Now that Madden 2003 has been out for a few months, we thought we'd look for a new release to challenge the sports enthusiasts out there. If it's a challenge you want and you're into basketball, then NBA 2K3 is for you. Otherwise, you're better off sticking to football. The game is available for Xbox, PlayStation2 and GameCube.
What's immediately noticeable about the game is its slick presentation and very detailed graphics. The menus, statistics and other overlay screens look just like they've been pulled from a televised sportscast. The players are all actual pros from the NBA and are generally easy to recognize. They move naturally and are portrayed complete with tattoos, cornrows and sweaty foreheads, when appropriate. The court looks almost real, including cheerleaders, team mascots, and a front row of spectators that jump up and cheer when you score. The sportscaster commentary is also impressive. Two announcers comment with decent insight about the action taking place on the court. They keep up with the flow of the game and only occasionally repeat the same remarks.
The game offers six different modes of play, as well as the ability to play online with the Sony Network Adapter or Xbox Live. Franchise mode lets you take control of a team, managing it over a long period of time. You are able to sign free agents and coaches, scout for and draft new players, and make trades to build your dream team. The process for this, however, is extremely involved and drawn out, and is not at all intuitive.
I found Street mode to be the most interesting. This mode allows you to play two-on-two or five-on-five with players that you pick and choose from any NBA roster. The courts include famous playgrounds from cities like New York, Chicago and L.A., and you can control the time of day and weather conditions, like rain or fog.
That said, once I started playing the game, the nice visuals were quickly forgotten. The play was extremely challenging; even after I had mastered the controls and could maneuver my team respectably; getting the ball through the hoop was a rare feat. Even perfect, unopposed shots would start to clear the rim and then bounce out. In the meantime, the opposing team was shooting with 70% accuracy. No matter how cool a game looks, getting consistently creamed by the computer is never pleasant.
All in all, I found NBA 2K3 to be pretty to look at, but not much fun to play. This game aspires to simulate professional basketball, but the developers seem to have forgotten that the point of video games is to have fun. When I'm in the mood for some hoops, I think I'll just flip to ESPN and watch the real thing.
