NBA 2K3

"best Basketball game on the Cube, but that doesn't may much..."

I have not enjoyed Sports games. Ever. Once I tried out all these sports games that my friends gave me for the Genesis and Super NES, and felt like I should burn them, I have tried to stay clear of them. However, once the dawn of a new century came and went, I have become a tentacled man, and my interest in sports began to grow. When I first got my Dreamcast, I purchased a few of the Sega Sports 2K titles, and fell in love with them. Now, after Sega’s sorry demise from it’s own console, the Visual Concept’s great sports titles have made their way to Playstation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube. Being a very cheap man, I decided to purchase the Gamecube version, which is now less than the PS2 and Xbox versions, even now, with almost a full year past since these games came out. There are two main reasons for this: the Gamecube version is an inferior game when compared to the other versions. Though by no means a bad game, it could have been much better if they spent more time on it. Out now, this is the best basketball simulation on the cube, and I do mean simulation.

Graphics: 7
Sports games are generally never known to be the graphical powerhouse on any system, but 2K3 gets the job done. In comparison to the other versions, the textures are a bit better than the PS2 version, but not ad good as the Xbox version. The interface is something that really got an overhaul this year, with Visual Concepts getting a license from ESPN to use their logos. The ESPN logo is from head to toe everywhere, in the menus and in the stadiums, with huge ads. One of the worst looking parts of the game is the arena(s), which look drab and boring, mostly because it looks like you play in one arena ever game. There are no differences between any other arenas that you play in, unless you play Street Mode. While playing a normal game outside of Street mode, you have the same staple surroundings. Even if you’re the Nuggets facing the Cavs, the arena is pretty packed, which can be pretty unnerving. On the sidelines, they added an extra row of polygon made spectators instead of all sprites (which are improved compared to the Dreamcast versions little fuzzy things) and overall adds a little bit of cheer compared to rest of the screen. But it does get a little screwed up, because while your moving up the court in some view modes, models disappear from the back and appear magically in front of you. The player are look different, but a few of them look almost nothing like their real world counterparts, and a many of the rookies save the same face once you get far into franchise mode, you will see it too.

Gameplay: 8
This is the premiere game if you want a simulation type basketball game. You have a few game modes; Quick Game, Tournament, Franchise, Season, and Street. Quick game is also the only way to play Sega Sports Challenge. In Franchise and Season, you pick a team and run it, Franchise for 15 years or so, Season for one year. Street Mode is just like what it sounds, where you can choose the park that you want to play in, weather effects, etc. and choose the amount of points to win a game is. (1 and 2 point shots only.)
The bulk of the game comes from Franchise mode, which gives the player control over every game of the season. While not playing the games, you are your teams of choice general manager, so you can make trades with other teams, check out player and team stats, see news about injured players or other coachy things. Every game is kept on record, and everything that goes around the league. NBA2K3’s franchise mode is the best that any game company has every put up, so enjoy it. Sega Sports challenge is the closest thing to Online play that you will find in the Gamecube version, which allows you to set up a user profile, and post up your scores up on Sega Sport’s website. A little nifty, but Gamecube owners feel left out that there is the only system without online play.

Sound: 7
The commentary is actually one of the worst parts of the game. After only 3 games, I think I heard every single thing that they had to say in slow-mo replays. I mean, after hearing “He pulled a nice pump fake” over and over again gets pretty damn annoying. You can completely turn off commentary, and pretty much every single noise that isn’t being made on the court; so you can hear sneakers hitting the freshly toweled floor make the familiar squeaking noise. None of the basketball players talk, but sometimes, when one of them shoots a far three pointer, or blocks a shot, you can hear a coach’s voices saying “good D” or something like that. (I’m sure that it is not the real coaches because there is only one voice.) However, while going around the main menus, you get to hear the same music that they put on the highlight reels for basketball games on Sportscenter.

Fun Factor: 7
This game offers anyone who has a cube and 4 controllers a great Basketball multiplayer experience. However, because of no online play on the Gamecube version, playing it now, without a roster update by Sega coming for the Cube, it looks like you will need to find 3 friends who would rather plays the sometimes frozen version of 2K3 rather than the Xbox or PS2 version. Nothing can really make you want to buy this version for Gamecube. If you didn’t plan on playing online anyway, then this still would not be worth buying unless you feel that your favorite team got worse then this year. That is was I think sports games cannot last over an extended period of time. If you want a basketball game on Gamecube, this is it, but why would you buy a older version anyway?

Graphics: 7
Gameplay: 8
Sound: 7
Fun Factor: 7

Reviewer’s Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/03