Metacritic Games

NCAA College Basketball 2K3 (Xbox)

Take the reigns of your favorite Division I program and build a modern-day dynasty in Legacy Mode, as you recruit the best crop of young talent throughout the nation. Train your squad to run team-oriented motion offenses, overpower your opponents with high post plays and antagonize teams with aggressive full court presses. You call all the shots, from who's going to redshirt to what kind of zone press your squad runs. Guide your team through an entire season -- tune-up in tough pre-season match-ups in preparation for heated conference play where every game counts. Weekly Top 25 and Rating Percentage Index (R.P.I.) rankings track your progress over the course of the season, including a bubble watch as tourney time draws near. [Sega]

Sega
Sports
Players: 4
E (Everyone)
Developer: Visual Concepts
Released December 10, 2002

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

84 / 100

Critic Reviews

100	Play Magazine The Legacy mode is incredibly comprehensive and it's something that'll keep players busy for hours on end. [Jan 2003, p.84]
90	GamePro An entry worthy of its big brother, complete with its own set of smooth controls, elaborate play modes, and sharp A.I.
86	IGN My favorite basketball game this year... If Kush and Visual Concepts can iron out these troubles and focus more on the Legacy Mode next year, this could be among the elite sports games of 2003.
86	GameSpy If I had to choose between the three [versions], I'd go with the Xbox version, purely because of the broadband Xbox Live technology.
86	Team Xbox Gives me that feeling when my favorite college team wins the game with a last second three-pointer, every single time I play it.
85	Official Xbox Magazine The depth of this game is astounding. [Jan 2003, p.70]
83	GameNow Easily the best college hoops game around. [Feb 2003, p.47]
83	Gaming Age Game play is spot on "NBA2k2," which is good and bad at the same time. The controls are tight and responsive, but the force field issue mentioned before makes the game feel constrictive in ways.
80	GMR Magazine Fast-paced, big on fun, and contains the best passing engine on any hoops game. [Feb 2003, p.67]
78	GamingTrend The games control is well done, easy to learn and customizable but players get stuck and this makes for some frustrating moments and the free throw system could have been done better.
75	GameSpot Still has a few rough spots on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball that would make any fan of the sport throw his or her controller in frustration.
70	Xbox Nation Magazine While "NBA 2K3" is a tighter (and perhaps better) game from top to bottom, it doesn't have the same energy, rabid fanbase, or guts as NCAA. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.86]