New and Improved

Forget pro-level competitors like NBA STREET V3 and NBA Live 06; basketball's never looked better than in College Hoops® 2K6. Featuring all your favorite schools from Clemson to Virginia Tech, plus fast-moving, realistic, give-and-go action, it's the hottest thing you'll find on the hardwood all season.

Offering a huge variety of game modes (Legacy, Coach, Rivalry, Practice, Pontiac Tournament) and player/university customization options, it's sure to have sports fans cheering. Pick a team, set training regimens and scouting routines, and then work your way up the rankings. With awesome features like these available, small wonder the title hits nothing but net.

Someone's about to get schooled.

Clipboard Commands
The end of the half looms. Albany's down by two. Do you go for the three pointer, attempt to draw a foul and take the free throws to tie the game up, or try for a last-minute jumper? Any time you're in a pinch and want to issue your team commands to run a certain play or up the pressure on the opposition, simply press start. So long as your squad has possession of the ball, you'll be able to access the coaching option and timeout function from the pause menu.

Once a timeout's been called, the Coach's Clipboard interface pops up. From here, you can dictate player match-ups and decide when it's necessary to double team an adversary. Executing substitutions and individual zone replacements is a cinch, too. You can also order players to focus on defense, or change press settings (i.e. from full court to half-court). And, for that matter, demand that your team place an emphasis on rebounding, ball control, shot selection, and/or everything in-between.

Hey—no levitation allowed!

True Players
Athletes now have a gigantic base set of abilities and attributes that affect their on-court performance. Among the most important factors they're rated on are consistency, focus, and confidence. Want to see where a player stands when compared with rivals or peers? From most team roster menus, clicking the right analog joystick pulls up their player card, which displays a player's current skill level in roughly two dozen categories. Areas such as speed, stamina, stealing, and passing/dunking performance are all covered.

Scroll through different screens with the white and black buttons and you come to a page full of grids. This layout quickly illustrates the individual's overall disposition, plus general tendencies and how well-rounded the player's skills are. Via weekly meetings, practice drills, and scrimmages, you can actually develop each athlete's talents, thereby positively impacting their psyche and ensuring they perform at maximum capacity when game time arrives.

Tournament of Champions
Selection Sunday—the day when 65 teams are selected to participate in the NCAA college basketball tournament—is huge. Courtesy of built-in video clips and commentary features, you won't miss a single moment of the excitement, as a broadcast presentation keeps you abreast of announcements concerning your team's placement and seeding. Watch closely and find out who's going to be going head-to-head during each bracket, so you can prepare your players properly for the impending confrontation.

Coming to you live from downtown.

Preseason Predictions
Added mostly for flavor, but an extra any athletics enthusiast will surely appreciate nonetheless, a stunning preseason prediction show (hosted by Greg Gumbel and Clark Kellogg) features authentic voice-overs. Tune in to enjoy individual looks at the preseason Top 25 and associated coaches, plus find out who the first and second team All-Americans are. Don't feel like peeping the screening or need to take a bathroom break? Skip it—you needn't sit through the show if you'd rather jump right into the game.

Midnight Madness
Tradition is important to NCAA athletics. Rather than break with it, College Hoops 2K6 lets you participate in Midnight Madness, a nationwide event which kicks off the college basketball season. Basically a glorified scrimmage, this exhibition game provides a cool way to start out by letting you sneak in some practice while getting to know your team.

Yo, buddy … Watch the hands!

Live and Kicking
No doubt about it—integrated Xbox Live® functionality is one of this game's hottest options. Have access to a broadband connection and an Xbox Live account? Brilliant … You can duke it out with a friend to see which of you is the slickest shot-caller. But there's so much more to experience: online leagues, stat tracking, friends list management … You name it, it's all yours, courtesy of College Hoops 2K6.

Your team's waiting—are you ready?

By Steve Richter