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PS2 | Sports | NBA Live 2002

Boxart for NBA Live 2002
NBA Live 2002 30 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.5
  • SOUND: 4.0
  • CONTROL: 4.0
  • FUN FACTOR 4.5
  • AVG USER SCORE 3.8
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.7
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Hands-On: NBA Live 2002

Hands-On by TOKYODRIFTER | 10/25/2001 | 16:18:36 PM PST

The king of PlayStation 2 roundball is in for some tough competition in the next few months. Find out how it?s shaping up so far.

Taking Live to the Street
After the wild success of NBA Street, NBA Live 2002 is wisely taking a few notes and some technical help from its cousin. While there is no way EA Sports could?ve incorporated the over-the-top antics of Street into the Live series, they are attempting to strike a good balance between intuitive controls and the ?wow? factor, while maintaining the all important simulation aspects of Live. The preview copy felt noticeably different than last year?s model, with controls that seemed more sluggish at first but felt natural after just a few games.

Big Ballin?
The game has been rebuilt practically from the ground up, with the visuals getting the most noticeable upgrade. Character models were beefier and had a greater resemblance to the actual players?right down to facial hair and tattoos. The player animation was perhaps the biggest presentation improvement, as every dribble, cross over, and dunk was rendered in a smooth, natural manner. There are over 50 new dunk and post facial celebration animations alone. The developer, EA Canada, went through great pains to make sure there were no jarring transitions in the movement of the players that would break the illusion of reality.

Subhead: Shot Callin?
Improvements even extended to the basics. Would-be big shots can look forward to a new Franchise mode, which puts you in the role of the General Manager who?s running the team, studying scouting reports, and drafting rookies for up to a maximum of 10 years. Of course, the game will feature every NBA team, complete player rosters, and realistic renditions of the arenas. With all the new PS 2 basketball games due out this year, NBA Live 2002 is going up against its toughest competition, but so far it looks up to challenge.


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