(Sorry for the bad English, English is not my native language but i'm doing my best)
I have now been playing both games for about 24 hours each and i have the following comments to make.
Most likely you don't agree with me on all points and thats fine, but please spare this threat for
lame negative comments like "are you on crack?!?". If you have any comments to my views please post
them. Maybe i'm wrong, and there are allways room to learn more and get smarter.
Presentation:
NBA2k3.
Segas new ESPN style presentation is really nice. It spices everything up a bit and makes it less
boring to wait for the games to load. The Nightly wrapups are a bit too simple and if you, just like me,
instinctly press cutscenes away one blink after they start, you will loose the game wrapup
because they are linked to the endgame cutscenes.
The menu music in NBA2k3 is simple and anonymous. For some reason Sega didnt make it possible to play
you own tracks from the harddrive. That is really a shame and would justify the simple standard tune.
Overall the menus are nice and there are tons of options.
The newly implimented slider system makes the player able to ajust the game to his style of playing and
still end up with realistic stats. The days where you had to play like the gametesters at Sega to end up with realistic stats are over! Hurray!
Live 2003.
If you played any EA game you allready you know how the menu system looks. It's easy and logical to manuver thru. The game presentation is not nearly as nice as Segas but its funtional. Then you click back and forth thru the menu system you notice small 1-2 delay between some screens. It's not a big thing but it can become slightly annoying.
EA has, as allways, spend alot of money on a nice hip hop soundtrack for the game. I prefer to use my own songs as you can get tired of listening to the same song(s) over and over (Montell Jordan anyone?) but just like Sega, EA didnt include that feature.
Commentary:
NBA2k3.
Allmost the same as last year. Very basic, uninteresting but not annoying. No extra insight on any of the stars.
After playing a bit you can complete most of the sentences by just hearing the first word and tone of voice.
It seems like they are triggered allways by the same events. Try hitting 6 treys, then 3 more. Well, you
will hear him call that every single time. It would be nice if they had some kind of dymanic system.
Live 2003.
Allmost the same as far back as i can remember. The game looks brand new but sounds old. If Marv Albert is
going to call the plays next year it will be a much needed update. Sometimes the plays are called wrong but its not that often.
Graphics:
NBA2k3.
Let me say this first, the faces are clearly more like the real life counterparts in NBA2k3, but the complete impression and general looks is not that impressive. They changed the looks from the last years superwide models, but it's not completely there yet. The player movement looks stiff and at times like they are scating around.
Widescreen 16:9 TV's are supported witch is very nice for people that have one of those.
Live 2003.
The graphics are very nice and completely different from last year. The faces are not even close the most of the players real life counterparts, but you generally only notice that in the close up cutscenes. The cutscenes are boring, very boring. Most of them shows players or coaches discussing with the ref (there is no ref in the game just in cutscenes).
The body design is nice and the overall graphics are nice and have a smooth look. No widescreen 16:9 support.
AI:
NBA2k3.
The AI in NBA2k3 is not impressive. Most of the time the players just stand or move around like they never played together before. No spacing, No screens away from the ball, no cutting towards the basket.
The CPU don't runs plays too much, at least it doesnt look like it. It's the same old PG jogging the ball up to the 3pt line, standing 2 secs, dribbeling 3 steps forward, standing for 2 secs, dribbeling 3 steps back and makes a lob pass to a teammate that now stands 2 feet from him. The CPU does not pass to a guy you leave wide open every time on any of the difficulty levels. Very dissapointing.
Live2003.
The Live AI loves to push the ball. It tryes to run the break all the time and that affects the scoring. The AI will score about the same points in 5 mins in Live as in 9 mins in NBA2k3. The AI is good at hitting the open man and will exploit you if you back up on D. I noticed that the AI has a very bad tendency to pull up a 3 pointer on a fast break even with a wide open basket. It happends quite often and looks extremely unreal.
Passing:
NBA2k3.
