User Rating: 6.7 | ESPN NBA Basketball XBOX
It seems like ever since Visual Concepts moved their NBA2K franchise over to the next generation systems (PS2 and Xbox), the game has become steadily worse every year. This year, ESPN NBA Basketball uses 2 of gamings most overrated gimmicks, 24/7 mode and IsoMotion, to trick gamers into thinking that this game is something more than a dunk fest. I don't like to start things off on a negative beat, so I would first like to talk about all the good things this game offers. The player models look excellent, and although the skins look incredibly shiny and glossy, most of the big name players have perfectly re-created cyber faces. A.I. has his one arm sleeve thingy, so does Vince Carter on his leg, and all the Clippers and Cavaliers come complete with their headbands. Graphically, I really have no problems with the game. It's the gameplay that really steams me. First off, let's get this IsoMotion garbage out of the way. Isomotion is nothing more than a silly little device thrown in by Visual Concepts to make the special moves look more elaborate. I don't care what anyone says, it's incredibly easy to keep jamming on the right analog stick until your defender gets so confused, you blow right by him. But beware of the special move button, which, on the Xbox controller, would be the B button. It's basically an auto charge button, since any time you try to spin with the basketball, a defender will always get in your way and draw a charge. Of course, it's not the same for you as a defender, most of the time, the CPU ball handler will blow right past you for a dunk. Expect to see only your computer controlled teammates take charges. And as for a low post game, well, there really isn't one. There are no up and under moves, or any other post moves to speak of, unless you count running around your defender a low post move, which I do not. When it comes down to it, the higher rated player will always be able to dominate the other in the post. So if you have KG going against Rasheed Wallace, KG is going to win the battle about 90 percent of the time, simply by powering Rasheed so much, he can basically push him directly under the basket, then just dunk on him. One other thing that drives me nuts in this game is the pick and rolls that the CPU performs, which result in 3 things: 1. Your defender gets creamed by the screener, and the ballhandler knocks down a wide open shot. 2. Your defender gets by the screen, only to watch as the ballhandler lobs the ball inside to the screener, who easily catches it no matter how many people are inside the painted area. 3. You miraculously steal the pass inside to the screener, by using the always lame "jump steal", which is incredibly affective in this years NBA game as well. I would like to say some things about the sound in this game, but how much can you say about incredibly boring commentary, and non existent crowd noises? People will praise this game for having the ESPN presentation, when, in fact, this style of presentation makes roster menus incredibly painful to manuever. The score overlays and the occassional "bottom line" are nice touches, but who cares about the scores from games played the day before? ESPN's 24/7 mode might be the stupidest thing that has even been passed off as a mini game. The one on one contests consist of either running around your opponent and dunking, or pump faking and running to a spot and shooting. That's about it. If you get burned defensively, you can always run under the basket and block the dunk. Pathetic. Why would I want to spend hours playing incredibly dull one on one games? Most reviewers (Bob C. for example) usually don't bother to point out the fact that most sports games have fatal flaws in their franchise modes, and ESPN NBA is no different. In season 2, 3 games into the season, there were guys like Brent Barry, Toni Kukoc, Kurt Thomas, Zach Randolph, Wesley Person, Stromile Swift, and Jim Jackson in the free agent pool, yet, when I check the rosters of some teams, I see rookies with ratings below the mid 60's! This makes me think that Visual Concepts once again threw together a franchise mode without really caring about it, because they felt everyone would be too impressed with their 24/7 gimmick to give a crap about realistic NBA roster management. I used to be a fan of the NBA2K games, back when gameplay came before gimmicky modes and manuevers. Visual Concepts, I would like you to know that you will never see another dollar of mine, ever again.
