NBA 2K3

"NBA 2K3 Outplays NBA Live In 2003"

INTRO
NBA2K3 was a strong series when it was on the Dreamcast, hardly challenged by anyone or anything. Since the Dreamcast has gone out of business the NBA2K series has made its was onto the PlayStation2 to compete with games like NBA Live, NBA Shootout, and NBA Starting Five.

PRESENTATION 10/10
NBA 2K3 (2K3) uses its ESPN licence to the maximum. Even starting up the game felt like a highlight film from ESPN's SportsCenter. From the moment you put the game in you'll feel like you're watching a real basketball game. When you're playing, the scores will scroll along the bottom of your screen, just like you'll see when watching a game. Everything here, from the intro movie to the basketball courts feels like ESPN.
Your player's stats will pop up every now and then when he gets a good number in one category, such as 10 assists or 20 points, which will be accompanied by the color commentator telling you about it and where you rank in the NBA. Superb presentation in 2K3, tops anything I've ever seen before.

LEARNING CURVE - 15 Minutes
I picked this game up, set it to the easiest level and won by over 50 points. The controls are simple enough for someone who's never played a basketball game before, to dominate in franchise mode. If the hardest levels are too hard, but the easy levels are too easy, there's sliders. If you don't know what sliders are, you might have seen them in the Madden series. They let you set things (shooting %, rebounding %, etc.) higher and lower, so you have the exact level or difficulty that you want.

GAMEPLAY 9/10
Where to start? Everything in 2K3 feels so real, it's a great improvement if you've been playing the Live series on the PS2.
2K3 seems like it hasn't focused on any one thing that it would like to be superior in, because everything feels like it's superior to any other basketball game.
NBA 2K3 lets you do anything that you can imagine being done in a real basketball game. You can post up with your center, catch the ball up high, fake a spin and fade away and sink the basket in the defender face. If posting up with a big man isn't your preference you can control the other 4 players and see that they actually act like the players in their position. The point guards can spin and juke their way around defenders then kick it out to the shooting guard who pumps, then drives in for a reverse layup.
The special moves are superior to anything that I've ever seen before. You can miss an easy layup with your big man but still tip it in after boxing out anyone who wants to get in your way. Boxing out defenders is also a big part of getting tips and rebounds, just like it is in the NBA.
One thing that I found myself doing the most was stealing. Hacking might get you 2 steals in the game, but the real fun part is picking off passes. If someone passes the ball inbounds, or dares to throw a bomb down the court you can just press square and your player will jump in front of the pass and knock it down.
The rim physics in 2K3 are perfect. Coming from someone who's played the Live series knows that when you shoot, it'll either go in (all net) or go out (hit the rim). If you hit the rim in other basketball games the ball won't go in. In 2K3 this doesn't apply. Taking a half court shot to end the game will have you on the edge of your seat as the ball bounces off the back rim, up, off the backboard and possibly in. Even the close shots will touch the rim, and the funniest thing is when the ball spins around 3-4 times before falling in. It's the little things that make 2K3 the best basketball game of the year.
There were a few thing that didn't feel quite right in 2K3. The blocking wasn't up to my expectation, and neither was the rebounding. How can John Stockton run straight into Shaq, and put in a simply layup without having the ball shoved down his throat? This doesn't happen only once, the point guards (and everyone else) seem to have something extra on their side.
The rebounding also could use some fine tuning. It seemed though, even if I was in perfect position as the center, the pointguards would come and jump from the free-throw line to grab the board.

GRAPHICS 9/10
You have to burst out laughing when you see the players faces, and how real they look. Even no named players from your home team are represented with style. From T-Mac's shoes to John Stockton's short, short, short shorts can be seen in 2K3.
The courts are very detailed in 2K3, and you'll even see some cameras down by the baskets. Too bad Rodman's not playing anymore, he'd have a lot of fun with them. Another thing that makes 2K3 special is that it doesn't take any shortcuts. When you're running down the court you'll see your own basket right where it should be, but light enough so you can see through it. When you dunk with authority, the basket will shake, and when you lapup in the net will react like a real net. Again, it's the little things that count.

SOUND 10/10
One thing that all sports games lack is commentary, play by play and color commentary. Sega seemed to realize this and include perfect commentary for the 2K3 addition. Even when starting up a game, during loading you'll hear about how your team is doing in your season. It'll tell you if you need to work on your rebounding or how to should expose the other teams weakness.
In the game is the same story, very interesting to listen to. There's usually a stutter in commentary where they go from a line, to a name, and back to the line. ''One player's who been on fire today is .... Payton .... with 5 assists and 15 points.'' But in 2K3 it's more like this: ''One player who's been on fire today is Gary Payton, who has 15 points along with 5 assists. His average of 8 assists per game should be kept up here with a few trips down the court.'' The little things make 2K3 so much better than anything that's ever been presented to the world of video games. Instead of looking at the stats you can just listen to the commentators who will tell you something like ''With a basket here Garnett can keep up his average of 22 points, he now has 20.''

CONTROLS 9/10
The controls are simple enough that you'll become used to them before your first game is over. X is pass and square is shoot. Simple enough that you'll never think of which button to press after you've learned the controls. A new feature that has been added to the right analog stick, which now lets you pass by flicking the stick in the direction of a teammate. The buttons let you post up, face the man with the ball, and many other things that make you feel like a part of the game.
The only thing I've had trouble with is switch player on offense. On defense you can press triangle and choose which play you want to control, but one offense you have to press X a few times to get to where you want to be. Of course this only happens in multi-player, and if you don't have friends over much this won't be a problem.

REPLAY VALUE 8/10
Franchise mode should keep you if you want something that will hold you for a few weeks or months. There's also street mode where you can take a few people onto the playground and teach them some manners. The trade system is a little confusing, but when you figure it out it should keep you interested because it is so unique.
I was wondering where the 3-Point Contest was, and if there were going to include a dunk contest or anything special like that. I haven't found that they have included that, and hopefully 2K4 should have it.

QUICK HITS
Presentation 10/10
Gameplay 9/10
Graphics 9/10
Sound 10/10
Controls 9/10
Replay Value 8/10

THE GOOD
+ Great gameplay lets you do anything
+ Perfect sound
+ Graphics that pay attention to the small things
+ ESPN feel to everything
+ Simple and easy to use controls
+ Sliders

THE BAD
- Hard to block and rebound
- No 3-Point Contest

OVERALL 9/10 *Not An Average*
NBA 2K3 is the best basketball game out there right now, and if you've been stuck playing the Live series or any other series, check 2K3 out. Buy this game and you'll never stop thanking yourself, this is the best basketball game on the PS2 and you should not pass this one up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/02, Updated 11/10/02