NBA Live '95

"The Best Basketball Game for the Genesis"

Basketball games on consoles suck. That's almost a given. They're just never done right, and quite often done completely wrong. NBA Live '95 changed all that. It's a great game offering great basketball on a console, something the NES or SNES never could say.

The game has options. You can play against with or against another player or alone or together against the computer as expected and with a four-player adapter can introduce different combinations (1-vs-2, 2-vs-2, 1-vs-3, 3-vs-computer, or 4-vs-computer). You can play individual games, a playoff tournament, or even a season (abbreviated seasons or even a full 82-game season). In season mode, you can trade starters to other teams and keep up with a large host of statistics and rankings. Injuries and fatigue are on toggle so you can keep these or dump them if you want. And then there comes the game itself.

The game allows you to utilize plays characteristic to the team you're playing. Every NBA team is there and so are all the names (later versions wouldn't feature some players due to endorsement contracts). The players stats are there, as well as their past stats so strengths and weaknesses can be studied and considered and appropriate offensive and defensive strategies devised. The control is excellent and the game-play smooth. And it's realistic. You're playing basketball, not some pathetic two-on-two jam-fest crap. This game was designed by people who understand and appreciate the game. That's a rarity in the video game industry.

My only complaint is probably that while difficulty settings are extremely tough, it is eventually possible to pull of some plays that you shouldn't. Half-court shots are probably 3 times more likely to be successful than they should be and rebounding is difficult, but at least it does provide the need for defense and ability rather than just button-pushing.

NBA Live '95 is as close to perfect that any basketball game has ever been for the Sega Genesis or any console for that matter. It's worth buying and treasuring because they don't make sports games like this very often.

Control: 9
Game-play: 9
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Originality: 7
Replay Value: 10
OVERALL: 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/05