ESPN NBA Basketball Review

Developer	Visual Concepts
Publisher	Sega
Genre	Sports

The last two seasons, Sega’s basketball games have misplaced EA’s as the choice of hardcore roundballers. Many fretted when the 2K appellation was displaced in favor of the more recognizable “ESPN.” Those fears should be all but alleviated; it may not be called 2K4 this season, but ESPN Basketball has taken the 2K series to an unbelievable level of greatness.

Not only has the fantastic sim that was NBA 2K3 evolved and been improved, but ESPN B-ball features a newly sponsored online game and a whole different mode of playing, 24/7. In short, with ESPN NBA Basketball you are really getting 3 games for the price of one.

Gameplay - The reason many of us have converted from EA’s Live to the 2K series is realism. ESPN NBA has dynamics that mimic the real game so well. The same offensive scheme will not work over and over, and the game never becomes a “dunk-o-rama”. Finally, the Franchise mode continues to be deep, satisfying and addictive.

This is far and away the best playing sim for any console. This title comes closest to capturing the feel and tempo of the real NBA game. When you play ESPN you have to be patient, for you are in store for the offensive and defensive ups and downs of an actual NBA contest. You cannot use the same crossover, or steal that same inbound pass and expect it to work continuously. In ESPN you have to mix up your plays, go inside and outside, while concentrating on rebounding and the transition game.

So don’t expect the free flowing offensive show you may get when you play EA’s Live. But ESPN is not always going to be a half-court grind either. The transition game seems to work much better than last year’s. Your computer-controlled players run the floor better and the finishes are much easier to pull off in the right circumstances.

However, you will not be able to easily pull off the same live wire layups and dunks in the half court that you can do on the break. Yes, you can dunk the ball in ESPN, but you have to work hard for the opening, and because of this, when you pull it off, the satisfaction is much greater.

The AI is smart and adjusts its schemes on both sides of the ball. Expect the AI to be as diverse when you are on defense and look out for the hot shooters! Visual Concepts has decided to stick with the biorhythm feature for your players. Players can be “normal, heating up, on fire, or struggling.” Just another example of the little touches of realism that we have come to expect from the Sega sports line.

As for the controls, there have been some changes made to the excellent 2K3 set up. The analog passing with the right stick is now gone. You can only pass now via the x button (or use the triangle button for icon passing.) You will still spend a lot of time with that right analog stick, however, because it controls the new “Isomotion” feature in ESPN. Think of Isomotion as a more restrained version of Live’s “Freestyle.” By carefully manipulating this stick you can put your player through a series of moves (crossovers, spins, etc.) to try and get separation from your defender. This control cannot be overused like Live’s Freestyle though. You have to learn to be precise and pick the right moments to show off your “moves” or you will soon find yourself with a quick succession of charging fouls (especially the point guards!)

The free-throw system has also been revised (well, sort of.) No longer will you have to line up and hold two elusive curvy lines together over the basket. Now you line up two horizontal lines, hold them perfectly apart and freeze a vertical bouncing ball between them. Sound like fun? I have sympathy for the developers, coming up with a free-throw system for a basketball game is not an easy order. Still, these strange free-throw apparatuses always seem so disappointing. This new interface may be little better than the one we got in 2K3, but it certainly is not worse. The good news is that if all else fails you can turn it off and let the computer decide the hits or misses based on the player’s free-throw rating. That seems like a fair decision by the developers.

You can play ESPN NBA Basketball in a variety of modes: Quick, Tournament, Season, Playoff, Street and Franchise (There is also 24/7, but more on that “mode” later in the review.) For the full NBA experience, most committed players will spend most of their time with the Franchise mode. Its ESPN licensed overlays and gameplay are virtually identical to 2K3 and we are just fine with that, because it’s a great system. We also feel that the care and research that goes into the ratings for the players and teams by Visual Concepts is second to none.

Most of the players are given their real life qualities, whether it is speed, perimeter shooting, rebounding, etc. And as a further bonus, the players that have special qualities are singled out on the floor with a special icon. Star players like Iverson and Bryant will have a star icon underneath them on the court. Also, players with other qualities, like 3-point shooting abilities have icon reminders as well. You’ll notice a big fat “3p” underneath the Lakers’ guard Derek Fisher while your playing, for example. “Don’t be shy young fella, have him step back and launch that 3-bomb!”

Graphics – The Sega sports games were gaining on EA the last few years in spite of inferior graphics. Even last year’s excellent looking NBA 2K3 arguably lacked some of the visual flair of NBA Live 2003. But this year, ESPN is hands-down the best-looking basketball game you can get on a console. The animations are smooth and life-like. The variety of dunks, layups and post-up moves have increased; and the power dunk, where your player falls on his ass after the flush? Well, that never gets old.

The floors are all gorgeous and rendered in great detail with few exceptions (America West Arena is missing a couple of its new floor icons, but we won’t dwell on that too long.) In the stands, when you look at the impressive array of animated fans populating the arenas it makes you wonder at just how far the detail has come in games of this type.

Most impressive, however, are the player models. The faces are almost photo-realistic. This seems true of all the new ESPN titles, and it certainly holds true in this basketball game. The effort at researching these images is not limited the star players either. Research and effort on the players’ appearances seems to go deep into these teams’ benches.

So, ALL the players in this year’s game have a realistic look, but the STARS, of course, get special attention. The detail that has gone into the face, hair, even the tattoos (Especially the tattoos!) for players like Stephan Marbury and Shaquille O’Neil is so life-like that I found myself conflating the game with reality while watching a game on TV and playing ESPN during commercials and half-time (Oh c’mon, I know I’m not the only one who does this!)

