I won't waste your time with this review.  I will tell you why NBA2k is the best basketball game of all time.  What makes a perfect game?  Graphics?  Well, NBA2k plays at 60 fps and looks as good if not better than Sega's jaw dropping NFL game.  The NBA players are far more detailed, whether it be skin tone, build, hair, tattoos, arm bands, or individual texture mapped faces.  The players have the most believable representation of their true counterparts ever seen before in a video game.  When I first played this game I wasn't sure if the player intros were a cinema or actual rendering of the players... it's that good!  There are many camera angles that you can chose from, including a cinematic view, which looks exactly like a television broadcast of a game.  Even the smallest detail was added, like players eye movements and blinks, and facial expressions when shooting the ball, adding to the realism during instant replays.

If you believe that presentation is important, then you will be thrilled when you see your first game.  The opposing teams players are introduced like in a regular basketball game, then the lights fade.  Booming music begins to play as you see the home teams logo dancing on the court, pulsating as if shot from a laser.  Each player is announced as he runs to the court, encouraging the fans to cheer even  louder.  The game itself has several options too, like a full season play, quick start game, and a nifty character creator.  If you want to recruit yourself to the Los Angeles Lakers, you can do so, entering your height, skills, and a myriad of other stats and attributes.  It's kind of scary how many options there are, but fans will not complain!

In my opinion, gameplay is the foundation of a game.  NBA 2k excels in this category for multiple reasons.  At first, I thought that the controls were a little too complex, but after your first game (I lost by an embarrassing amount) you will pick up the basics.  By my third game I had finally beaten the computer.  NBA 2k is a nice mix of a simulation and an arcade game.  The action is fast and fun, but there are subtleties like penalties and time violations that you will have to be careful about.  If you do not know the rules of basketball, you can turn these penalties off, but it is more fun with everything turned on.  You can pick offensive and defensive plays real-time with controller combos, which will take a little getting used to.  Also, successfully  executing an Alley-Oop can be a bit frustrating.  Cross-over moves and quick passing really make this game fun to play, and getting that awesome dunk replay is incentive to want to play some more.  With several offensive plays, the ability to call for a pick, and special player dribbling moves, you will have fun slashing through your opponents defense.

If you like basketball, buy this game.  If you like sports games, NBA 2k is equally as good as NFL2k, so again, buy it.  If you don't like to play basketball, but like to watch it, then buy the game and have the computer play itself.  the graphics are good enough to entertain you even if you are not playing.  The bottom line is that it's apparent that Sega put in a lot of effort creating this title, and it shows in more ways than one.  NBA 2k is a top-class game that nobody should overlook.  Electronic Arts, the former king of sports games will have to go back to the drawing board to beat Sega's current offerings.  Excellent game!

reviewed by Todd Alexander