NCAA 07 March Madness review

We have to admit we were a little scared about NCAA 07 March Madness for the 360. Frankly, our eyes and fingers still haven't fully recovered from the nightmare that was the console's NBA Live 07. Needless to say, we breathed a sigh of relief when EA's newest next-gen hoopster dropped into the machine and we got busy in campuses all over the nation. While it's by no means perfect (or quite as good as 2K Sports' competitor), it tips off with a fistful of attitude and a gymnasium's worth of gameplay. For that, we're thankful.

There's no doubt that it shoots - and scores - in a number of areas, like the in-depth Dynasty mode, a full slate of Division 1 schools in all of their real buildings (even the little guys), superb integration with ESPN audio and video, and plenty of on-the-fly coaching options to put your cagers in the right spot for open jumpers or ferocious dunks. Of course, since no coaches ever show up on the sidelines or in the huddle, just who's making these calls is a mystery. The folks at EA have even made sure that foul shooting is intuitive, instead of trying to reinvent it like everyone else seems to be doing these days. Good call.