NBA Live 2003

"Better than 2K3"

Let me start off by saying that I have been playing basketball games for years on many different systems, but NBA Live 2003 is the best NBA game I've ever played. I rented this game the first day it came out and immediately wanted to buy it. Yes, I have also played NBA 2K3 and I feel that Live is superior. It has that fast pace in a game that I like. Who wants to play a game where the characters move very slowly? Let's get to the review:

SOUND: 10
With tracks by Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, and Fat Joe; how can you go wrong? Most gamers will enjoy the songs made by well-known artists that they actually know. The licensed tracks keep you even more interested in the game.

COMMENTARY: 9
There's not much to really say on the commentary in the game. Nothing special here. NBA 2K3 beats Live in this aspect.

GRAPHICS: 10
Best graphics I've seen in an NBA game. Graphic models are hugely improved over NBA Live 2002's, but some of the player's faces were recycled from Live 2002.

GAMEPLAY: 8
The gameplay is very addictive and makes you want to play non-stop, until you buy the game and see some of the problems that are in it. Don't get me wrong, these problems aren't gonna make you want to stop playing the game, but they might get you a little frustrated. One thing is how it's very difficult to get Centers to score, but Point Guards can score with ease. The reason why is that many Centers can't even hold the ball for more than 2 seconds before another player from the opposite team comes and steals it. Backing up your defender is pretty much useless because a Point Guard (usually) will come and steal the ball from you before you even get close to the hoop. Another thing is that it is way too easy to steal. Also, it is very easy to foul. I find that most of my starters are already fouled out by the end of the game, but I'm guessing that you can turn the number of fouls down.

CONTROLS: 10
Basically the same as last year's Live, but the new Freestyle Controls add to the already superb control system.

FEATURES: 9
No new features have been added to this years Live (except for the two new tutorial guides), but EA have greatly improved these modes from last year's Live. In 1-on-1 mode, you now have more areas to play in and you can now play in classic jerseys. Every team has at least 3 different jerseys to pick. I almost forgot that Live 2003 has online play as well.

RENT OR BUY?: Definitely buy this game, unless you decide to wait until Live 2004 comes out, which won't be for a while.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/03, Updated 02/23/03