 2) Review

Like GameDay 2001 and its college football counterpart, GameBreaker 2001, the college hoops series from Sony's 989 Sports division has moved into the next generation with NCAA Final Four 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Despite its solid 128-bit graphics, the Final Four series has taken a step in the wrong direction with the PS2 version of the game. Unlike the original PlayStation version, Final Four 2001 for the PlayStation 2 has sluggish and disjointed gameplay, which hardly makes up for any visual improvements.

NCAA Final Four 2001 for the PS2 shares its features set with its PlayStation cousin. The usual suspects such as the exhibition, season, tournament, and arcade modes of play are in the game. Additionally, the game features over 300 Division I-A teams from top conferences such as the ACC, Pac Ten, Big 12, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Ten, SEC, and Conference USA, among others. It also includes team-specific playbooks and on-court play styles - Temple runs its match-up zone and UNLV plays an up-tempo game. It also keeps track of extensive player and team statistics - everything from points per game to field goals made is tracked for every player on every team. Additionally, the season mode in Final Four 2001 has the coaches' and writers' polls, which show the latest top-25 rankings, and it maintains a bubble watch, which lists teams that are on the cusp of making the 64-team NCAA tournament field.

One of the things Final Four 2001 on the original PlayStation had going for it was that it was one of the fastest hoops games on the market, college or otherwise. Even though the gameplay didn't feel realistic, the games were usually high-scoring offensive affairs. In its transition to the PlayStation 2, the game has lost some of that speed. The slower pace helps develop more realistic scores, but it also accentuates the game's defects. With the half-court game coming into play, NCAA Final Four 2001's flaws on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor are magnified. For example, the computer-controlled players don't act realistically, as they hardly set picks or box out for rebounds. Additionally, there are entirely too many fouls in the game, and most of them occur during jumpers. On the defensive end of the court, pressing the proper controller button automatically faces up the offensive player, as it should. Once in this position, however, you lose control of your man. The defensive player automatically shadows his offensive assignment, and control of the player cannot be regained until the face-up button is released.

Continue reading

Where to buy

NCAA Final Four 2001 (PlayStation 2): $7.95

store	price	in stock?	rating
eBay	$7.95	Yes

see prices from 1 store

Compare prices for NCAA Final Four 2001

eBay

$7.95