Product description
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NBA 2K...so real you'll need an agent.
- Endorsed by 1998-99 NBA scoring leader Allen Iverson
- New, innovative free throws system
- Jaw-dropping player likeness and detail
- Over 1,300 motion captured moves and over 100 different dunks
- Player create featuring full facial morphing
- Player emotion for all players including the bench
.com
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When it comes to digital hoop action, there's no doubt that NBA
2K sports the most luscious visuals ever seen in a basketball
game. It's not the best-playing basketball game out there, as it
does commit some serious fouls with its questionable artificial
intelligence. But like NFL 2K before it, this is yet another
sports game that Dreamcast owners will want to show off to
friends.
The clean graphics show some extremely well-detailed players,
stadiums, fans, and even coaches. While the player animations
aren't quite smooth as glass (there are quite a few speed-ups and
slowdowns), the players do move in a fairly realistic manner.
When you see the instant replay of your favorite power forward
delivering a massive dunk, you'll cheer. To complement the
visuals, Sega has added play-by-play and color commentary to
document the on-screen action. While this does get a little
repetitive, this feature ultimately adds to the atmosphere of
realism.
NBA 2K shows some trouble with controls. This is most apparent in
handling loose balls. You'll cringe as you occasionally watch
long passes sail out of the court, resulting in mindless
turnovers. This is especially painful to watch when the Dreamcast
can't complete passes to computer-controlled players. These
stupid turnovers can, will, and do affect a game's final
score--and have even caused a few games to be restarted in
disgust. On the positive side, NBA 2K contains a new
finesse-based method of hitting foul s that requires that you
squeeze the control triggers in near perfect synch.
The create-a-player and coaching options make it relatively easy
to lead your team from postseason TV watchers to championship
ring owners.
While the 2000 season's prettiest basketball game offers more
than just the most delicious eye candy, there is still a
lingering feeling that NBA 2K could've been much better with a
little more fine-tuning. At the very least, while NBA 2K is
recommended, it is anticipated that the successor NBA 2K1 will
offer even more backboard-breaking fun. --Mark Brooks
Pros:
* Spectacular graphics that show plenty of detail
* Play-by-play and color commentary add to the fun
* Easy to play, but different from most console roundball games
* Foul s are a highlight Cons:
* Graphics suffer from occasional slowdown for no apparent
reason
* Controls could be stronger
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Review
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Whether you're a fan of other basketball games or not, once
you've played NBA 2K you can never go back to those other games.
NBA 2K is an officially licensed NBA game from Visual Concepts,
the developer of NFL 2K. It features all the real players, teams,
and arenas, as well as the usual basketball modes, like
exhibition, season, and playoffs. The game also has an extensive
create-a-player option, and it lets you tweak just about
anything. So those of you still living in the past will be able
to create a pretty good facsimile of Michael Jordan.
Visually, NBA 2K is the most dazzling and realistic-looking
basketball game ever. The game moves at 60fps and features more
than 1,500 motion-captured animations and more than 400
individually modeled players. Almost everyone looks just like
their real-life counterpart. When Kobe Bryant, Latrell Sprewell,
Patrick Ewing, or any of the other big names walk onto the court
you can instantly recognize them. Eye movements and facial
expressions add to the frighteningly real look. Players open
their mouths when going up for a dunk, smile after sinking a
, and so on. While these are nice touches are truly amazing,
the only time the camera is ever close enough to appreciate these
small touches is during the player introductions and instant
replays. Even the detail of the crowd in the stands is amazing.
You can see individual people in the stands turn their heads,
clap, and pump their fists in the air. The benched players on
your team jump up and clap and do all kinds of stuff when you put
some points on the board. The coaches and the players watching
and reacting to the action along with the animated crowd not only
make the game look incredible, but it actually makes the game so
much more of a realistic and fun basketball experience.
NBA 2K also does an amazing job of delivering an authentic
re-creation of the sounds of an NBA game, as well. With two men
in the announcing booth, a PA announcer, on-the-court chatter,
crowd cheers, chants, boos, and a little music thrown in, there's
never a dull moment. The play-by-play calls and commentary are
right on the mark. It's quite impressive when you have a
situation where you must sink a three, and you shake and roll a
defender off you, post up at the line and drain the three. The
announcers not only call the play out as it's happening but also
comment on it after the fact with the appropriate enthusiasm.
But for all its graphical and aural touches, any good sports game
has to truly deliver in the gameplay department. NBA 2K does just
that.
The control setting and overall feel of NBA 2K is extremely
responsive and intuitive. The control lets you do a variety of
moves with relative ease. The analog stick gives you extremely
precise control of your player's movement and speed. The ability
to pass the ball, either by using the traditional
direction-passing method or icon passing is excellent - having
both methods available gives you the ability to really work the
ball around the court quickly and accurately.
The list of options and rules that can be turned on and off is
quite extensive. One great feature in NBA 2K is an option it
gives you to set up the game so you're not always the ball
handler. The computer will take the helm, leaving you with the
sole responsibility of setting up for a .
The AI is fairly intelligent, and as in NFL 2K you'll have close
games and blowouts depending on what the matchups are. Your
computer-controlled nents and teammates do a lot of things
just as they would in the NBA. For instance, when the game's
almost over, and a team is down by a few points and out of time
outs, one of its players will intentionally foul to stop the
clock.
The three levels of difficulty really let you set up the kind of
game you want to play. The rookie setting, as the name implies,
lets you familiarize yourself with the control without the
computer stomping you at every turn. The pro setting is the
medium setting, and it's really well balanced. All-Star is pretty
harsh. To succeed you must really use the plays, know which ones
to call, what situations to call them in, and what player
matchups you have the advantage of.
The one thing that may aggravate players who aren't die-hard
basketball-simulation fans is NBA 2K's realistic representation
of the number of fouls that are incurred during play and the
number of passes that miss their mark and find their way out of
bounds. If you are trying to heave a pass way down court, it's
considered a high-risk pass, and it will sometimes not get to
your man.
In the end, NBA 2K's dazzling graphics, superb control, and
strong AI make it the most dynamic basketball video game ever.
However, Visual Concepts fell just short of delivering the same
seamless gameplay of NFL 2K. The game's visuals and control,
while both outstanding, just don't have the same cohesion that
made NFL 2K so flawless. But even with these few problems,
playing NBA 2K will just about ruin you for all other basketball
games. --Ryan Mac Donald
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in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
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