Traditionally, fans of college basketball have had two options to get their fix. EA sports, the ever expanding juggernaut of annual athletics and their ever vigilant rivals, 2K sports. In fact, in matters of critical acclaim, 2K's College Hoops series easily outperformed EA's meagre titles. Last year, the nature of the playing field changed as 2K bowed out of the race and now EA has the only game in town for those who crave the unique flavour of college ball. To their credit, EA hasn't let the fact that they've been uncontested for over a year stop them from adding a few new features and couple of important refinements. Still, with College Hoops 2K9 and on being cancelled for all foreseeable futures, has EA grown lazy with its guaranteed dominance of the NCAA market?

Gameplay:

EA already has a traditional NBA series, as well as the NBA Street series for flashy arcade style action. So NCAA 2010 plays it straight and does nothing but pander to the true college ball enthusiast. Every mode, option and menu is dedicated to the college experience and EA takes strides to ensure that the differences between the NCAA and pro ball get center stage. Once players get past the opening cinematic and press start, they are presented with a loading screen. To pass the time you're give a single character model, a ball and a hoop. It's nice to be able to pass loading times away with a little dunk and jump shot practice, and the waits are not too long. Once the menu appears, if this is the first time you've played with a particular profile, the game asks for the player's favoured team. That team becomes the selected default in the Play Now mode, and just about everywhere else except for Dynasty mode. It's a neat touch, and shows that EA understand the importance of team loyalty for the fans of NCAA.

Speaking of the modes, there are really only 7 to speak of but they plum the depths of college ball pretty well. Outside the mandatory Play Now mode and the returning Dynasty mode there's a straightforward Tournaments mode which will let you just play one NCAA tournament or just about any of the pre-season tournaments. There are standard Xbox Live modes with straight matchmaking as well as a decent lobby system. There's also the nifty Rival Challenge which will set you up online with someone who could be considered your "rival". There's four different kinds of rivals: those who use your team's rival school, the top 25 players online, those who are using a team from your conference and those using the exact same team as you. Xbox Live can be a lonely place, full of strangers and this seems like a great mode to help build a community around NCAA 10. In fact, anyone using the actual Xbox Live modes seems like an unlikely event when the Rival Challenge options are available for finding opponents whom you might have a bit more of a grudge with.

Once players get into a game, they can expect a return to form from last year with a few refinements and one major addition. As explained in a video tutorial starring Jay Wright, coach of the Villanova Wildcats, NCAA features "Motion Movement Control" which is a fancy way of saying that you can now perform on-the-fly offensive play calling to open up scoring opportunities. It's got a cool factor that really appeals as players get to watch their AI partners scramble for position. The power of this control will definitely make or break some games online but it probably won't get used much offline. On the default difficulty level the computer AI isn't exactly intimidating and players can more or less one button your way to victory. The X button pulls triple duty to block shots, steal the ball and take shots of your own. This means that a player can easily win a game the first time they play, by 40 points while completely ignoring strategy and mashing X furiously. Sure, you foul a lot that way, but it usually works out in your favour. This AI problem isn't necessarily disastrous however, as there are much harder settings available that will force you to learn the strategic elements of the game and the online community is punishingly skilled. Other new gameplay mechanics are equally useful and impressive such as an important tweak to the pick and roll gameplay, which was far too easy to exploit in previous instalments, and the addition of freestyle passing. The last and most exciting touch is the Dynamic Updates option which will give you a stats update every Monday, and download new plays for your motion offense.

Graphics:

A graphical improvement is definitely apparent over last year with improved bloom effects and cool new fabric physics for the jerseys. The face poser technology, on the other hand, looks flat and boring with very little expression. Worse yet, everything that isn't the players seems stuck in a polygonal 2002. The cheerleaders that are trotted out at halftime are laughably static and the coaches look like they should be speaking Simlish. Those little touches don't matter as much when you're playing the game though, and things on the court looks pretty good. Overall, the game looks and feels just like a college basketball broadcast.

Sound:

EA's other big innovation this year isn't one of great design but rather of cold, hard cash. EA spent the big bucks and acquired both the CBS and ESPN license to give their games that real television feel. It's a double edged knife. The presentation looks, sounds and feels just like a televised broadcast lending a real air of authenticity to the process. On the other hand, listening to real world commentators like Brad Nessler repeat the exact same phrase, word for word, three fouls in a row has the opposite effect. Apparently over 2000 lines of commentator dialogue was recorded, but sometimes you couldn't convince us that there's even 2000 words being spoken. The college band music constantly piped in might be an old trick, but it continues to be an effective one. The sounds of the court themselves are a little understated, but they get the job done.

Longevity:

Speaking realistically, this game only needs to last you one year and an upgraded version will almost certainly be available. If that's the goal, NCAA 10 fulfils it admirably. Dynasty mode alone is enough of a single player to keep you hooked that long. Add in four player local multiplayer, standard online play, Rival Challenge, and Tournament play and you have enough to double that. If the Xbox Live community wasn't almost certainly split across four or five versions of this game, you could even consider it a perennial favourite.

Overall:

Credit where it's due, just because it won by default, doesn't mean EA didn't produce a winner with NCAA 10. Those who love college basketball will be exceptionally pleased at all the pandering, and those who aren't might just gain an better understanding for the strategy of the game.