NBA Live 2003

"EA has made the game as Live as possible."

For a long time I've been a fan of this Basketball series and would definitely favor EA Sports through this kinds of game. From NHL, NFL and some others EA has been improving a number of times and has improved and surely keep on improving with the fast-paced technology we currently have. Basketball is truely a sport whom a lot of people loved from the actual game and taking their imaginary dream team to life in this little medium EA sports made. After all this time I found EA Sports to keep the PC players waiting for their new releases in the sports genre definitely hosting the best and the most realistic but at the same time fun and addicting game. Anyway let's me stop from praising EA and get on with the game.

The gameplay is the best there is and will probably be till the next installment of the seies is out. I think if I try summarizing the game with a word wouldn't be enough the game definitely has made its way to prove all those other basketball titles that they produce the best. Anyway, after installing the game the introduction which is shown and man! It's so cool the players looks a lot like the real one and they move so free in the game with an awesome dunks and blocks as well as the Music it plays with the game makes me think of a number of possibilities in the game. The first one I'll tackles should definitely be the options. You have a couple of gaming options ranging from a quick-game, an online game, the usuall season and playoffs mode as well as the new franchise mode. The franchise mode is the sweetest there is. Much like the season mode but definitely with a lot of options for your team and contracts to keep up with. You'll be incharge with the team you choose for a complete 25 years season/playoff long sealing of trades and transferees that'll favor or add up to the team or cover up the team's weaknesses. The computer AI when trading completely changes though with a lot of points to consider when trading like the net points or trade total. Surely you'll want to see T-Mac playing along side Shack, Kevin Garnett, Duncan and Jason Kidd all together but another point here is those players ages and improves or becomes less effective as they age. Making you to keep up with certain rookies to develop to one day become an either offensive or defensive powerhouse. The games has a fantasy mode which makes you completely choose your own team maybe this replaces the NBA Draft.

Okay, I've been blabbing about a lot of stuffs about the modes alone here's the main thing about gameplay, the actual game. In the game you'll have the option to definitely choose your team and before the loading screen appear you'll have a couple of options to choose from before the game. You can select any Jerseys from your team, take note that even the old Golden State team has ther ''The City'' jersey on them as well as Washinton's Bullet Jersey and a whole lot more. You can also customize your starting line-up as well as the preference and the rules all together. Okay, you click the Play Game and the game starts loading oh! wow! look even a nice little tip to begin with.

Before the tip off the game would start with a little in-game intro before the jump-ball. And when it starts a whole new game would take place. From the characters alone they looks so much like the real thing. Though I found the game to be less challenging with the rookie or starter setting but turn it to All-star or better yet Superstar and they'll run up the best play their team's good at. The computer AI's been the best they'll certainly block shots, box out and take the rebound, do some screens and take a clear shot. Your team mates would definitely run the same thing and would position themselves well at certain plays. You'll be playing a lot of this after witnessing its impressive gameplay. When the players tries blocking the ball they won't just block the ball they'll smash it hard like a volleyball in a volleyball game. Making those smooth crossover is easy in this game and they could even make their own special crossover dribble with an analog stick. The spin move and post up moves are flawless they'll definitely be stuck in your mind for days (oh! and add that wow-ing crossover dribble along side those statement). But I noticed something and that something is probably what I loved in the game. Players like D.Miles, V.Carter, T.Macgrady and a whole lot more could perform a very amazing dunk and each time is very different from the last one. They'll definitely slam the ball hard and even do some hand gestures after it making the home crowd go so wild.

The game's graphic is marvelous, it's so flawless and definitely a very solid one. The characters looks so much like the real one (with some exception though Shack do look like the real one but he looks a bit funny in it). The game's dribble, crossover, spin move and the rest of the stuffs are made completely to perfection. You can also customize the character's yourself like giving Shawn Marion a headband or put some more tatoos on Andre Miller.

The game's audio is definitely another gem in this product. Composed of a variety of songs that completely makes the game even better. The featured guys could even be played(just enter some cheat codes). Though it's a mixed of the Rap and Hip-Hop Genre NBA Live's as lively as it could get. The music has a complete name for itself making me wish for a soundtrack of the game(the game's music is so cool!). Anyway in the game the smashed boards with furious dunks, the dribbling of the ball and even swooshing of those baskets are the best. The commentator has a lot of comments back there and is very good I must say. Always, a different one each time. The commentary, the Back ground music, those simple passess, driibbling, shooting is almost perfect.

Should I say more? The game is perfect and you should get one right now! A game that's worth purchasing because surely your dollar won't be a waster when you bought this game. Definitely EA made NBA Live 2003 as lively as they could. Featuring hot audio and visuals, easy controls, smooth moves and gameplay overall sums of to be the best basketball ever.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/03, Updated 01/05/03