You are missing out if you haven't played Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside.
The bad: A couple glitches sort of affect the gameplay, stadium crowd looks flat and horrible. Auto subs in season mode suck
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Tilt: 9/10
Final Score: 9.2/10 (A-)
It's rare that people talk about the first NBA Courtside instead of the 2nd, but people have to know that this game is still awesome. I know I say this in a lot of my Nintendo 64 reviews, but this is one of the boatloads of treasures the 64 has to offer. No surprise considering this was made by Nintendo. You are missing out if you haven't played Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside.
Okay so get this. When I first heard the main menu, the announcer was explaining the fan rules in it! I've never seen a game do that before. I had some doubts about this game since I had previously played Fox Sports College Hoops '99, another fun basketball game for the 64. Thankfully, when playing it, the gameplay had a gravitational pull on me! Me and my brother played this game upon hours for hours and hours. I had beat him so much that he got pissed when down by 10 or more. That was because I was the Lakers, the cheapest but most fun team in the league. Get this, four players can play at once! Thank you Nintendo 64 capabilities! I also like the limited fouls, because they often slow down the gameplay, although the foul shooting sucks.
The gameplay is simple and enjoyable. The B button lets you shoot. The A button or C up button lets you pass. The Z button makes you run faster, but only for a limited time. The controls are thankfully well schemed and responsive, allowing for some addicting gameplay. When you're runnign down the court and are about to hit the paint, press the b button to unleash a dunk (or layup) with a camera change. This makes it fun for you to piss off your friends or the com.
I do have some complaints, however. Some glitches such as technical fouls that never happened appear occasionally, shots behind the glass are called out of bounds even when they clearly PASS THROUGH THE GLASS! The graphics for the players are smooth, and the audio is flawless, but the stadium crowd looks small, flat and forgettable, although they do clap when the home team makes a shot. Sometimes, the crowd boos when the AWAY TEAM FOULS!! Finally, Season mode's auto subs are slowing down the gameplay.
Still, it can't get much better than Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside. The genius gameplay with smooth graphics and audio make for a must have sports title for the 64. Get this before Courtside 2, it's that good.