Simply incredible, hands down the best in the business.

User Rating: 10 | College Hoops 2K7 PS2
Up until just recently, when EA Sports laid the egg known as NCAA March Madness 08, I was pretty faithful to the EA brand for all things sports related. A friend of mine got me hip to College Hoops 2K7 and you know something? I'm kicking myself for all the hours I spent on March Madness and aggravated that the series never evolved into what 2K's version did. You see, I could sit here and tell you about gameplay and all of that, but the bread, butter and tall glass of milk of this game comes from the Legacy Mode which makes the Dynasty mode on MM seem like a glorified exhibition mode by comparison.

Everything you know about EA's Dynasty mode is blown out of the water by 2K's exquisite Legacy mode which you don't even have to pick up a copy of a next gen to enjoy. Want to play in the Preseason NIT or some other obscure tourney as a warmup for the tourney? Legacy Mode is your hookup. Tired of just diving into a season with a mega power and basically bulldozing your way through with no challenge whatsoever? Then play Legacy's "Career Mode" and get a true understanding of what today's coaching legends had to go through coaching up lesser known schools to get to the powers they're at now OR just stay where you are and turn them into a powerhouse. Now the beautiful part about this is that the recruiting is DEEPER than a freshly dug hole in a cemetery. EA would have you believe it's something as simple as "point, click, send" and if your school's got enough juice, you're in like Flint. Even if you're rolling with Eastern Illinois (virtual unknown even to the alumni of the school). With 2K's version, you're going to seriously struggle to get the blue chippers, but if you know even a little about basketball, you'll be able to assemble a squad talented enough to not just compete, but win enough to get you some attention from the megapowers like Duke, UNC, etc., etc..

The courts are far from generic, even when you're talking about schools in towns where even the states themselves deny their existence. 2K created what would be the basketball equivalent to NCAA Football 08 with its 2K7. Oh and their coaching mode is beautiful for the player who simply wants to sit back and call the shots. Unlike EA's, you're gonna have to actually call plays, manage your subs right and be mindful of the little things you do because one good run by the other team has you all but ready to pack up and head home. You'll be able to control what your team focuses in no during timeouts, so this isn't totally taking control out of your hands. Now generally the rule of thumb with sports games is that when they release the following year's model, you can the old one. With this one (and some of you can call this a quasi-spoiler for the 2K8 which I guess had bad juju with Oden on the cover), you'll want to keep it and not feel bad. Because along with all the things I mentioned, during the end of your seasons in Legacy Mode, you'll be able to see where other coaches are going and why. If your coach is good enough, you'll be able to see who's wanting you (along with your assistants, oh yeah, your assistants get offers too).

Bottom line's real simple here folks. This is the best college basketball game on the map right now. It's got a really good price that's probably even better now that it has been out for a while, so pick it up. NOW. *Homer rage tone* Do it… 