Responsive
controls, reliable passing, original shot action – these are features you
don’t normally get from a game that achieves an overall rating of 6.9 out of
10. NBA isn’t your normal game though, and it wasn’t designed just for the
hardcore players. During the first 20 minutes of play, you might argue that it
wasn’t designed for them at all.
NBA is true
to its name, featuring all the licensed teams and players of the National
Basketball Association. The court is bright and shiny, reflecting much of the
players’ actions. Player faces are brilliantly rendered with unprecedented
realism. The Shaq polygon model looks just like the real thing. You didn’t
have to check his name or read the number on his jersey to know who he was –
you knew instantly just by looking at his face.
Lighting is
used to optimize the graphics, showing off more of the PSP’s unrelenting
power. Player animations are limited, but the ones that are there are
fantastic. Very rich and fluid, and more importantly, very realistic. The
players look slightly jagged at times (their edges appear to be a little
rough), but that’s the only significant complaint I have. The audience looks
good with the camera placed at a distance, even though the spectators are
nothing more than a paper-thin background.
Fact:
shiny surfaces are good. Keep them that way with Pledge.
NBA’s
gameplay is kept simple with controls that just barely pass the depth of an
arcade game. The face buttons are dedicated to shooting, passing, blocking and
stealing. When controlling the ball, the square and triangle buttons spin your
athlete left or right. The PSP’s crystal-clear shoulder buttons are to be used
in conjunction with the face buttons: L for passing (button icons appear over
the head of each player) and R for specific moves.
That’s the
only time the game makes you feel like you’re really involved in something,
when you’re holding the R button while tapping the directional pad. NBA’s move
list is not the smallest I’ve ever seen, but it is highly repetitive, using
the same button sequences for multiple moves (the move that’s performed is
based on the floor location). The computer-controlled athletes are repetitive
in that they don’t perform enough unique moves to give the illusion that you
really are facing off against a basketball legend.
Hoping to
create some innovation with unique shooting controls, the developers wound up
with a game that’s more frustrating than it has to be. I appreciate the
attempt. Basketball games are a point-and-shoot genre, where all the strategy
goes in timing, lining up the shot, and where you shoot the ball from. NBA
throws that old, tried-and-true concept out the window.
The
ball is green, yet my opponent’s the one who’s envious. Go figure.
The game
replaces it with a time-based shot system. It’s somewhat like a music game:
hit the circle button to prepare to throw the ball, then wait for the red
circle to turn green before pressing it again. Do this correctly and the ball
will most likely go through the net. Swoosh!
If the
circle never turns green you’re in trouble (it won’t if you’re in an awkward
position or you’re standing too far away from the net). Whether you press the
circle button a second time is not imperative to shooting the ball; that will
happen on its own after a short period of time. It is, however, imperative to
those of you who want to score goals. Red balls have a chance at going in the
net, but history says it’s not likely to happen.
As I said in
the beginning, this is more frustrating than it has to be. It seemed like a
good idea – at the very least it was a different one – and might have worked
if the timing was a little easier to get the hang of. It couldn’t have hurt to
make the green light stay on a little bit longer, too. The side effect of this
would be a decrease in the challenge, but that isn’t that high anyway. I’m no
basketball expert, I just like the games, so I can’t say what the best choice
would have been. All I know is that the choices they did make are ultimately
less satisfying than those of its home console predecessors.
You can’t
steal what you can’t feel.
NBA shines
beautifully on the court, looking better than most Dreamcast basketball games
(some of which were stunning). If having great graphics was all it took for a
game to be great, NBA would be one of the brightest stars in the sky. We all
know that’s not the case though. Graphics are secondary – gameplay comes
first.
NBA is fun
only part of the time, and during that time it feels shallow. Where’s the
depth? The crazed addictiveness of Gretzky NHL? The polished controls of World
Tour Soccer? They’re nowhere in sight. All that’s there is a game that, while
moderately impressive on the PSP, would leave you feeling gypped on any of the
home consoles. Rent it for kicks, but save your dough for something more
fulfilling.
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Gameplay: 6.9
Take NBA Street
and replace the fun factor with so-called realistic gameplay (like not being
able to pick up a ball that you’re touching). NBA isn’t terribly boring, but
it’s having the opposite effect that Wipeout Pure had on me: the more I play
it, the less I want to. The run-pass-shoot gameplay couldn’t possibly be fun
forever. Believe me, it isn’t.
Graphics: 8.8
Gorgeous! If NBA
is the first PSP game you play, your jaw will drop so fast it’ll make your
head spin. This was the fifth game I played, so its visuals didn’t stand out
quite as much. They did, however, garner far more attention from my eyes than
Gretzky NHL and World Tour Soccer, primarily due to the undistinguishable
athletes in those games. I discerned NBA’s athletes the second I looked at
them.
Sound: 5.0
Rap music on the
menus, annoying beats during games. Very few sound effects overall. What’s
there doesn’t sound that good – even if I liked the music, I’d still be
unimpressed by its lack of clarity.
Difficulty: Easy
Concept: 7.5
A basic
basketball engine that features a unique shooting system. It didn’t work out
too well, but I’ll still thank the developers for trying something new.
Multiplayer: 6.5
WiFi multiplayer
for two, both ad hoc and infrastructure are supported.
Overall: 6.9
I can’t help but
wonder: NBA what? Is it NBA 2005 or NBA 2006? That wouldn’t matter if the game
was great. I wouldn’t be sitting around, pondering which year the game is
supposed to represent. I’d be reveling in the joy of another must-have PSP
launch title. NBA is anything but a must-have or a must-rent. Rent it if you
must, but don’t expect it to do anything but appease your eyes for an hour or
two.
