NBA Courtside 2002

"The perfect basketball game for the superficial; a fun game for the rest of us."

GRAPHICS
This is the crowning jewel of the game. No other game on ANY other system can claim to have more realistic faces than NBA Courtside. Shaq looks like Shaq. Kobe looks like Kobe. You can tell that it's MJ doing an unrealistic 20ft sky jam on your monkey butt without just from the back of his head. Point is, you'll swear that they did a 3D map of virtually every character just for this game. However, step away from the faces and you've got good-mediocre graphics. Animations are decent, but as with many other games, they lead to problems. Bodies are seemingly done through a generic input process, as many players seem too big/buff, or with the case of Shaq, too ''skinny.'' Overall though, I have to say that the graphics are pretty damn good.

SCORE: 9/10

SOUND
Ugh. The commentary sucks. Easy as that. Van Earl Wright, a Fox Sports News anchor, does the color. Wright has a decidedly monotone voice. While this is decent when he goes over highlight reels, it simply does not work in a fast paced game. In fact, the overall commentary, from the starting line-up to the closing statements feel unnecessarily slow. Music is forgettable. Court sounds are spot on and can't be knocked.

SCORE: 6/10

CONTROL

Post up. Steal. Crossover. Alley. C-STICK PASSING! Seriously, that's what makes the controls stick out. While not perfect, it's damn good. See a guy streaking down the top right side? Run to the bottom, bringing a defender or 2 with you, and throw it over for a sweet dunk. However, like with other BB games, animations can lead to frustration when your guy dribbles out of bounds on a cross over or steal play. Half court violations are also burdensome when your guy steps back after a steal.

SCORE: 8/10

GAMEPLAY
Houston, we have a problem. Set the game to anything more than 5 minutes and you get astronomical scores. Sorry, but I expect the computer to be smart enough to realize that teams will not score 300 points each in 12 minutes quarters. Otherwise, the oops are there, fast breaks and post ups are viable moves. It's a bit easy to score and hard as hell to stop the computer, but overall, the gameplay isn't bad.
As far as modes go, you have Arcade, Season, and Quick Play(Exhibition). The create-a-player option is wonderful, as you can get down to nitty gritty details, from the size of the nose width to how the tape goes on your fingers. The only complaint about custom characters is they do not exhibit facial expressions like the roster players.

SCORE: 6/10

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OVERALL SCORE: 7/10 (not an average)

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Recommendation:
If you have friends to play with, or if absolute realism isn't necessary, get the game. I play it a lot and I do think it's fun. In time, you get used to the sound and it doesn't detract from the game. However, if you insist on realism, go with NBA 2K2. If graphics are what your after, you won't find prettier (or with the case of Popeye Jones, uglier) faces than those found in Courtside.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/02, Updated 06/10/02