Ever since the Dreamcast launch on 9.9.99, Sega Sports, led by Visual Concepts, has been a big reason for the success of Sega's 128-bit system. Another big reason for many of those $199 units moving off shelves was the 56K modem packed in the box.
Finally, this past September, almost a year since that launch date, Dreamcast owners were allowed to enjoy those two features at the same time with the release of NFL2K1. Sega's debut of their online network shocked the gaming world with that football title, and, later on, with Quake III Arena. Now, the people at Visual Concepts are back for an encore with their NBA2K1 release!
As everyone knows, NBA2K was a basketball fan's dream! The realistic player models and beautiful graphics were coupled with great gameplay to make NBA2K a great success; so much so that it is now part of Sega's bargain All-Stars Program. With the 2K1 update, has Visual Concepts tampered with the formula that made the original great, or have they just given us NBA2K + SegaNet?
Read on for the final word!
Visuals:: NBA2K was always a beautiful game, and NBA2K1 doesn't deviate from its previous success in this category. The player models are still fabulous, and the animation is still well done. The player faces still look like the actual professionals, and the environment still brings you right onto the court. Still.
Some of the more discerning eyes will notice a few small details that may be seen as detractions. For example, the well-detailed crowd of 2K makes a strangely pixilated appearance this time around, and some of the faces don't look as good as their previous counterparts. Also, the dimensions of some of the players are pretty interesting; take a look a Karl Malone in-bounding the ball for an example. He seems to be suffering from a case of bloaty head.
If you're looking for improvements, there are very few to find. There are new passing, crossover, and blocking animations, but nothing that will wow you like the first one did. Also, there are new cut scenes, such as players high-fiving each other at the free throw line, and the aforementioned in-bounding scenes. Another thing added to this game are the nifty Street games and those courts; very nice for a change of pace, allowing for a breath of fresh air from those rough arenas.
That said, the game is still the best looking basketball game on the market. If you're looking for a significant evolutionary step from 2K, though, you will be disappointed, but there are those additions mentioned earlier. To be fair to Visual Concepts, I guess it is hard to improve upon the near-perfection shown in 2K.
Audio:: As for audio, I do like the new Busta Rhymes musical hook at the title screen and subsequent setup menus. Other than that, it's largely the same as last year's game, at least in terms of actual aural quality. The execution of the announcing is much better than 2K in that we didn't hear the announcers being interrupted or mixed with the background noise. Another small step up, but a very cool one. I still have that hook in my head...
Gameplay/Control:: From the games that we played, the gameplay is largely the same. Still smooth, and still the best-playing b-ball game around. Visual Concepts, thankfully, did not mess with a good thing.
Visual Concepts did not skimp on the addition, and that's especially sweet for old-school basketball fans! In addition to current basketball teams and rosters, you have your choice of teams featuring players from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Magic and Bird, Wilt the Stilt, Earl the Pearl and others are there for some cool throwback games, and it's a really wonderful addition to this already-strong 2K1 title.
The other big addition is the inclusion of Street games, which happen on a variety of world-famous outdoor courts in New York City and Chicago. In these games, you can hit up a simple 2-on-2 game all the way up to a regular 5-on-5 game on the sweet blacktops. Oh yeah, there's another big addition...
SegaNet! If you played NFL2K1 online, then the NBA2K1 online setup is cake because it is the same thing. Using the same username and password that you registered with on your NFL2K1 game, you have the selection of three regions: East, Central, and West. Selecting those servers will open up a variety of local servers, and you will be thrown in a chat room once you've selected a city near you. Once there, you challenge or get challenged, set up your options, select your controller, and hit start.
The games that were played were largely lag-free, as I had selected challengers with "Great" under their "Connection" rating. After only a few games, there is a difference between the online and offline play. The online play is certainly not as smooth and the regular game, and that goes for everything from shooting to rebounding.
For example, while shooting is very smooth and fluid in the regular game, the online game adds a little bit of a lag to the end of your shot. Also, anytime the ball is turned over, there is a slight delay which I assume is the connection recalibrating itself. Nothing that affects gaming in a major way; the game is still very fun. Picky gamers may get impatient, though, but just make sure you have a great connection, make sure your competition does too, and you should be fine!
Extras:: As for extras, other than the addition of online features, the throwback players, and the Street games, there's not too much else! What do you want, candy too? The extras mentioned earlier in this review make this a solid update to a great game! The game still supports four players (up to eight online), it uses 150 blocks of your VMU, and it is compatible with the 4XVMU. You can also use the VGA Box, and the Jump Pack and Keyboard peripherals are supported.
Overall:: With NBA2K1, Visual Concepts has struck Dreamcast gold for the fourth time, and for the second time with SegaNet-playable titles. If you're a basketball fan, there's no question as to whether or not NBA2K1 is worth it, because you probably already have it! While not a huge technological leap from the previous title, what do you expect from the update to the best basketball game out there? NBA2K1 is a worthy title, and it is the best basketball game on any system, period.
Score:: 9.0/10
Developer | Publisher | Genre | Players | ESRB | System |