Passing in NBA2k3 can be very fustrating at times. Especially trying to start a fast break after a steal, block or rebound is allmost impossible. Trying to pass the ball fast up the court, the player on the reciving end stops on a dime the secound the ball is leaving the hands of the passer.
Most of the short passes are for some reason lob passes. Yes, this can be toned down with the option "Maximum Passing" but lobs passes are still there and you have to press the pass button hard to make a cheast pass and it dont do it every time no matter how hard you press it. The CPU team still throws lob passes all the time with the option on or off.
Live2003.
Passing in Live is fast, a bit too fast. The is a good mix of bounce, cheast and lob passes.
One thing that annoyes me, and this basicly counts for both games, is how players can catch a full court pass running away from the ball with thier back to the passer, just by sticking thier hands out to the left or right and the ball drops into thier hands. It looks like the playes can't look back and run in different directions. It happends alot on fastbreaks. Hopefully this will be made possible in the future.
Defence:
NBA2k3.
It seems like Sega focused equally on the defence and the offence in 2K3. You can play tight D. Since the pace of the game is in most cases slow you can successfully guard post playes. Quick guards can become a problem, but a defencive reassingment can usually take care of that just like in real basketball.
All blocking fouls you make around the basket when playing agains the CPU ends up as a shooting foul putting the CPU at the line. Maybe it's a new NBA rule i dont know about, but its a bit distracting for the gameplay.
The "swtich to last man" buttom is missing so you will have to think fast to get the last man to try and stop a fast break. I can't seem to take any charges either. There is no button for that like in Live.
Block attemts seems a lot out of control but the ball can end up everywhere after a block, even in the hands of the guy you just blocked.
Live2003.
The freestyle control makes it really difficult to guard friends or the CPU. I need more practise but it looks like playing really tight D is allmost impossible. One very nice feature is the freestyle "hands up" possibility. Using this you just put your hands in the air without trying to block the shot. The blocks are allmost allways "get out of my house" monster blocks.
Gameplay:
NBA2k3.
The general gameplay is very impressing IF you take to time to learn the controls. The game is not that easy to master and the learning curve is a bit steep but if you are a NBA2k veteran its not that bit a task.
In the beginning the game seems to run in slow motion. I think the speed is somewhat realistic but something is missing.
In basketball generally, change of speed is one of the most dangerous weapons. Yes a great crossover can get you half a step on the man guarding you but so can a sudden speed change. The game seem to run at one pace.
Live2003.
The gameplay is fast. Lots of fast running, fast passing, fast shooting and fast dunking. If you rather watch "NBA Action" than watching a whole game this is perfect for you. Its fun and fast and you can pick up the controller and play. The Freestyle control is perfect for a session with your friends going at each other and doing "in your face" moves on each other. The freestyle control also adds more fun to playing offence, on behalf of the realism.
Franchise:
NBA2k3.
Franchise mode in NBA2k3 is very advanced. There are alot of options and things you have to do to run your team. You can scout players intering the draft, hire a coach and tell them what to work extra on with what players in traning camp. You can basicly let the CPU do most of the things and just play the games if that is what you like or spend hours on the details.
Live2003.
Franchise mode in Live is very basic but functional. Looks like it allways did in Live. You still can't trade draft picks!
Small things that I have not allready described:
NBA2k3.
+ Option to sim the rest of the game you are playing. You can play one half mins and then sim the rest of the game.
- Get real close to the guy you are guarding on the inbound pass. 2 out of 10 times he will end up out of bounds with the ball.
- Then the players go for the rebound they are all look like they loose control of thier bodys, not going up hard directly after the ball.
+ Some mascots are in the game (no you can't play as them) =)
Live2003.
+ Easy to pick and just play
- Generally too much easy scoring
- Bug that sometimes get you an out of bounds call on a dunk
- Only one arena
+ Nice soundtrack (if you like Snoop Dogg) =)
Conclusion:
Well, I bought both games and I'm very happy I did. They compliment each other perfectly.
NBA2k3 for realism, NBA Live 2003 for fast NBA action.
I think Inside Drive 2003 will end right in the middle and complete a great year for NBA basketball gaming!
