In the wake of great EA games such as Madden 2002, NCAA 2002, and NHL 2002, EA must have thought they could get away with releasing what can only be described as "absolute donkey crap". March Madness 2002 is what sports fans do not like to see in their games. Here are the bad parts first: The graphics are blurry and distorted, there are about 140 teams, as opposed to the 300+ found in other college hoops games, including those on the original PlayStation.

The gameplay can be incredibly unrealistic at times - sometimes great teams like Maryland or Duke might miss wide open lay-ups. At other times mediocre teams like Florida State will go on hot streaks, shooting 10/10 from outside the arc. The players are blundering oafs, and "fast" breaks are about as fast as a convention of Star Trek fans running to a Taco Bell. I couldn't take the lack of speed, even speedy guards like Maryland's Steve Blake or Gonzaga's Dan Dickau run like sissy boys, never reaching a full sprint.

I can't believe that EA dared to leave out a Season mode, let alone a Dynasty mode. No season mode? Do you remember Madden and NCAA's depth? This game has none whatsoever. Now if you can steal this game or something go ahead - March Madness can be fun for a game or two until one team stops scoring for no reason, and the other player thinks he's big and bad because he hits every shot as the over rated North Carolina or Virginia. Don't even think about spending your 50 bones on this game - get NBA2K2 if you must play some video b-ball.

Overall Score: 5 out of 10