NBA Live 2000
Reviewed by Dyson Turner
NBA Live 2000, without a doubt in my mind is one of the best
basketball sims ever. I don't care if you have DC and NBA
2K, this in my opinion is much more better. Some things
stayed the same while others are vastly different. New modes
accompany this one all the rookies, and last year rookies in
case you missed them since 99 didn't have them. The roster
is accurate as of October 8th 1999, right before the season
started. The graphics were just ever so slightly improved
and this game is much faster than 99 and 98. Even on
Superstar mode the game is pretty fast, and it literally
flies on Rookie. I think the different options and modes
make up for last years blunder, and that all the rookies
like Artest, are playing for their rightful teams and not
sitting in free agency like others games do. My first
impression on this game was Wow! This is awesome! The
improved graphics the new modes and up to date stats and
rosters can sell anyone on this. Hoop fan or if your just
looking for a good sim you can't go wrong with this one!
Graphics 10/10
The graphics were outstanding and they were clearly without
a shadow of a doubt some of the best I witnessed in a
basketball sim. The basketball court looked much cleaner,
and it had a lot of last second details in it. The audience
although flat at least some of them in the front rows look
realistic, and not like a big blotch of pant in the
distance. The players all shared the same bodies, well
except for the height and weight but most of them moved and
were built the same way. A lot of the better-known players
look almost exactly like their counterparts. For instance
Shaquille O'Neil, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and some
more. The rest of the guy's faces looked kind of funny, but
resembled them a little bit. The dunk animations looked as
realistic as it gets with newer and better dunks than last
year, and the way the players go up for shots look
different. Everything looks more realistic you have a
different type of cross over, and it looks even cooler than
the one from 98/99. You also had the great opening FMV video
of some of the highlights of the 99 season, and during the
half time break 6 different videos representing your
conference. Overall the graphics on this game were
outstanding and this is the realist simulation for
Playstation thus far.
Sound 9. 0/10
Some classic B-ball type songs were on this game. Some
include Hip Hop Horray, and some newer ones as well. It
really kept you pumped up while you were looking at the
option screen. On the court it was just the two announcers
who were commentating the basketball game. Some times if you
listen close you could hear the coach screaming at the team
things like 'Defense' 'Pick up on the open man' and
others. During the Michael Jordan one on one you would hear
cars honk and helicopters in the defense which gave you the
feel that you were really pounding the parquet as some of
the NBA's finest. The players also trash talked with sayings
like 'Broke your ankles' 'Where's your D?' 'Can touch
that' and others. Also you could have the radio playing and
hear some of the great songs that this game has to offer.
Overall the sound on this game accompanied the graphics
quite nicely, and made this a very complete basketball sim
for the eyes and the ears.
Game Play 10/10
This game was for one to five players. All 29 NBA teams were
here with there updated rosters. You had your normal modes,
which were Exhibition, Season and Playoffs. Also some new
and fun modes were added. We would like to say good bye to
the Shoot Out mode and Chicago Bulls Roster Player, they
didn't make it back in 2000. 3-Point Contest is still here
though, new is the Classic Team Exhibition and the Michael
Jordan 1 on 1. The classic team games included the best from
the 50's 60's 70's 80's and 90's some players are missing
noticeably. Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, and a few other greats. But
you get MJ who is the star of the game you can only get him
if you beat him 1 on 1. Which is pretty difficult since his
D is tight, and he has an unstoppable jumper. He is
beatable, once you figure out how. You also have a lot of
other greats, like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bill Walton,
Classic Shaq, Pippen, Malone & Stockton. You have to do a
certain task to unlock these great though. Like get a Triple
Double in one game, get 10 steals as one player, beat the
season on Simulation without simulating games plus many
more. I do have a small problem with this game it is too
defensive minded. Now any body who even knows how to play a
little bit can snag boards, make steals Block shots. Before
back in '98 you had to be quite good to do any of these
things now just about any body can regardless of their skill
level. Well one thing that is in the good direction is the
A. I. on Superstar Level is quite formidable. Not just is it
harder to make shots, they actually play defense harder, and
they steal more, and take open shots. They still won't go
for the easy dunk off the fast break, but they're at least a
lot smarter than before. The difficulty is adjustable and
there is save feature for your roster games and legends.
Overall 10 out of 10
This is one truly fabulous game and one of the best on the
market at the time. It is still great but some of the rumors
are still missing that have been rumored about for a long
time. Noticeably no WNBA mode which I was expected and no
Dunk Contest. This game would have been over the top if both
of these were included too bad that they weren't hopefully
next year. The Fun Factor in this game is incredibly high,
if you got a multi player device and a bunch of friends you
are in for a wonderful time. This is the type of game where
you will go all the way to the finals and beyond if your
lucky. If you play this on Superstar you're probably not
going to win the scoring title, with regular players, which
adds to the realism a bit more. The replay value is very
high though the one on one gets boring in a week its still
fun to come back to and try and unlock those legends. If
your looking for a good basketball game for the PSX then
this is the game of choice from the series of choice, NBA Live.
