Like last year's entry, 2K Sports' College Hoops 2K8 will appeal mostly to dedicated college basketball fans. Pro players already have the astounding NBA 2K8 available, a mildly better game in some aspects. That's not to say this isn't a fine companion to it, however. A couple of added features make it worth driving down the lane for.

What'll get your attention first is the new Play Designer feature. This lets you create your own offensive and defensive plays, no matter how off-the-wall they might seem. Better still, you can put them to the test against real plays in a practice run to see how well they execute, making tweaks along the way.

Sixth Man Advantage is another key addition. During a match-up, whenever your team goes on a scoring streak, the crowd gets more behind you. A meter builds up and sends them into overdrive (along with the confidence of your team) once you get way out in front, improving your shot accuracy. The problem, however, is that they can get too excited. When you shoot a few bricks and then make a couple of baskets, they whoop it up like crazy. A little more balance would make this feature more realistic. We do love some of the chants 2K comes up with, however. "You need practice!"

College Hoops' other new features are minor at best. Maximum Passing has made the transition from NBA 2K8. On occasion, however, you'll still screw up throwing to someone on the other side of the court. In addition, players icons change too quickly during the transition of a play. It's still an effective technique, but it could've used some tightening. Lock-On Defense also makes its debut, although it's somewhat unrealistic. Say there's a powerhouse shooter with twice the speed of a huge center, able to dart around him in real life. Here, the big guy manages to keep up with him without missing a step. Again, a little retinkering would've made all the difference.

The gameplay is still lively and kinetic, especially when it comes down to nailing a three at the buzzer or delivering a thunderous slam-dunk. However, there's still a huge inconsistency with lay-ups. More often than not, lay-ups are hard to complete -- even if no one's near the player trying to execute it. It's a mild issue, but one that nevertheless irritates -- especially when you're down big points.