NCAA Final Four 2000

A big thumbs-up to 989 for putting in over 300 college hoops teams, so that those Lehigh fellows can feel like a part of big-time college ball. But a monster thumbs-down for using the slow-witted Quinn Buckner as a commentator (although I'd have to say this is some of his better work). Besides that, there are a lot of good features in NCAA Final Four 2000. The coolest part is the Bubble Watch which allows you to track your team's progress in relation to the NCAA tournament. The post-season awards are a nice touch, too. They feature first and second team All-Americans, National Player of the Year and Conference Player of the Year. There are four game-play settings, but it seems like the only way the defense stops you on the Senior setting is by prying the ball loose regardless of what moves you put on. Probably my biggest gripe about the game might seem minor, but the ball always hits the rim. You could shoot a prayer full-court and it will clank off the rim. It may add to the excitement, but it deducts from the quality. Another flaw is the lack of special moves. Sure I can spin the ball in the palm of my hand prior to a free throw, but I can't dribble between my legs or throw a vicious spin move at the defense. Overall, this is a solid game and one of my favorite parts is that DePaul University is finally good.

Help, they sucked all the fun out of this game! It's not quite that bad but the amount of stealing going on is ludicrous. Depending on the difficulty level the computer will a) let you steal the ball at will or b) steal or block your shots (even dunks) constantly. It's very frustrating. It's much tougher to make a shot in general. The ball rocks around the ring and jumps out a lot...too much in fact. Play the game on Sophomore level and it's pretty good.

If you liked Final Four 99, chances are you'll like Final Four 2000. Similar to last year's game, Final Four isn't too heavy on the sim aspects, relying more on fast-paced, arcade-style play. If you're a serious college hoops fan, you may want to hold off to see how March Madness 2000 turns out, but if you're just out for a solid, fun-playing college b-ball game, this'll do you fine. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of college ball, so I'd rather just play NBA Live.

This is a decent game of hoops gone awry. The shot meter is great at first, but a little practice ruins the feature. After two games, I was dropping 50 points on Duke with some small guard from Chump University. You get the idea. Even with this feature off players from both teams shoot ungodly percentages. Still, this game does a lot right, and is pretty fun for a head-to-head clash with your roommate. Check it out if you're a college hoops buff.