NBA Inside Drive 2004
- October 03, 2003 00:00 AM PST
Latest impressions of Microsoft�s third try at a basketball franchise
NBA Inside Drive 2004 marks the third outing for the Xbox-exclusive franchise that has found trouble gaining ground on the likes of EA Sports and ESPN Videogames (formerly Sega Sports). Microsoft�s planned a number of enhancements in the hopes of improving its chances this year, including revamped teammate and opponent A.I., offensive and defensive gameplay updates, and character models with more personal touches like specific tattoos and hairstyles. The most noticeable character model tweak is new cover athlete Shaquille O�Neal. The dominant center�s participation is not just for marquee value, but is also intended to flesh out the new Power Post Play feature, which is designed to give the big men in the league all the tools they normally have at their command.Inside Drive�s greatest asset may turn out to be its inclusion in the XSN Sports line, which means support is assured for advance online leagues, custom tournaments, and stat tracking. The early preview version didn�t have these features enabled for testing yet, but scrimmages against the computer and human opponents reveal play-mechanic tweaks with varying degrees of success. The overall speed of the game is the same as last year, but updated animations give the proceedings a different feel.
