PlayStation

NBA Live 2001

Whether you buy in just to play and unlock classic teams, or only seek to crush the challenges such as winning by 10 or making the famed triple-double, EA's NBA Live 2001 is about as well-rounded a game of basketball that one is likely to find on PlayStation. But wait! 989 Studios may have something to say about that? Well...truth is, we expect to see that two good games have emerged from these venerable camps. In the meantime, however, EA is once again first out of the gate, and there offering is strong and purtty!

NBA Live 2001 follows the fine tradition established by previous versions while adding just about every conceivable gameplay option. The graphics may not be overly pretty, but the smooth animations and excellent gameplay help you to quickly forget. NBA Live 2001 is a great basketball game with incredible depth and engrossing gameplay. Live 2001 is the PlayStation's best basketball game, and it's good to see that EA Sports has not forsaken its current generation of PlayStation software to wow consumers with its PlayStation 2 offerings. It's only fitting that the last NBA Live on PlayStation is also the best.

This is one of those solid titles that we've come to expect from EA sports. The game is easy enough to get started, yet deep enough to keep you playing. There's enough variety to keep those with various skill levels and needs happy. The close-ups of the players could be a little more realistic, but all in all, they are recognizable. The game does a good job of replicating the floors for all the arenas in the NBA. One thing I would do is put a little more squeak of the basketball shoes on the court and maybe even some trash talk. This would add to the realism without having to push the graphics engine further.

Mich würde mal just for fun interessieren, ob die Jungs bei EA Sports zwei exakt gleich aussehende Disks mit NBA 2000 und NBA 2001 im laufenden Spiel auseinander halten können - meine Hand würde ich dafür nicht ins Feuer legen. Bei mir selbst schon gar nicht, so marginal sind die Unterschiede. Um es kurz zu machen: Der Basketball-Junkie wird in den zahlreichen Spielmodi der 2K1-Version wieder seinen Spaß haben, lediglich der Sprecher scheint Schlafpillen geschluckt zu haben und der Ball könnte im Getümmel etwas deutlicher hervorstechen. Außerdem erscheint mir die Drei-Punkte-Challenge als reine Lotterie. Anyway: Ich würde für mein sauer verdientes Geld deutlich mehr "unverbraucht neues Spiel" verlangen, als es hier geboten wird.