Fox Sports College Hoops '99 is a college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 sports

Sports game

A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...

 video game developed by Z-Axis and published by Fox Interactive

Fox Interactive

20th Century Fox Games is a video game publisher and developer mainly concerned with titles based on 20th Century Fox properties, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, the Alien and Predator film franchises, Independence Day, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Avatar, 24, the...

 for the Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64

The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...

. It was released in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 on October 31, 1998.

The game features 120 college basketball teams, multiplayer support for two players, and many of the college championships including the NCAA men's basketball championship

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

. It was the first college sports game for the Nintendo 64. As of 2010, College Hoops '99 has received a compilation score of 55.27% from GameRankings.

Gameplay

The game allows the player to play a single game between any two teams in an exhibition mode, or to play a season mode as the manager of a college basketball team. College Hoops '99 only supports up to two player multiplayer, unlike comparable games of the time which supported four player multiplayer. The season mode contains most of the major college tournaments including early-season tournaments, although the National Invitation Tournament

National Invitation Tournament

The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...

 was not included.

The game uses Fox Sports's TV set-up in order to give the player a more realistic feel to gameplay. However, there is no commentary and there are no fight song

Fight song

A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...

s or other university-specific songs in the game.

Reception

Fox Sports College Hoops '99 received mediocre reviews from critics, who felt that the game was dated compared to contemporary basketball games; the game has received a compilation score of 55.27% from GameRankings. GamePro

GamePro

GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...

 felt that the game had extremely intelligent artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...

 and praised the game overall. IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

's Peer Schneider criticized the arcade-style slowdown that happened during shooting. GameSpot

GameSpot

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

's Nelson Taruc called the game an "incomplete work in progress". IGN's Matt Casamassina

Matt Casamassina

Matt Casamassina is a video game journalist who worked for IGN until April 23, 2010. In his time at the site, he was the author of many reviews and previews of Nintendo games. He resides in Los Angeles, California, is married and has two daughters, Zoe and Fiona Jade, and a son named Rocco Archer...

 noted that the game compared poorly against other contemporary basketball titles, such as NBA Jam

NBA Jam

NBA Jam is a basketball arcade game developed by Midway in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series, and was written entirely in assembly language. The main designer and programmer for this game was Mark Turmell...

.