"Our ESPN College Hoops 2K5 team really went all out in designing Legacy Mode to make it both comprehensive and entertaining," states Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts - makers of ESPN Videogames. "In collegiate basketball, the coach makes the biggest impact for a school's program. The ability to improve coaching skills by guiding a small program to success, gain respect throughout the college ranks, and receive offers for new coaching gigs at bigger and better schools is something that fans are going to love."
Legacy Mode starts the player in the role of a head coach for a "small-time" college program. The player must learn how to manage the elements of recruiting the right talent, scouting potential players, and teaching suitable skills in order to improve the current team win record. By balancing budget and time resources properly, the gamer will attain specific goals and improve his or her attributes. Players that can continue a successful coaching trend may be offered new positions at prominent colleges. Taking new job offers gives the player better budget resources, allowing for better recruiting and scouting. As they progress through their career, Legacy Mode players will receive new and harder goals to accomplish.
Recruiting the best young talent is the key to success in ESPN College Hoops 2K5's Legacy Mode. Top recruits throughout the nation will have different interests - coaching prowess, playing time, closeness to their hometown, and the reputation of the college. With the help of assistant coaches, gamers can choose to e-mail recruits, visit a prospect's home, attend a high school game, or even offer a "full-ride" scholarship.
As the season progresses, the trials and tribulations of a head coach can be viewed through dynamically generated news reports. After every game, a multiple page news story can be read as writers editorialize the great win or humiliating loss for the player's team. Every story generated is unique and includes a highlight from the user's game. ESPN College Hoops 2K5 summarizes the result of games played, all in the style of the worldwide leader in sports.