NBA 2K3
- October 07, 2002 15:19 PM PST
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Once again facing off against its toughest opponent, the GameCube controller, 2K3 looks to try to dominate.
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It?s Still Thinking
2K3 veterans, get ready for a shock. The craftiest basketball A.I. around just got smarter. Defense is the most noticeable area of improvement as the old screens and picks don?t cut it like they used to. You?ll see opponents stepping through screens more often and getting help through the new zone defenses. There are also a lot fewer instances where you?re yelling at dumb teammates since they go about their business of trying to create play opportunities efficiently.
Controlling all this has also gotten a bit more complicated due to the first major revision to the standard button layout since the series? inception. Fitting in new features like the pivot system with existing play calling takes some getting used to. Choosing the closest man to the basket has become a two-button-press affair, making your reaction time that much more crucial.
Look at My Face
Like NFL 2K3, Sega is sticking with its own two-man commentators with no ESPN ?personalities? in sight. You can see the fruits of this reasoning with the most dynamic and reactive play-by-play in a hoops game yet. Some phrases have carried over from last year, but the vast majority are brand new and describe intricate plays fairly accurately. Some sentences are cobbled together awkwardly, and replays suffer a slight delay to give time to calculate what will be said, but it?s acceptable considering nothing else out there comes close. Having game and player recaps during the season ties in the Sports Center motif in a satisfying way. Both the PS2 and Xbox versions sound fine, but their use of surround sound isn?t as polished as EA or Microsoft?s offerings. The GameCube, however, has noticeably weaker sound overall.
And let?s not forget about all the fancy new graphics, which now take better advantage of the high-end game consoles. Once again, the Xbox version has the best overall effects and looks the sexiest, although the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions aren?t that far behind. Last year?s NBA 2K game on the PS2 suffered from an overly sharp display and jaggy edges, but that?s all been literally smoothed out. The facial likenesses are so lifelike in detail, it?s scary, yet they seem much less expressive this year.
Room at the Top
With all this gravy, there?s still plenty of room for improvement. Maximum passing is still in its infancy for the NBA line, and hopefully we?ll see it become as indispensable as it has in the NFL 2K series. As you?ll notice in replays, animation transitions also need work in order to make things flow in a realistic fashion. It would be great get to get some sort of training camp mode and perhaps an assistant to help navigate the insane franchise mode, too. When you raise the bar this high, it?s hard not to keep wanting more.
NBA 2K3 is the basketball game to get on each platform for those looking for a fully loaded simulation.
