Tournament Dreams

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs

GAME DESIGNER:
GAME DEVELOPER:.400 Software Studios
GAME PUBLISHER:.400 Software Studios
Copyright 2003, .400 Software Studios

.400 Studios’ Tournament Dreams is the most complete college basketball simulation to come along in ages. 320 American universities complete with recruitment budgets, pre- and post-season tournaments and academic suspensions.

Though clearly designed with fans of basketball in mind, even amateur fans will appreciate the attention to detail that the developers have. Your players are more than stats sheets. They have photographs and preferences, as well as skills. If you choose to coach a minor college team, you will have a small budget and modest goals set for you. If you choose to coach a powerhouse like Duke or UCLA, the powers that be will have higher expectations for you.

You play this game as an individual coach, not an institution, so you may start with one team and find yourself fired after a poor year or courted by other colleges if you work wonders.

As a coach you can simply simulate the games trusting in the computer to make the right calls, or, as in the rest of .400 Studios’ excellent sports sims, you can take a more hands on approach directing substitutions and calling plays. In the off-season you may find that ull court press you put on a high school star going to waste as the cad decides to go pro instead of pursuing higher education.

With over 300 teams, the game crunches a lot of numbers and runs slowly on machines with modest power. On a 700 MHz machine, a full season can take hours – even if you simulate every game. But if you have the time to put into this title you will find a deep and satisfying simulation.