Xbox

ESPN NBA Basketball

The free-throw mechanic could be a deal-breaker for a lot of people with rampant foul abuse in online matches almost a given. Past that dark patch lies a game that is still a basketball technician?s dream. Games against the CPU realistically mimic a real game, while scrimmages against friends received a boost of energy thanks to sped-up gameplay and better shot blocking. ESPN NBA Basketball 2K4 retains the top slot by just a hair.

The regular NBA portion of the game wouldn’t warrant this high of a score, but with 24/7 mode, this game really takes off. Definitely a worthy purchase for basketball fans willing to invest some time in a game. NBA Live just doesn’t have the depth of ESPN NBA Basketball. What are you still doing reading this review? Go out and buy this game.

Not only is the gameplay tight, but the addition of 24/7 mode adds a whole new level to the term "must buy". The players look as perfect as I've seen in a sim so far, plus the new moves of IsoMotion help set the pace for a game that combines skill, strategy, and old-school button press fever. Sure, the addition of a pro hop button and the separation of the shoot and dunk buttons would make the game all the better, but even without those features, ESPN NBA Basketball is still overall the best playing basketball game this season. For the first time, basketball fans have an excuse to be playing a game at four in the morning. It's 24/7, the life of a baller. Forget Jon Robinson. The life of Jrob Andsteal has now begun. See you on the courts.

ESPN NBA Basketball is a huge improvement over last year’s model and with the innovation of the 24/7 mode, has something to offer that EA Sports has no reply to. After trailing NBA Live last season, Sega Sports is back in the game and blazing a fastbreak to the basket; this year’s version scores a buzzer-beater win over NBA Live.

ESPN NBA Basketball may not provide the same immediate fun as EA's offering, but this title benefits from being longer lasting, ultimately more enjoyable and rewarding, and is the most realistic, and ultimately the best, basketball game around.

Whilst ESPN NBA Basketball is a superb basketball game there a few areas that could do with improving. One of the main problems are the uneven trades in the Franchise mode. More playbooks could have been included too. Still the few problems that do exist can't stop the game from being an all round great basketball game. The 24/7 mode is simply the icing on the cake and alone justifies the price of the game. The new Isomotion moves are also a really worthwhile addition to the game although mastering them will take some time. In fact having to practice and improve is what makes ESPN NBA Basketball so enjoyable. The 24/7 mode succeeds in enabling you to learn the basic mechanics of the game in a highly enjoyable way (much like the mini-games in the Madden NFL series) and I'd recommend this as the best place to start when you first play the game. Essentially then it's another great addition to both the Xbox and the ESPN sports collection.

While there are a small handful of faults with the game, ESPN NBA Basketball has just about everything a hardcore NBA fan could ask for. It includes a tough, but rewarding, simulation-style of gameplay, a feature-packed franchise mode, street-style game modes, and the truly unique 24/7 gameplay mode that might be good enough to be its own game. If you're a hardcore NBA fan with an Xbox or PlayStation 2, your game library just isn't complete without a copy of ESPN NBA Basketball.

Zwar hat sich der Titel in Sachen Präsentation deutlich gemausert, ohne dabei grafisch an NBA Live 2004 heranzureichen. Dafür spielt sich ESPN NBA Basketball tadellos und bietet eine ordentliche Spieltiefe mit allem, was den NBA-Basketball auszeichnet. Ein Knüller ist die Xbox-Live-Unterstützung, bei der man sich knallharte Matches mit anderen NBA-Fans liefern kann. Hier spielt der Titel eindeutig seine Stärken aus. Aufgrund des eindeutigen Simulationseinschlags ein Pflichtkauf für Hardcore-Fans, Gelegenheitsspieler sollten lieber erst einmal Probe spielen.

With its excellent graphics and myriad game modes, ESPN NBA Basketball is a good, strong title. The gameplay quirks like rebounding difficulty and the canned animations are there and can be frustrating, but are easily overlooked when you take in the big picture. It holds its own in the paint.

Au final, ESPN NBA Basketball se montre convaincant dans bien des compartiments du jeu. Doté d'une réalisation très solide, le petit dernier de Visual Concepts marque des points grâce à son contenu riche comprenant quelques nouveautés hautement addictives, en plus des modes traditionnels qui n'oublient pas d'être soignés pour autant. Bonne nouvelle le gameplay n'est pas en reste avec une orientation vers un jeu plus spectaculaire qui devrait convenir au plus grand nombre, sans pour autant sacrifier la variété des possibilités d'actions sur le terrain. Seul un système de lancer-francs un poil trop complexe et une gestion des passages en force irritante de la part du CPU viennent ternir ce tableau, au demeurant très bon, et il ne reste plus qu'à croiser les doigts pour que le jeu en ligne soit prochainement assailli par de nombreux fans qui se seront procurés à raison ce jeu de basket-ball de qualité.

Quel jeu de basketball que voici ! Le mode 24/7 est une excellente idée et le titre se veut un peu plus arcade, ou du moins plus simple que les épisodes précédents. Malgré ce constat on ne pourra s'empêcher de pester contre ces satanés lancers-francs qui sont bien trop difficiles ou des angles de caméras très moyens. Après le soft de Sega est une valeur sûre tant en solo qu'en multi.

Sega has dominated the Xbox hoops wars for the past two years, and this year's ESPN NBA Basketball may be the best b-ball game that owners of the big black box have ever played. That said, it still isn't perfect. The controls can take some getting used to and the online options are limited in comparison to the game's PS2 version. Some online play, though, is still better than none, which is exactly what NBA Live 2004 offers. When you add it all up, it looks like a three-peat for the folks at Sega.