I have now been playing both games for about 24 hours each and i have the following comments to make.
Most likely you don't agree with me on all points and thats fine, but please spare this threat for
lame negative comments like "are you on crack?!?". If you have any comments to my views please post
them. Maybe i'm wrong, and there are allways room to learn more and get smarter.
Presentation:
NBA2k3.
Segas new ESPN style presentation is really nice. It spices everything up a bit and makes it less
boring to wait for the games to load. The Nightly wrapups are a bit too simple and if you, just like me,
instinctly press cutscenes away one blink after they start, you will loose the game wrapup
because they are linked to the endgame cutscenes.
The menu music in NBA2k3 is simple and anonymous. For some reason Sega didnt make it possible to play
you own tracks from the harddrive. That is really a shame and would justify the simple standard tune.
Overall the menus are nice and there are tons of options.
The newly implimented slider system makes the player able to ajust the game to his style of playing and
still end up with realistic stats. The days where you had to play like the gametesters at Sega to end up with realistic stats are over! Hurray!
Live 2003.
If you played any EA game you allready you know how the menu system looks. It's easy and logical to manuver thru. The game presentation is not nearly as nice as Segas but its funtional. Then you click back and forth thru the menu system you notice small 1-2 delay between some screens. It's not a big thing but it can become slightly annoying.
EA has, as allways, spend alot of money on a nice hip hop soundtrack for the game. I prefer to use my own songs as you can get tired of listening to the same song(s) over and over (Montell Jordan anyone?) but just like Sega, EA didnt include that feature.
Commentary:
NBA2k3.
Allmost the same as last year. Very basic, uninteresting but not annoying. No extra insight on any of the stars.
After playing a bit you can complete most of the sentences by just hearing the first word and tone of voice.
It seems like they are triggered allways by the same events. Try hitting 6 treys, then 3 more. Well, you
will hear him call that every single time. It would be nice if they had some kind of dymanic system.
Live 2003.
Allmost the same as far back as i can remember. The game looks brand new but sounds old. If Marv Albert is
going to call the plays next year it will be a much needed update. Sometimes the plays are called wrong but its not that often.
Graphics:
NBA2k3.
Let me say this first, the faces are clearly more like the real life counterparts in NBA2k3, but the complete impression and general looks is not that impressive. They changed the looks from the last years superwide models, but it's not completely there yet. The player movement looks stiff and at times like they are scating around.
Widescreen 16:9 TV's are supported witch is very nice for people that have one of those.
Live 2003.
The graphics are very nice and completely different from last year. The faces are not even close the most of the players real life counterparts, but you generally only notice that in the close up cutscenes. The cutscenes are boring, very boring. Most of them shows players or coaches discussing with the ref (there is no ref in the game just in cutscenes).
The body design is nice and the overall graphics are nice and have a smooth look. No widescreen 16:9 support.
AI:
NBA2k3.
The AI in NBA2k3 is not impressive. Most of the time the players just stand or move around like they never played together before. No spacing, No screens away from the ball, no cutting towards the basket.
The CPU don't runs plays too much, at least it doesnt look like it. It's the same old PG jogging the ball up to the 3pt line, standing 2 secs, dribbeling 3 steps forward, standing for 2 secs, dribbeling 3 steps back and makes a lob pass to a teammate that now stands 2 feet from him. The CPU does not pass to a guy you leave wide open every time on any of the difficulty levels. Very dissapointing.
Live2003.
The Live AI loves to push the ball. It tryes to run the break all the time and that affects the scoring. The AI will score about the same points in 5 mins in Live as in 9 mins in NBA2k3. The AI is good at hitting the open man and will exploit you if you back up on D. I noticed that the AI has a very bad tendency to pull up a 3 pointer on a fast break even with a wide open basket. It happends quite often and looks extremely unreal.
Passing:
NBA2k3.
Passing in NBA2k3 can be very fustrating at times. Especially trying to start a fast break after a steal, block or rebound is allmost impossible. Trying to pass the ball fast up the court, the player on the reciving end stops on a dime the secound the ball is leaving the hands of the passer.