Indeed, the visuals are so tight that the only complaint you may have is that your favorite players may not have the current hairstyle, tat, facial hair etc. Take the example of a lesser-known player like the Phoenix Suns’ Darko Caparkapa. Caparkapa just shaved his head in real life, and I tell you, the man needs to check himself out in this game; he has hair and he looks so much better.

Perhaps it is vain folly to nit-pick over visuals; games always look better right? But the bottom line is this – did Visual Concepts set out to improve the look of their game? And the question is a quantifiable yes, and we have to praise game developers who work in such a fashion. I wonder how far the photo-realism of these games can progress: the ability to change a player’s hairstyle over the course of a season? Should he show bruises, cuts, even acne?

Sound - The sound effects in ESPN are solid. You get all of the appropriate sneaker squeaks, “ball slaps” and calls from your teammates. The crowd is good and lively and hecklers can be heard from time to time. The crowd definitely reacts according to the momentum of the home team. You can energize them with a dunk on a break, or push them into silence if the road team is dominating you.

The music features an appropriate variety of hip-hop tunes and several more can be unlocked the more you play. And this is not restricted to the menu screens either. Funky beats may kick in at certain times during your actual gameplay, which may not be realistic, but is a nice break from the endless squeaking of the players shoes.

We mentioned last year that Visual Concepts would probably take greater advantage of the ESPN license and the commentary now features actual ESPN television commentators Kevin Frazier and Tom Tolbert. Couple this with the real ESPN overlay graphics and you really feel like you are playing a telecast of an NBA Game on ESPN! The commentary is solid as well, and does not feature the annoying tendency of last year’s game to lag seconds behind the actual plays you are watching. Be forewarned, however, as soon as you hear Tolbert say “this is brutal” a blowout is well underway.

24/7: A Basketball RPG?
2K3 featured a “Street Mode” which was really just a quick street game that enabled you to play against some of the NBA stars in a playground setting. Street is still available for a quick game. But for a more comprehensive “roots” basketball experience players now have 24/7. Here at GWX we have been waiting for sports RPG for sometime. I was a little surprised to see that Visual Concepts has sort of accomplished this with its 24/7 mode.

Ok, so 24/7 is not exactly a full-fledged RPG. There isn’t an epic storyline, lengthy anime style cut-scenes, and the fate of the world resting on the hands of a “chosen one.” No, there are no dragons or orcs to be slain here. Instead, 24/7 is all about hardcore hoopin’. But there are a lot of RPG elements in 24/7.

First off, you create our character from the ground up. Make him tall, fat or even tall and fat; give him cool sideburns a cool hairdo, and of course, don’t forget some tattoos – a must for any pick up game, basketball demigod. But your character is also given a frighteningly large array of attributes, from speed to offensive awareness. Your base attributes start out quite low, but you won’t battle a series of dull monsters to level up your char. To level up this character you need to play basketball, lots and lots of basketball.

Travel the country, play various basketball players in one on one and two on two tournaments. And don’t forget to put your time in at the gym. You will find it necessary to build up your attributes somewhat before you take on some of tougher opponents on your travels.

“Two on two? Don’t I need a partner?” That’s right, and that’s why you get on the cell phone and ask Vince Carter if he wants to run against some fools in a NYC game. The star players you meet will also give you various items to augment your game and look. Sweat bands, sneakers, vintage NBA shirts, even a goofy orange fisherman’s hat are some of the items you will come across. (Your char can get “crazy stupid” looking on the court if you so choose.)

The bottom line, this mode is flat out addictive and fun. And it’s a good thing it is addictive, because the game keeps track of your progress via the internal clock on your console. Stay away too long and you will find your “baller” with seriously diminished skills. 24/7 is by far the best one on one style hoop game since “Erving vs. Bird” (The VERY first EA sports game – a bit ironic isn’t it?)

Bringin’ It…Online!
2K3 featured online play last year, but that ESPN license is being put to further use by having league play accessed through ESPN’s own website. You can play all the exhibition matches you want direct from the online lobby on your PS2. But if you want a greater challenge you just go on to ESPN’s (the network) site and find a league that suits your interests. It’s a nice service and there is no charge. ESPN is doing this with all the major American sports and the Sega NFL game has had leagues at ESPN for awhile.

As of this writing the NBA leagues were still forming so we cannot give you any more details on how well it’s working. But having played through numerous exhibition games the biggest complaint we can make is the lag. The lag seems a little excessive when compared to other PS2 games, but hopefully this is just from too many players using dial-up and not a system problem. The Xbox version probably has far less lag, but also lacks the online support from ESPN at this time.

You can also take your “badass” b-baller from 24/7 online and challenge other would be streetball kings. Again, we cannot give you a lot of details on how well that will work right now, but let’s add up all these online features: you have the option of playing 24/7 online, you can play your favorite NBA team online competitely in one of the ESPN leagues, the game now supports voice-chat for your USB headset, and finally, there should be frequent roster updates, and other downloads. This is quite an impressive online package and ESPN NBA Basketball has to get the highest marks in this regard as well.

Overall Value - Visual Concepts has taken what was already the best NBA console sim (2K3) and improved it in EVERY possible area. ESPN is drop-dead gorgeous and the gameplay is as smooth and realistic as ever. ESPN looks, plays and sounds as close to the real NBA game as you can possibly get on a console right now.

Throw in the additions of role-playing roundball in 24/7 and an online mode supported by ESPN.com’s site and you have one of the greatest sports titles ever produced. ESPN NBA Basketball is worth every hard-earned penny you spend on it and is a must have title for gamers who like basketball, the NBA, or even just sports gaming in general.

Now all we have to do is somehow convince Visual Concepts to do a soccer title…

Review by Paul Michael