NBA 2K2

"A game well worth the wait......."

The NBA series on the Dreamcast has been well acclaimed. The anticipation for this game has been tremendous. This game is a solid effort by Visual Concepts and is a must have for any basketball fan. On to the review...

GRAPHICS: The graphics on this game are great. Every arena has it's own distinct feel. The players look like their real life counterparts. They are very detailed. The player's skin textures also are a lot smoother. There is no breakage on the arms or anywhere else. Player's sizes are also reflected better in this version than in 2K1. They are muscular, but not too muscular. Jahadi White looks bigger than Michael Jordan, but he doesn't look like Humpty Dumpty. Last year's version had some players looking awful. There are all new shooting animations as well. There are baby hooks that look natural and players follow through better on jumpers. On the downside, Jordan has no goatee and no armband. The graphics look a lot like 2K1, but much cleaner. Also the score display is improved and statistics come up right after a basket.

SOUND: My one gripe with this game. It seems rushed and repetitive. I don't think Visual Concepts even came up with anything new except '' Jordan '' . The announcers repeat some of the same things and sometimes there is a delay in speech. The background music is ok, but this is strictly 2K1 all over again.

GAMEPLAY: The meat of the game. Players play like the real deal. T-Mac is explosive to the hoop, as is Vince Carter. Jordan's fallaway is automatic. Allan Houston loves to comes off screens. Basically if they do it in real life, they do it on this game. The AI is tight. They know when to use zone defense and when not to. You will have to think to get baskets. The computer really takes advantage of mismatches. Playing defense is fun too. You can now step in passing lanes to steal the ball. The alley-oop is easier to pull of too. The Franchise Mode is deep again. The only drawback is that trades made on the main part of the game don't carry over. So no Rod Strickland to the Heat unless you do it in Franchise Mode. The only downside I can think of other than the Franchise trade thing is that a lot of shots seem to hang on the rim and then fall in. But this is a MINOR gripe.

REPLAY: The game has a high replay value. Whether you play by yourself or with others, you will have a blast. Playing online should be loads of fun too.

SUMMARY: If you like basketball, get this game. A great final effort from VC. They could have improved the sound a lot and possibly the graphics, but with NBA 2K1 being so good last year, they made it hard on themselves. Think of this game as NBA 2K1.75 .

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/01, Updated 10/25/01