Tip Off is Here

The NBA pre-season is upon us, Midnight Madness tipped off last Friday and Michael Jordan may or may not be considering another comeback. In addition the newest crop of NBA games recently hit store shelves, and ESPN College Hoops 2K5 is coming into view as we approach its November release. It's a great time to be a basketball fan and an even better time to be a basketball gamer.

Both ESPN NBA 2K5 and NBA Live 2005 have a lot going for them in their depiction of five-on-five roundball play. ESPN's title features solid game play and an innovative coach mode known as Full Authority mode, where you can control the outcome of the game, without having to necessarily play the game all the way through. EA Sports' NBA Live features a full NBA All Star Weekend feature, complete with a dunk contest and three-point shootout.

So which one was the better game? That's been a point of much contention this year. Some gamers love ESPN's attention to detail and in-depth franchise mode, others can't get enough of creating dunks on the fly in NBA Live's All-Star mode. If you're still on the fence, check out GameSpot's review of both games (ESPN NBA 2K5 review, NBA Live 2005 review), written by our resident in-house roundball expert, Bob Colayco. But you don't have to take our word for it. If you've got an opinion on this year's better b'ball game, let us hear it!