ESPN NBA 2K5 (PS2)

Recently Sega have released a triplet of games, this one, ESPN Ice Hockey and ESPN American Football, I decided to buy this one, mainly because I can remember playing a demo of an ice hockey game from my youth and finding it impossible and also because I don't know the first thing about American Football apart from the ball is shaped like an egg!

I'm quite glad I bought this one because the rules are quite easy to pick up, and if I put the difficulty to easy, I can win all the time!!!

Gameplay

Obviously, basketball is a very fast game, so this game would have to be very good at keeping up with what is happening, and I am happy to say, that they have succeeded. You can also have tree different speed modes, slow, normal or fast, they are all very good to use, although normal is probably the best. One problem with the gameplay is the controls. There are so many things to do in basketball, and Sega/Global star software have tried to include every single move and trick there is but unfortunately it has backfired on them. There are three different sets of controls to choose from but they are all as jumbled up as each other. You would expect shoot button to be next to the pass button, to make easy quick pass and shoot moves, but they are completely different sides of the controller. Sega/Global star software have created “IsoMotion,” this is the way that the moves are pulled off and how smoothly they are pulled off, some of the moves you can use are crossovers, hop and spin steps, and up-and-under moves in the post while containing advancing ball-handlers and forcing turnovers on defence. Some of the tricks they have tried to put into the game are impossible to pull off, because you have to press a combination of buttons in the right order at exactly the right time, IMPSOSSIBLE!!! But at least they have being able to include every single team in the NBA league, which are:

> 76ers
> Blazers
> Bobcats
> Bucks
> Bulls
> Cavaliers
> Celtics
> Clippers
> Grizzlies
> Hawks
> Heat
> Hornets
> Jazz
> Kings
> Knicks
> Lakers
> Magic
> Mavericks
> Nets
> Nuggets
> Pacers
> Pistons
> Raptors
> Rockets
> Sonics
> Spurs
> Suns
> T’Wolves
> Warriors
> Wizards

Graphics

The graphics have to be the best thing about this game. You can even see the creases in the players’ vests as they go for a shot. This game is presented just like it is on telly, players’ names will come onto the screen, how many points a player has got, and what the other scores are in the other matches. Facial expressions change depending on what is happening, e.g. if a player has just made an awesome slam dunk, that player will be smiling, but if he has just got pushed over onto the hard plastic surface, he will not look very happy at all. Sega/Global Star software have made every single player in all the teams look like they do in real life, and they have also made the manager of each team look like they do in real life as well. If you get a bucket, then your players on the bench and your manager will celebrate and shout encouragement at you, but if you let a basket in, they will look disappointed and the manager will shout at you to get you to play better. The replay is a great feature as well. You can zoom in, zoom out, focus on a certain player or basket and put it into slow motion, so you can see the beautiful skill performed as you win a match 73-71.

Sound

Sound is also a great feature in this game. Players shout for a pass, your teammates on the bench give you encouragement, your manager will shout tactics at you, and the crowd shout comments at you, if you get a basket, a person in the crowd will shout something like, “well done lets get another,” or if you aren’t playing very well, they might shout, “come on, you can play better than that.” If you score, there is all the general noise you would expect there to be, crowds cheering, hooters blowing, flashing lights, and the speakers shouting the name of the player which just scored. And this has to be the best commentary in a game as well. For once, instead of just saying one player’s name, then not saying another name for about ten minutes, they will constantly say the names, they recognise when you are on the break, when it is a great shot, and when it is a terrible tackle, and they will comment on something associated with what is happening, and they will be able to say what the score is no matter what score it is, unlike in football games where they are programmed only to say the score until about 8-0 and then they will only say it a high scoring account. The commentators are ... and …, and there is also another one beside the court called Michele Tafoya who comments at half time what the managers have said during the interval.

Lifespan

This game is the best basketball game there is on playstation 2,so for die-hard basketball fans, this will never be off, but for average gamers, this will last am few months. It isn’t because it’s a bad game, because it isn’t, it’s just that after pulling of the same trick several times, that never fails, and never having any competition because you’ll be forced to put it on easy, as medium and hard are impossible. But a good note on lifespan is that there are many modes.
There is “the association” mode where you pick a team out of the list of teams from above, and play a full season with them, trying to win your league, as well as trying to get one or a few of your players in the top ten all star players. And there is also a mode called “24/7.” This is where you create a player from scratch, (that looks like you), and build your stats up in training camp, gain respect from other players and gain new items by completing tasks and challenges. There is street mode, where you hit the neighbourhood courts where you first honed your skills. Show love for your roots while proving to all spectators that your game is tighter than ever! There is one-on-one mode where, obviously, it is one player versus another, NO HELP, NO EXCUSES!!! 21 mode, where it is a classic every-man-for-himself street game, and the first player to 21 points wins. You can also create your own tournament with any 4, 8, or 16 teams of your choice, plus you can have the standard practice mode.

Rules of basketball

Basketball is a very fast game, so the referees have to be very quick to see a tiny foul. There are many ways to commit a fowl in basketball:

> Reaching in too much will result in a foul

> Standing still with the ball for more than seven seconds

> Holding the ball while going backwards over the halfway line

> Charging into another player

> Going over the sideline while holding the ball

> Holding the ball after there has not being a shot for 24 seconds

> Grabbing the ball while it is on the inside rim of the net, when it is about to go in.

Overall

This overall, is the best, and only basketball game there is on the playstation 2. The graphics and sound are fantastic, and this is the must have game for basketball players. This game will keep you entertained for a while, but will soon become to repetitive and easy once you have mastered the harder levels, but is worth buying all the same!!!

Thanks for reading.