NBA Live 2002 will have a built-in audience. So it goes without saying that this review is for those who don’t know whether to move up to the next release or to stick with the solid 2001 version. Here are the answers.
Look: This is the one area where 2002 stands tall. The faces of most players actually look like the player and not just some generic guy, not to mention the tattoos. One improvement is the animation. There used to be the same dunk over and over again, but here you’ll see lots of different animations.
The court is tight. The refs? The coaches? I don’t see them. Oh well.
Feel: There was something noticeably wrong from go. The players are still sluggish. I can’t figure out why this wasn’t improved upon. 2001 version was really weak when it came to control issues and 2002 doesn’t make a marked improvement. The one thing that is really lacking is fast break potential. Sure, you can take off and run like gangbusters, but is your team going to follow suit? No. What’s up with that? They just hang back and get going when they are good and ready. It’s a fast break, not a coffee break.
Then there is the play-calling. I remember Tecmo basketball years back utilized the trigger buttons for play-calling so you can run and choose your setup. With 2002, you have to push select and monkey around trying to set up your offense while your player stands there picking his ass. Ridiculous.
The Franchise mode is really deep from the draft, to setting the players and other options. This is a really nice and necessary addition.
Hear: The commentary is good, not great. The crowd noise is better than in previous versions even if it’s still less than stellar.
Finally: One of the most obvious improvements is the addition of the Franchise Mode. This could be one of the reasons to move up a year, but if you love Michael Jordan, him being here alone may be the other reason. Aside from that, if you have 2001, you might not be satisfied. If you don’t have either, then when it comes to basketball this is really one of your only good choices.
+ bboy
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