NBA 2K3

Pros • Plays just as smoothly online as it does normally • Automatic substitution • Best commentary in the virtual NBA • Great physics and play around the rim • Deep franchise mode • Ability to edit the stats of any player • Solid basketball court action	Cons • Too many intrusive elements slowing down the game • Slow passing • Offense is a little slow to learn, which can be off-putting as you go entire quarters without scoring--how about a tutorial as in Street Hoops? • If you create yourself as the player you want to be, you'll never be able to afford yourself on your favourite team due to salary cap restrictions • AI passes up a lot of good looks • Feels a little plodding after playing NBA Live 2003, and EA Sports' use of the right analogue stick stomps all over Sega's pathetic right-stick direct passing. • Ugly menus • Clumsy manual
Bottom Line If you are looking for the basketball game that best emulates basketball, or for online play that works, or for a basketball game that you can really sink your teeth into over the course of entire seasons, NBA 2K3 is definitely your game. Sega continues to pull up at the arc and coolly sink tough jump shots in the face of EA Sports. NBA 2K3 is, without question, the best basketball game you can get for your home console. NBA 2K3 is the Larry Bird of basketball games. It isn't particularly flashy, perhaps it is even a little plodding, but NBA 2K3 dominates with perfect fundamentals. Everything about this game is tight, from the physics of the ball bouncing around the rim and dropping in or rimming out; to player actions and animations; to coaching strategies at different points in the game. Combine that with a deep franchise mode and absolutely perfect online (broadband--I don't even bother testing putting along with a 56K modem) play and all doubt is removed that this is the basketball game for basketball fans to get.

NBA 2K3 doesn't make anywhere near the first impression that EA Sports NBA Live 2003 does. Whereas NBA Live 2003 impresses immediately with its brilliant presentation, glossy menus, and fabulously fun "freestyle control," NBA 2K3 plods off to a slow start. First of all, NBA 2K3 has bland and nearly ugly menus. Second, it isn't very forgiving; every possession counts, so when you first start playing, you can get down twenty points in a hurry, and you'll never make it back. The control scheme is deep and works very well, it just takes time to get used to, and offense, especially, is difficult to generate as you learn the game. And, NBA 2K3 is constantly slowed down by intrusions into your gameplay: the ESPN license is a bit of a mixed blessing, since, while it brings with it excellent game commentary and presentation, it also brings in huge, time-consuming, white and red ESPN logo splashes before and after every replay. After each change of ball possession, the game pauses The Matrix style while the camera swings around behind the play; and even the medium-count-poly asses in your face of the cheerleaders on the ends of the court get in the way and intrude into your gameplay. These sorts of things slow the game down, and at first, NBA 2K3 with its slower pace and frequent intrusions is quite substantially less fun than EA Sports' NBA Live 2003.

But, as you struggle through a few games and begin to learn the control scheme and how much and how many different moves are possible, NBA Live 2K3 begins to shine. It does so many things just right. The ball physics and the way the ball bounces around the rim are perfect. The touch you develop for shooting just at the peak of your jump, and the knack for taking good shots on open looks instead of forcing them up into the defense are very satisfying. The good defense you can play, the different plays and strategies you can use; the fact that the computer makes substitutions without stopping the game, being able to edit any player's stats, and the good coaching by the AI team (in doing things like recognizing last-second shooting opportunities, and fouling in the dying seconds of the game to make you hit foul shots and to regain ball possession, all make NBA 2K3 more and more satisfying.

The franchise mode is the most involved of the basketball games available, which is more good news for the serious basketball gamers who are likely to play through entire seasons worth of games.

And, Sega continues to deliver absolutely perfect online play. NBA 2K3 plays as perfectly and as smoothly online as it does when you play it by yourself on just one console, with the added competitive juice of knowing that you are playing another human, and of adapting to and beating his or her game plan.

The only real flaw in NBA 2K3 other than the prickly introduction you'll get due to the fact that it takes a while to learn the controls and the ugly menus, is the sluggish passing. Time and time again, you will recognize an open player, hit pass, wait while your player gathers himself, hit pass again out of frustration as you watch the opportunity disintegrate, and then, only then, well after the defense recovers does your player actually make the pass. This is especially frustrating in potential fast break situations. It is absolutely infuriating to see your guard streaking down the court through an open passing lane only to see it go to waste as the forward with the ball gathers and finally, after your once open player has gone too far and the defense has all recovered, pass the ball.

The fact remains, that NBA 2K3 is the best representation of the game of basketball available. It is a fun, rewarding, basketball game that will provide countless hours of enjoyment as you explore its subtleties through franchise mode and online play. This is the game for real basketball fans to get.

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