ESPN NBA 2K5

"Truly A Great Game"

NBA 2K5 is a great game for many reasons, the wonderful gameplay, the graphics, the indisputable commentary and 24/7 mode.

GRAPHICS 10/10

Beautiful graphics in this game. Everything is flawless. I have not yet encountered a glitch in the graphics as i have in NBA 2005 (ball is far out of place while player is dribbling) The facial expressions are superior and frankly, I think they are way better than anything EA could make. From Ben Wallace's afro to Mike Bibby's shiny little head, its all good.

SOUND 9/10

Extraordinary commentary in this game. The menu music is alright and easy to memorize by total accident. The menu music consists of rap music and the music in 24/7 mode while on the court is just beats and stuff, not any real vocals. But, still, Sega takes the crown from EA in the commentary section, but not in the menu. The commentary almost seems scary its so real.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

Very good gameplay. If you don't like how the game plays for you, such as you find it not that realistic, change the sliders, which i think was a great idea for the franchise. Speaking of franchise, the franchise mode is wonderful, especially the weekly training. The only part I don't like is when you have to talk to your teammates. That really stinks. You need to do that a lot to memorize the questions and know the answers.

REPLAY VALUE 7/10

Replay value is alright. I personally haven't finished the entire game (24/7 and unlockables) but if you like to play franchise, which I do, the replay value is phenomenal.

FINAL SCORE 9/10

You will hear EA fanboys say that NBA 2005 is better but maybe thats just because of the gameplay of EA games. ESPN NBA 2K5, IMO, is far more realistic than NBA 2005 and for $20 its a gimmie. Pick it up today. Don't rent it, thats a waste of money, throw in the extra $15 and buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/05