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GAMES OF THE WEEK: COLLEGE HOOPS FOR: PLAYSTATION By Chip And Jonathan Carter Tribune Media Services It won't be long 'til the top hoops squads from 64 American colleges square off in the annual battle royale that's known as March Madness. To get you ready for the real thing, here's a look at the three best college basketball games of the year: NCAA FINAL FOUR, FOR PLAYSTATION -- Tired of your alma mater getting left out of college hoops games? Don't worry -- this one sports almost 300 Division 1 teams. Though you don't get the names of actual players (NCAA rules forbid it), you do get players that accurately represent those on NCAA squads, right down to real-life height, weight and playing style. For realism, the programmers motion-captured a handful of former college standouts, including All-Americans Brevin Knight and Paul Pierce, Bo Outlaw from the University of Houston, Robert Horry of Alabama, and Jerry Stackhouse of North Carolina. If you don't like the players you have, there's an edit mode that'll let you tweak to your heart's content. The game play is terrific, with levels of control unseen in previous hoops games. The 'touch" shooting system gives you pinpoint control -- you're not just lobbing shots at the basket. Icon-based passing, switching and cutting to the basket let you control the movement of any player, with or without the ball. The "6th man" meter keeps track of the crowd -- when it peaks, momentum's on the home team's side; the computer adjusts accordingly, pumping up the home team's performance and making things tougher for the visitors. There are also plenty of school fight songs and chanting crowds adding to the realistic collegiate atmosphere. To let you know who's on top of the game, there's a Top 25 poll, as well as season tracking of team and individual stats (32 categories in all). And in a first for a college hoops game, there's actually a play-by-play announcer. If we could only have one college basketball game, Final Four would be it. AGES 5 & UP. A+ MARCH MADNESS '99, PLAYSTATION -- This one features fewer teams -- 107 Division 1 squads -- than Final Four, but it does have some nice differences. For starters, you get 16 women's teams. There are also 20 historical "all-time" teams. And we absolutely love the "Dynasty" mode, which lets you recruit and coach a team over several years. The coaching strategies and play books were developed with the "Coach's Edge" software that many pro and college coaches use to create and show new plays. The player ratings and stats came from the College Sports Exchange, and are based on actual '98-'99 college rosters for realism. The game play is terrific, and little extras add to the experience. For instance, a "Momentum Meter" senses that all-important "mo" -- when it's on your side, your team's abilities increase; when it's against you, they slip. And the crowd gets in the game with more than 80 chants (like "air ball"). There are also 60 different fight songs that'll keep you humming along. If you like women's basketball and the thought of controlling a team for years at a stretch, this is the game for you. AGES 5 & UP. A FOX SPORTS COLLEGE HOOPS '99, PLAYSTATION -- This was the first college hoops game to hit the market this year, and it's by far Fox's strongest sports effort yet. With great action, huge characters and user-friendly control, this one's guaranteed to be a Final Four contender. You get all the tops teams in the NCAA, with real-life attributes and players. Even though the NCAA forbids the use of real college players' names, you'll recognize the players by their looks and style of play. Among the few drawbacks: Only two at a time can play this one (the other games we mentioned can support up to eight players at once). No matter -- this is a solid hoops game, more for casual players than dedicated gamers. It's worth a look. AGES 5 & UP A- For more tips, tricks, reviews and news, check us out on-line at http://chitrib.webpoint.com/vgames/ . Or e-mail us at [email protected] . Got a question? An inside tip you'd like to share? Write to Chip and Jonathan Carter in care of this newspaper. While they cannot respond individually, they will answer questions of general interest in their column. (C) 1999 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA