NCAA March Madness 06 (Xbox)

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
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Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Bob Colayco
• Reviewed on: 10/19/2005
• Released on: 10/11/2005

Fall is in full swing, and for college sports fans around the country, that means basketball is just around the corner. EA Sports has shipped March Madness 06 nice and early to whet our appetites for the upcoming season. While some great strides have been made since last year, as far as the actual gameplay is concerned, the dynasty mode is still broken, which makes the game feel like an incomplete product.

March Madness 06 puts the focus on defensive intensity, giving the game even more of a collegiate feel.

The newest and most obvious change to the series is the introduction of the lockdown stick, a feature that lets you take any defender so you can play physical, close defense. The way it works is simple. You just walk up to the ball handler and then pull down on the right thumbstick. You'll see your defender press up close to the offensive player, bumping and harassing him as he makes his way up the floor. In practical terms, this lets you shunt the ball away from the basket and toward the sidelines. You'll need to pay close attention to the direction of the ball handler as he changes directions, though. If you don't keep up, you'll find yourself completely out of position, which gives a big advantage to the offense as the ball handler gets free. You can do more than just force the ball handler to one side, however. You can press the trigger buttons to go for a steal, and you can even flop to try to draw an offensive foul. Play your man tight enough and you may draw a five-second violation from him. You can even use the lockdown stick off the ball. If you know which player is the go-to man for the other team, you can use the lockdown stick to deny passes to perimeter players, or you can front the post in the case of big men. This lets you get steals, or it forces players to be farther away from the basket when they catch the ball. In practice, the lockdown stick works great and is fun to use. Having your defender harass ball handlers and denying passing lanes really gives the game a more collegiate feel. When you actually do create turnovers from defensive pressure, it's extremely satisfying.

The lockdown stick meshes well with the introduction of the floor-general feature to defense. In last year's game you could use the D pad to quickly call up six different offensive sets to run. This year you can do the same with defense. If you have a good defensive guard to lock down ball handlers, you can really wreak havoc by calling presses and traps with the defensive floor-general feature. Clicking down on the right thumbstick reveals the spots on the floor where you want to shunt the ball handler to for springing a trap. You have to be careful, though, because if you attempt a trap with poor defenders or against an adept ball handler, he can split the double-team and break out to the open court.

The floor-general feature is still available on offense, of course, and you'll rely on it a lot to break down the various defenses the computer will throw at you. Tossing the ball around or trying to abuse people with the freestyle stick doesn't work as well in March Madness as it does in NBA Live. You'll really need to study how the various offensive plays work to make the most of them. They do work pretty well, though, so it's fun to see your guards break free off backdoor cuts or to see your three-point shooters curl off of staggered screens. The computer will use these same plays against you, so you have to be very aware on defense. That said, we wish it were possible to change out plays on the fly during the game. Unfortunately, the six plays you assign to the floor-general play-calling system at the start of the game are the ones you're stuck with for the duration. There doesn't seem to be a way to swap these out during a game.

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