NBA 2K3

"Still, the best basketball game to own."

2K2 was good, but 2K3 is great.

Improvements : 9

Sega has outdone themselves again! They added sliders, so you can now customize everything from your three point field goal percentage, to how easy getting blocks will be. Franchise mode is now 10 times better than 2k2. Fake passes, fake crossovers, drop steps are also in. And players will dive for loose balls, its rare, but a cool feature. You can scout rookies, to see what they will be like when they come to the NBA. Each players' individual stat is now visible. No more stupid bars telling you the overall rating! Also online play is included. Sega lets you play on their servers for free. But you do have to buy an adapter to actually get online with the PS2, and a broadband connection to fully enjoy it. 56k just wont cut it. New roster updates come available about every month or so (you need the adapter to download them though). You can edit each players' stats, but not their appearance. Or, if you don't have an adapter, you can edit the rosters yourselves!

But the reason I gave it a 9 is because they didn't add any new modes. And the Street mode still needs A LOT of work. But overall, Sega did a very good job improving the game.

Graphics : 8

The graphics still look almost the same as last year's game. Except now they added sweat, so you will know when your players are tired. The sweat makes your players look like glass, but its a cool little feature they added. Overall, the graphics are above average. But they could've done better in my opinion.

Audio : 6

Bah! They commentary is still basically the same as last years' game. They added a little bit of new stuff here and there, but they still repeat the same thing over and over... It still beats Live 2003's commentary though. But thats not saying much. Overall its average.

Controls : 8

Well they got rid of one key feature in this game. And that was the button that allowed you to pass to the person closest to the basket... Why they did this? I don't know. So now you are forced to press two buttons if you want to pass to the person closest to the basket, which is annoying. Other then that though, the controls are the same as last years' game. Above Average

Gameplay : 10

Where should I start? I'll start by telling you that 2K3 has the best simulation gameplay of all basketball games. The gameplay is still the same as last years, but with the sliders you can make the game very hard or easy for you. It lets you customize everything! You can now perform a 'drop step' to help get you open. You can stop in the middle of a crossover to do another crossover in the other direction. Fake passes are now in the game, and the fake crossover too. Players can dive for loose balls too. The fast break however, isn't very good. Sometimes, when you pass the player a ball, they will stop right in the middle of a fast break... Whats up with that? But all the flaws are minor, and easily overlookable.

Replay : 8 or 10

If you are lucky enough to have both the PS2 adapter and a broadband connection, then this game should keep you busy for awhile. If not, its still fun playing alone, or with a friend. But its nothing compared to the online experience. It will still keep you busy for about a month or so. So get this game now!

Buy or Rent? : Your choice

If you can play online with your PS2, then this game is a buy. If not, then I suggest you rent it a few times until you get bored of it.

Overall : 10

NBA 2K3 is better than NBA Live 2003, PERIOD.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/02, Updated 11/17/02