basketball

Developed exclusively for Nintendo GameCube by Nintendo and Left Field, NBA Courtside 2002 taps into the power of GameCube to deliver authentic NBA action like never before. Up to four players can hit the hardwood simultaneously and talk trash to their hearts' content as they bust sweet crossovers, first-step jukes, and monster dunks.
NBA Courtside 2002 delivers a one-two punch of slick graphics and tight gameplay. Precise face-mapping ensures that your favorite ballers are recognizable, and fluid player animations bring the game to life. Why do the moves look so good? Because Left Field spent two days with NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in an intense motion-capture session. Unique to NBA Courtside 2002 is an adrenaline button that can give players the extra juice they need to turn a normal lay-up into an ankle-breaking reverse jam. Lively commentary brings the action to life without becoming repetitious.
Out of all the basketball games ive played this is definitely the best. Why? The graphics are ok but the dunks are what makes it good. The arcade mode is AWESOME but i wish there was a dunk contest, o well...

Let me start off by saying that I am an avid fan of basketball and basketball games. I own and love(d) NBA2K2 on the Dreamcast. But then I got my hands on this NBA COURTSIDE game. Gamers new to this game may not be used to the way this games focuses on offense rather than defense. This game is all about scoring with teams shooting at around 60-80 percent if the game setting is sped up. Let's start with the different modes of play. This is not as complete as the 2K2 or Live. There is your Quick Play (or Exhibition), Arcade Mode (NBA JAM-like style), Season Play, and Skills (3-point contest and practice). The practice mode isn't like 2k2 where one guy has the ball and just shoot or dunk anywhere on the court. This practice mode has your whole five on the court and you can actually execute plays. No franchise or Creat-a-Team. But you can create your own players and gain points to make your player better by playing games and doing well. Next is gameplay. On offensive, shots go in easily if you are open. And if you are not open, just drive by your man and dunk it in his face. This game has amazing dunks and players have amazing hops on offense. When you execute a dunk, you also add to your momentum meter. The higher the momentum is favoring your side, the easier(even more) your shots will go in and your opponent's will not. On offensive, steals are easy to pull off if your timing is right. This isn't about pressing the steal button until your thumb falls off. It's all about timing. Your best bet is when your man is spinning or crossing-over. Also, a lot of times, your center(last man of D) will wonder away and double the man with the ball, leaving wide open dunks way too often. That's why the 2-3 Zone is a better set in this game. A lot of times, man defense will just lead to wide open dunks or lay-ups. A plus on defense is the crazy blocks on defense. Dunks and blocks in this game will keep you pumped the whole game. The commentators (guy who does Clipper games - Ralph something and FOX Sports News's Van earl Wright) will keep you excited with emotional phrases after blocks and dunks. Unlike the AWFUL and DULL commentators of 2K2, Ralph and Van earl will get you excided with Woa!'s and Wow!'s. Especially if you pull of a game winning shot or saving one with a block. The is clearly the best commentators, programed with even with details about players such as "As part of a draft day trade, Penny was traded to the Magic after being picked by Golden State....." Speaking of Penny....EVERY PLAYER'S NICKNAMES ARE IN THIS GAME! With Shaq leading the with Shaq Diesle, Shaq-Easy, Shaq Daddy, to RayRay (Ray Allen), the Answer, Big Dog, Mad Dog, T-Mac and of course MJ among the ones I have heard. Kobe has a rating of 99 but somehow, Jordan is(rated lower) is more deadly than Kobe. MJ can drill a jumper anywhere on the court and can dunk like he is 25. I scored 41 with MJ in a Quick Game with 3 min quarters. Jordan is AWESOME in this game. Now, to the details of this game. From your subs walking off the bench (every player is detailed sitting on the bench) to the banners on the walls of the Staples Center. Every arena is detailed down to where the luxury boxes and the tunnels are in each arena. This is also the best graghics I have seen in a basketball game. Overall this is definitely a MUST BUY. Unless the GameCube is so good that LIVE and 2K2 will also excel. But if you can't wait that long, this game will definitely keep you satisfied until the others are available. Until then, I am going to go dunk some more now.

NBA Courtside's an entertaining game, a very easy game to learn and play. The biggest drawback of this game is that it's just too simple. There's practically no skill involved in playing this game. There's very little control over dunks, blocks, shooting, and everything else.

The players and their likenesses are in the game, but in terms of skill and everything else, it's just not there. Players' real-life talents and abilities are not relfected in the game, with the exception of Shaq being a poor free-thrower.

The graphics are also very generic. The crowd looks very bad. The two announcers are those who call Clippers games, and are decent, but their limited phrases get old really fast.

One of the minor redeeming qualities of the game is that you can create your own player. This feature is great in that you can customize a large list of physical characteristics about the player. Of course, when it comes to basketball skills, the attributes aren't specific enough to make a noticable impact on game-play.

So if you're looking for a very simple, unrealistic but easy-to-play basketball game without much customization, this one's for you! If you'd actually like skill to be involved in the outcome of a game, look elsewhere.