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> Results: ESPN NBA 2K5
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Basketball is definitely one of the most difficult sports to recreate in video games. Itﾒs stop-start, high scoring, slow and then quick paced, and the physical contact can play havoc on the physics. The gameﾒs plays are simple, continuous, yet deep. Itﾒs a reactive game, and its fans know exactly what it looks like. This year ESPN is taking their plucky but determined series in another head-to-head showdown with sports leader EA, but this year theyﾒve got some new moves and a very attractive price point. ESPN offers everything its rival does. You can play a tournament, a full season, quick games using any NBA team, you can use Dynasty Mode (dubbed here, The Association) to manage the nuts and bolts of a team for years on end, and other options like Street Ball switch things up and let you portray favorite players in their street garb. Missing from ESPN but present in Live this year, is the All-Star Weekend, which means thereﾒs no Dunk and 3-pointer contests. In both games you can use Sliders to precisely modify the game to make it easier or harder, based on the way you play. ESPN however, has solved one of Liveﾒs greatest problems. Passing. In Live, players stop to catch a pass. This is not only unrealistic but unsatisfying and it makes Fast Break fans cry. In ESPN, players can catch on the run, and this opens up the game considerably. One of ESPNﾒs unique features is their IsoMotion control. Basically one of the thumbsticks allows more fluid control. Slide your player around defenders on the layup, spin in the air while jamming, hop-step backward to fake the defense and nail the jumper. Itﾒs all good, only last year it was crazy good. Players relied on and exploited it too much and it unbalanced the game. It looks like theyﾒve done this by upping the defense, not by limiting the control. Basically the AI plays better, uses the fundamentals better, and consequently players will find it harder to use IsoMotion to fake the D. Well done! ESPN offers 24/7 mode, which is basically a create-a-player mode with a slight RPG twist. You create your man and then play him through the training ground to collect points to unlock new levels on the map. There are even bosses to defeat on the court, and this mode doubles as a nice tutorial to develop the skills thatﾒll make you the envy of the dorm, living room, or a terror online.  Once again ESPN plays well on the PS2 and Xbox over the Internet. One cool feature is that 24/7 mode is available online. So you can play 1 on 1 versus your friends or strangers. Itﾒs amazing how much more personal this makes the online experience. Itﾒs a wonderful feature and addition to the series. The sound effects are good. From the sneaker-on-wood floor squeaking to the grunts and shouts of players, itﾒs all here. The fans cheer appropriately and boo when the momentum shifts against the home team. Fitzgerald and Walton are on hand for commentary, and itﾒs decent, impressively accurate, though repetitive. Once again ESPN is a winner in terms of presentation. An animated and polygonal Stuart Scott offers voiceover for his ESPN telecast quality half-time and post game shows. ESPN is the leader right now when it comes to making the players look, move, dunk, dribble, collide, jam, realistically. The courts look great, lighting is great, the crowds look ... okay, and the action and presentation are, in a word, superb. Where ESPN stumbles and falls is with facial modeling. The big stars look right but they havenﾒt put the time EA has into getting all the players to look exactly right. Also, for all the praise Iﾒve heaped on ESPNﾒs presentation, the interview segments have to go. Theyﾒre robotic, canned, creepy, and often the player being interviewed sounds nothing like the real deal. Itﾒs exactly the wrong line to cross and without it, the presentation would almost be TV-quality. ESPN NBA 2k5 is a very solid basketball game and at the low price, itﾒs worth picking up just if youﾒre curious about EAﾒs competition, or about sports games in general. It offers loads of gameplay, solid physics, unparalleled animations, and terrific graphics. I love this game. Kid Factor: GamerDad believes sports games are among the best to play with kids. Competition and complexity intertwine beautifully in video-Football and SEGA does everything possible to teach the game to new players. Parent and child can even play co-op versus friends or the AI, and bond throughout a long season of play. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 7+ Genre: Sports ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Producer: SEGA Developer: Visual Concepts This review, except for the Kid Factor, was original published by Yahoo Games Domain. It is republished here with their permission. 
GamerDad believes sports games are among the best to play with kids. Competition and complexity intertwine beautifully in video-Football and SEGA does everything possible to teach the game to new players. Parent and child can even play co-op versus friends or the AI, and bond throughout a long season of play.
Kid Factor by Andrew Bub
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