Graphics - 9.5
Sound - 9.5
Control - 10
Replay - 9
I am an avid sports fan. I love to play, and watch them all the time. I wanted NBA 2k1 as soon as I started playing NFL 2k1. Football has never really been my sport, but bball has always been my 2nd fav (baseball being my fav) So, when I FINALLY got NBA 2k1 after numerous delays from EB, I couldn't wait to pop it in. My expectations were high, but did it meet them?
Graphics in games are getting better and better. NBA 2k1's are no exception. From the facial expressions, to the bench animations, this game simply looks amazing. The dunks are done, and look exactly the way they should. If you play street mode, the dunks you'll get to see are only better. From thru-the-legs to the double-pump, you'll guaranteed jump out of you seat when you just dunk over whoever is trying to guard you. I couldn't get enough of Carter dunking over T-Mac, and then trash talking... simply beautiful.
Sound should be considered one of the most important categories for sports games. Great sound creates great atmosphere, and great atmosphere can lead to upping the realism by leaps and bounds. NBA 2K1 comes VERY close to doing that. The only time I wish the game would have more chatter, is when the home team is at the free-throw line. I know the crowd tries to be quiet in real life when this happens, but not to the point where you can hear a pin drop. It'd be nice if they added some sort of momentum meter too, and have the crowd really roar when the team goes onto a 10-0 run or something. Very close, but just off enough I had to give it only a 9.5. NHL 2001 for the PS2 did it right, so you can use that as to what I'm trying to compare to. Getting the license to Redman's beat for the menu's is nice, but where'd the lyrics go? I mean, come on... if NBA Live 2001 did it, why not here?
What a great controlling bball game... just, wow. You really get the feel of what it should feel like to actually be playing in the NBA, or just playing basketball. If you play as Shaq, and try to do a crossover dribble, prepare to lose the ball. If you do a crossover with Iverson though, prepare to jam the ball down hard, that is if you timed it right. A great ballhandler is about 60% of the battle, timing it right is the rest. Meaning, if your guy straight-up sucks at ballhandling, chances are you'll fail, and have it stripped. The blocking system works great, and much better than I thought. At first, I wasn't used to it, and figured that they should have just left it like NBA 2k's... but now, I love it. There's no better feeling that Carter knocking the ball 50 feet down court on a dunk by T-Mac (yes, I had to use these 2 names again). And of course, depending on the players chance at a block, depends on 2 things.. their skill, and the timing. Timing is much harder now, but much more rewarding. In the manual, it says "Hit X (jump) at the same time as the shooter, then hit X (to swat) again at the same time he shoots." That's pretty much how you do it, but it isn't easy. Watching for the fakes is tough, but that's how it is in real life. The blocking system is well done. The only minor gripe I have, is with the post up game. I found it impossible to block my opponent, even when I went the right way. Yes, it did tend to alter the shot, but I should be able to block it once in a while, to guarantee it's not going in.
The replay category basically is the same as NFL 2K1's. You've got your exhibition, street, season, practice, and franchise mode. The franchise mode is identical to NFL 2K1, except you only do 2 rounds of drafting at the end of the year, and that your contracts are paid in points, not dollars. The point system is not as good as the dollar system, because you don't really know how much is too much, unless you do the math. I don't plan on doing the math, so I'll just go with the flow of things. You get a cap of 950, and usually the most a player will ask for is around 200, but those are the Jordan-like players and they'll only ask for it if they're truly worth it. There's two things that bother me though... 1. If I simulate a season, week-by-week, notify me that a player got injured so my team doesn't start sucking before I realize that my star player was on the injured list for 2 months!! and 2. The players stats change way too much during the course of a season. I've had Carter go from 96 overall, to 86, and then back up to 93 again. That could be related to a hidden "hot-and-cold streak" of some sort, but players shouldn't be effected so much.
But, when it's all said and done, don't even hesitate to buy this game if you like bball. I don't know the range of sports fans that like bball, but this is an excellent game, and really adds another notch to Visual Concepts greatness at making sports games. I would probably recommend this game to everyone... non-bball fans should atleast rent it to appreciate how great it really is.
(Note: my review is done without the online part of NBA 2k1, because we Canadians can't get a good ISP to use for gaming, so I simply won't get one, and thus, can't review the net aspect of anygame til the LAN adapter is out)
Overall - 9.7
- The Drop