NBA 2K3

"The best of the best"

NBA 2K3 is the latest installment of the NBA franchise for the PS2 by Sega. As of late, Sega has been dominating the home console basketball market. The burning question coming into this year is will this year's latest installment be able to hold off EA Sports' NBA Live 2003, which boasts the Freestyle control? This review will address this issue as well as give insight as to what makes this game a must-have.

Presentation: This is hands down the best looking basketball game to date. Players interact with each other. The models look so realistic that you could swear you're watching television. Players like Ben Wallace are able to have their hair change, so one game he might have cornrows, the next game he might have the blow out afro. The cutscenes really add a lot to the game too. Sega uses the ESPN license very well. At the bottom of the screen they have a sports ticker that advertises their website, etc....Sega added a pregame, halftime, and postgame show, which really adds to the realism of the game. The studio host actually talks about your player and what he's done in the game. They have also introduced a bio-rhythm, which basically tells you if your players are hot or cold. This can help you decide who to substitue in and out of games.

Sound: One of the reasons this game doesn't get a perfect score is the sound. Now everything soundwise is great and authentic. The fans sound real, the studio host is great........it's just the commentators. I'm just really tired of those two guys. It's like NBA2K2 all over again. Not that they're too bad, but it would be nice if Sega would mix it up a bit and get some new announcers.

Gameplay: This basically makes or breaks the game. There are SO many options this year, it's not even funny. You have the triple threat position, pivot mode, post up mode.....Sega really did a good job with this. Another great feature they added is the ability to double clutch on shots. I know there are some out there who think that this doesn't make a bit of difference, but it does AND depending on who you control, they can do different moves. In one game, Chauncey Billups kept driving to the hole and double clutched a lot, which helped him draw fouls. I tried that with Allen Iverson and not only did he double clutch, but since he's known for doing that, he actually spun in mid-air and threw the ball in the hoop over his head! The same thing goes for crossovers. Iverson and McGrady are just sick with crossovers and it really doesn't help them get free. Jordan and others are good, but not as good. Player ratings really do matter in this year's version. Passing the ball is the only thing I'm still learning how to do well, but it's nice to see they've added new animations for all the different passes. Sometimes though, making the simplest pass is a pain. Freethrows are really hard. I was playing games on my Dreamcast and it's hard to shoot freethrows on this compared to that, but with time you'll get the hang of it.

Franchise Mode makes the game really shine. This option is so deep, it's not funny. You can put players on the trading block, scout foreign players.....basically if it's done in real life, it's done on the game.

Replayability: This game has TONS of life. You will be playing this until next year's version or until NCAA 2K3 comes out, but even then you can draft players from the NCAA game onto your NBA game. You have so many games to play.......street, exhibition, franchise, legend games......this is a really deep game.

Comparisons to NBA Live 2003: I had NBA Live 2003 and I took it back. I didn't get too deep with it as far as franchise goes, but here's my synopsis.

Presentation: NBA 2K3 gets the nod here. Live looks light years better than before, but it just felt that the players looked better from a distance than up close. The cutscenes in Live looked a tad awkward too. 2K3's just felt more seamless to me. The player models looked good no matter where you were.

Sound: Live takes it here. I really enjoyed Live's soundtrack and there commentary is just top-notch. Calvin Murphey does a great job on the mic. Sega definitely needs to follow Live's lead.

Gameplay: In my opinion 2K3 gets the slight nod over Live only because it's more realistic. It really simulates the NBA game. Live's gameplay is its best effort yet and is also the most easily accessible game to play, but I like to be rewarded for learning how to play and 2K3 does a better job of that than Live. You have to spent time with 2K3 where Live you can just jump right in and play. It's really a matter of preference, though.

Replayability: I would give the slight nod again to 2K3 only based off what I read and that is that 2K3 and Live virtually have the same options, but 2K3 just extends those options. They both have street, but Live is 1 on 1 and 2K3 you can go 5 on 5, 2K3 has the longer franchise mode, etc....

Final comparison: 2K3 takes it by a slight margin. But even having said that, I REALLY enjoyed NBA Live 2003. You can have some great games with either game. Just ask yourself do you want more of a sim or more of a faster paced game....then decide.

Rent or buy: Most definitely BUY this game. This is the best game on the market right now. Buy this now, you won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/02, Updated 10/09/02