Most of the short passes are for some reason lob passes. Yes, this can be toned down with the option "Maximum Passing" but lobs passes are still there and you have to press the pass button hard to make a cheast pass and it dont do it every time no matter how hard you press it. The CPU team still throws lob passes all the time with the option on or off.
Live2003.
Passing in Live is fast, a bit too fast. The is a good mix of bounce, cheast and lob passes.
One thing that annoyes me, and this basicly counts for both games, is how players can catch a full court pass running away from the ball with thier back to the passer, just by sticking thier hands out to the left or right and the ball drops into thier hands. It looks like the playes can't look back and run in different directions. It happends alot on fastbreaks. Hopefully this will be made possible in the future.
Defence:
NBA2k3.
It seems like Sega focused equally on the defence and the offence in 2K3. You can play tight D. Since the pace of the game is in most cases slow you can successfully guard post playes. Quick guards can become a problem, but a defencive reassingment can usually take care of that just like in real basketball.
All blocking fouls you make around the basket when playing agains the CPU ends up as a shooting foul putting the CPU at the line. Maybe it's a new NBA rule i dont know about, but its a bit distracting for the gameplay.
The "swtich to last man" buttom is missing so you will have to think fast to get the last man to try and stop a fast break. I can't seem to take any charges either. There is no button for that like in Live.
Block attemts seems a lot out of control but the ball can end up everywhere after a block, even in the hands of the guy you just blocked.
Live2003.
The freestyle control makes it really difficult to guard friends or the CPU. I need more practise but it looks like playing really tight D is allmost impossible. One very nice feature is the freestyle "hands up" possibility. Using this you just put your hands in the air without trying to block the shot. The blocks are allmost allways "get out of my house" monster blocks.
Gameplay:
NBA2k3.
The general gameplay is very impressing IF you take to time to learn the controls. The game is not that easy to master and the learning curve is a bit steep but if you are a NBA2k veteran its not that bit a task.
In the beginning the game seems to run in slow motion. I think the speed is somewhat realistic but something is missing.
In basketball generally, change of speed is one of the most dangerous weapons. Yes a great crossover can get you half a step on the man guarding you but so can a sudden speed change. The game seem to run at one pace.
Live2003.
The gameplay is fast. Lots of fast running, fast passing, fast shooting and fast dunking. If you rather watch "NBA Action" than watching a whole game this is perfect for you. Its fun and fast and you can pick up the controller and play. The Freestyle control is perfect for a session with your friends going at each other and doing "in your face" moves on each other. The freestyle control also adds more fun to playing offence, on behalf of the realism.
Franchise:
NBA2k3.
Franchise mode in NBA2k3 is very advanced. There are alot of options and things you have to do to run your team. You can scout players intering the draft, hire a coach and tell them what to work extra on with what players in traning camp. You can basicly let the CPU do most of the things and just play the games if that is what you like or spend hours on the details.
Live2003.
Franchise mode in Live is very basic but functional. Looks like it allways did in Live. You still can't trade draft picks!
Small things that I have not allready described:
NBA2k3.
+ Option to sim the rest of the game you are playing. You can play one half mins and then sim the rest of the game.
- Get real close to the guy you are guarding on the inbound pass. 2 out of 10 times he will end up out of bounds with the ball.
- Then the players go for the rebound they are all look like they loose control of thier bodys, not going up hard directly after the ball.
+ Some mascots are in the game (no you can't play as them) =)
Live2003.
+ Easy to pick and just play
- Generally too much easy scoring
- Bug that sometimes get you an out of bounds call on a dunk
- Only one arena
+ Nice soundtrack (if you like Snoop Dogg) =)
Conclusion:
Well, I bought both games and I'm very happy I did. They compliment each other perfectly.
NBA2k3 for realism, NBA Live 2003 for fast NBA action.
I think Inside Drive 2003 will end right in the middle and complete a great year for NBA basketball gaming!
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