NBA 2K2

"When wanting to throw your controller at the screen is a GOOD thing..."

I just got finished playing another game of NBA 2K2 and I've got a headache. I suddenly have the urge to share with the world my thoughts on this game. Never before have I played a game that was so excellent in some ways and so utterly horrible in others. Allow me, if you will, to divulge my thoughts...

I had purchased NBA 2K and NBA 2K1 for the Dreamcast, so I knew what I was getting into when I bought this game. I had enjoyed those other two games and thought that with the power of the Xbox Visual Concepts could probably make a great game even better. And that's what they did do...in some ways.

The game plays very similarly to NBA 2K1, but with a few things altered. The best improvement (aside from graphics) has got to be the new steal. You can press the jump button to try to pick off passes and this is a lot of fun. Especially when the computer is inbounding the ball. I average about 2 steals on inbounds per game. This makes defense a lot more fun to play....but other aspects detract from it. They altered the spin move from the last game and made it MUCH more difficult to blow past your opponent. This is probably more realistic but (for me) is incredibly frustrating. I try to play the game in the same way I played 2K1 and you just can't do it. The most aggravating thing, however, is that the computer can blow by YOU with ease. Maybe I just suck at defending but if the computer wants to it can run past my defender and dunk the ball whenever it wants to. This pisses me off to no end. Blocked shots. Perhaps they were too abundant in 2K1....well they're almost entirely gone in 2K2. It's ridiculous. Imagine this scenario, a man is running towards the basket with the ball. You have two choices: 1) Try to keep your player still and attempt to draw the charge or 2) Press the jump button and attempt to block his shot. Well neither of the two works. If you try to block the shot you'll watch in amazement as your player is pushed from one side of the basket to the other, with the ball getting dropped in the hole. EVERY SINGLE TIME. I don't even try to block anymore, I just let the guy dunk. If you try to go with the first option and attempt to draw the foul, the computer will either stop and shoot over your guy (getting it in 99% of the time) or they'll stop, run around you (remember, you can't stop this) and dunk the ball. I just laugh when I see it now. There's nothing you can do. And that, in my opinion, is a poor sign in a video game. There should be nothing that happens without your control. If the computer is going to score it should be because you screwed up, not because the game cheats. And in my opinion this game does. Have you ever played a game that made you suddenly feel the urge to chuck your controller into the TV screen? Well if not, prepare to experience it with NBA 2K2. I get it almost every time I play the game (don't worry, I'm taking anger management classes).

So with all of these bad things....why did I give the game a score of 7? Because it's still good. It's still a good game. I still enjoy myself and find myself coming back for more. It also plays more like a real basketball game than any other I've played....at a price. Just when you're in that ''Wow...this game is amazing...'' state of mind the computer will do something stupid (cheat, most likely) and suck you right out of it.

GAMEPLAY: 4/10- This game is really, really hard. And unpredictable. I can lose to the Clippers and then blow out the Lakers by 25 points. Playing almost exactly the same way. I don't like the control much, I think it's taken a step back from 2K1. The invisible boxes around players are highly annoying and there's a big lag between when you press the button and when it happens onscreen. I try to use icon passing to pass the ball to an open man (press one button and then the button of that particular player) and the guy just sits there with the ball doing nothing. Suddenly my open man isn't open anymore. Apparently my fingers are too quick for this game to handle. Funny, I never knew I had superhuman speed. Did I mention this game is frustrating?

STORY: 10/10- Umm....it's a basketball game.

GRAPHICS: 7/10- Pretty good but I think the Xbox could do a whole lot more. *cough*PlayStation2port*cough* Overall this is much better than 2K1 but what happened to the players? They look like zombies and 75% of them look nothing like there real-world counterpart. Check out Chris Webber for a good example.

SOUND: 6/10- Sega keeps using those same commentators and it seems like I've heard half of there comments before. Probably because I have. Of course if you've never played a 2K game before it should be fine. They're really off sometimes, though. You're exchanging buckets with the computer and they'll say ''The Mavericks score again and that's an 8-nothing run''. Wha? The crowd sound effects are pretty good overall but they never get as loud as they should when a team is doing particularly well.

REPLAYABILITY: 9/10- Sports games (at least good ones) have probably the best replayability of any game out there. If you can tolerate the computer cheaping you 12 times per game you'll keep coming back for more.

BUY/RENT: Rent- I can't decide whether I'm happy I purchased this game or not. I was definitely expecting more, so it's a little disappointing, but then it's still a good game. I say rent first and see if you're interested.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/02, Updated 03/06/02