Fox Sports College Hoops '99

• Release Date: November 01, 1998
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Basketball
• Similar Games: Coach K College Basketball (Sega Genesis), NCAA March Madness '98 (PlayStation), Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside (Nintendo 64)

Game Description

The first college sports game for the Nintendo 64 hits the court with 120 NCAA teams and four different game modes: Exhibition, Tournament, Season and Final Four playoffs. Full Season involves taking one team through 25 games with the hope of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Conference Tournaments consist of the ACC, Big 12, SEC, South Invitational, Big Ten, Big East, WAC, East Invitational, Atlantic 10 or PAC-10, depending on the school's region. The NCAA Tournament is set up like the actual event with 64 teams all trying to be first in line at the "Big Dance."

Three difficulty levels will reflect how strictly rules and penalties are enforced as well as the quality of defensive and offensive play. Other notable features include six different camera views, adjustable half lengths (5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes), instant replays, eight defensive sets, four offensive sets, substitutions (automatic or manual) and statistical tracking with a Controller Pak. Players are rated in fifteen different categories, including handling, rebounding, first step, stamina and both low post and midrange shooting.

Roots & Influences

Perhaps the two most influential college basketball games on the console market were 1992's NCAA Basketball for the Super NES and 1995's Coach K College Basketball for the Sega Genesis. The first 32-bit college hoops title was Mindscape's NCAA Basketball Final Four '97 on the PlayStation. March Madness 98 by Electronic Arts was released in 1998, which was followed by a sequel later in the same year. Fox Sports College Hoops '99 is a Nintendo 64 exclusive title, and it is the first college basketball game for a 64-bit system.

Review: Overall

I'll say one thing, the Nintendo 64 is starting to build a considerable lineup of sports games, even though the balance isn't quite there yet (soccer, anyone?). In an effort to fill the college gap, Fox Interactive brings us the first NCAA sanctioned hoops game for the system, making it the best college basketball title by default. Yet compared to other Nintendo 64 basketball games, Fox Sports College Hoops '99 simply does not have what it takes to make you stop playing the pro titles from either Nintendo or Electronic Arts.

It's not for lack of trying. Having 120 teams (plus hidden ones unlocked by code) is a great start, as is the detail that went into the player ratings -- some athletes are even liabilities in certain skills! In total, there seven offensive attributes: free throws, handling, midrange shooting, first step, low post, three pointers and "jam" factor, which is how well a player can slam dunk or perform an alley-oop.

The four defensive attributes include blocking, rebounding, steals and defensive quickness, which is how close a defender can stay with the ball-handler. Some players will have a lot of these abilities, while some have only one or two. An interesting feature is that these abilities are referred to by letter -- there aren't numerical scores given to each area, so I'm assuming that players listed with the "R" all rebound at the same level. There are also general attributes, including desire (I have no idea how this translates into performance), power, violations (those who have this skill commit fewer infractions) and wind, which affects how quickly your player fatigues.

Yet while the skill system is an interesting addition, the gameplay misses the net. Movement is very slow and the animation is lacking, making for some stiff-looking players. And it's not sluggish because of highly detailed polygons or gorgeous courts, either. Players are blocky and there is really only one court with "pasted" school logos and updated colors around the key and sidelines.

The inconsistent frame rate means you'll be watching the ball in slow motion as it bounces near the rim, and good luck trying to consistently grab rebounds. It's hard to be precise when you press the jump button and there are small delays -- plus you can't tell if you actually grabbed it by sight alone.

Passing is also awkward at first, but it improves once you get used to the system. To be precise, you'll need to use the bottom C button along with the pad or stick to throw to a specific player. You can also use the A button to pass to the nearest teammate, but that means you'll be constantly throwing to the person standing right next to you!

Fox Sports College Hoops '99 isn't up to the level of polish you'd expect from a 1998 release, but with a year or so under their belt, Z-AXIS should be able to deliver a more exciting game with a faster frame rate, smoother animation and a greater variety of options. As it stands, the game is a solid, yet unspectacular effort that doesn't quite make the grade for college basketball fans.

Review: Enjoyment

This game shows some promise, but it should have been worked on longer to iron out the problems. The biggest issues are the frame rate and rough looking graphics. The AI is often questionable with players standing there not knowing what to do, so if you want the best in this area, Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside has the most challenging computer opponent thus far in 1998. For the next release, I recommend a user-defined camera angle, because the six here leave something to be desired.

Review: Graphics

Players have very basic animation and appear to have a low polygon count, but there are individual differences in faces and height. The fans are blurry, 2D digitized images that are similar to what you'd see along the tracks in either Cruis'n USA or Off-Road Challenge. They do animate, however, so it doesn't look as bad as it could have. Surprisingly, the court's surface doesn't look like a hardwood floor due to the blurry textures. Nice features include the Fox Sports score updates and banners on the sidelines.

Review: Sound

There is an announcer with a very limited amount of speech, but he does have an upbeat delivery. He'll introduce teams with: "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your (team name)" and announce fouls with: "Foul on number 34. That's his first." Unfortunately, he's very late on these calls and often pauses in between sentences. There is also a heckler or rabid fan who will yell some comment like "Let's keep this lead!" or "Intentional!" when you're fouled. There is a drum cadence after every basket, but not nearly enough college band music to get you in the mood.

Review: Replay Value

I like the fact you can play a two-game opening season tournament and realistic conference schedule, but there are several features missing. You cannot create a player, there are no polls, your moves are limited and statistical tracking is not very deep. The amount of teams is a big plus, however.

Review: Documentation

The thirty-page manual is very complete and colorful. All of the plays are explained and the layout is easy on the eyes.

Production Credits

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