NBA ShootOut 98

"Huge improvement from earlier Shootouts, but still needs some work..."

I've been a Shootout fan from the moment I bought my playstation. I used to always rent the console and the first Shootout. Then I finally bought a PS and Shootout was the first game I got. Now for my review on Shootout '98:

Graphics/Animation:

The dunks are beautiful. From the double clutch reverse to the between the legs jam. The jump shots look as though they were captured by a 5th grader, and tends to be my biggest complaint. The player to court ratio is off as well. The players are too big, sometimes leaving little room to create plays. But don't get me wrong, it's still arguably the most addictive basketball game to date. Some of the better features are the players' smooth continuation into a dunk. Instead of jump stopping or changing their footing like in NBA Live 2000, the animation rolls right into the dunk. The passing animations are good too, even though they take too long to pull off sometimes. Graphics: 8/10

Music/Announcing:

Not much can be expected from a basketball game in terms of music. But when you've got the ability to use cd quality sound, it wouldn't hurt to use it. What they used wasn't too bad. The announcing is off every now and then, it even sounds like a possible glitch. They'll announce the guy who had the assist in a booming voice instead of the guy who made the bucket. The rest of the sounds i.e. bouncing ball, squeeky shoes are good. Music/Announcing: 7/10

Control:

I have no complaints other than passing and shooting. Even though they have the new icon passing, it takes too long for some of the passes to be pulled off. When you try to make an alley oop it takes over 3 seconds for the guy to throw the ball, which gets annoying in time. And the shooting can be horrid if you're not wide open. In this game there's no such thing as a jump shot. Only set shots. They slowly wind up to shoot it, and unless you're performing a fade-away, they always jump toward the basket. Blocks are a huge part of this game, since you can get about 50 of 'em in a quarter. The special moves: cross over, between the legs dribble, take too long. But the spin move w/ the R1 button is sweet. You won't make it with out it. Control: 8/10

Replays:

Replays are a great feature in this game becuase the frame rate is high in slow motion. Other B-ball games have slow frame rates causing blocky movement, forcing you to miss out on the key moves. Replays: 10/10

Replayability:

The dunks will keep you coming back for more. Especially in arcade mode. You can pull off a 180 double clutch from the Free Throw line. The season's too boring because all of the games are too much alike, so go to the Tournament mode. The draft has unlimited fun also. The replays are a big part of keeping the game fun because there are so many possibilities for making big plays. Replayability: 9/10

Recap: The Shootout series has always had something to catch my eye. In Shootout '98 it was the dunks. I learned to enjoy everything else. If you like watching big dunks on ESPN, I say go rent it. You might love it. If you enjoyed reading this review, e-mail me at FlyinBrian2002@aol.com I'd love to know other people are reading my reviews. Thank you.

"Flyin" Brian

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/00, Updated 01/05/00