Overall: ESPN NBA 2K4 is well worth the money it's not great playing with friends but it gives enough of a challenge to stack up next to any other title on the market Gameplay: There are several modes of play my favorite is a season they have the standard option for a 28, 54 or 82 game season the learning cure of the game is rather sharp after 20 odd games you should be winning all games on anything but allstar mode
They have many un-lockable that you can work through they gave me a few extra hours of play to un-lock them all so i could get to legends mode
I found street mode to be a total waste of time the creators of the game put in minimal effort into developing an even style of play by simply running left everytime you can quickly rack up wins
Graphics: The visuals are nothing to write home about but pretty fair for a basketball game could do with a few more dunking animations closeups you can see thats shaq that iverson so there decent Sound: They have mostly rap musice playing there are plently of variations it's catchy but does get old after playing the game a 100 times
Overall: This game is overall a very fun game to play but there are a few things in the game that become really annoying and end up pissing me off. Overall, however, this game has a lot of different modes which provide many hours of fun. The 24/7 mode is especially amusing. Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty smooth and fun but there are a few things that are annoying. First, people that have above a 85 rating on long range shots make almost every 3 point shot they take including WALLY SZCERBIAK shooting fadeaway 3's and making them consistently. Next, half of the time when you take the ball up the court, your players suddenly start crossing over and doing spin moves without you pressing a button. This is very frustrating because they call a charge on this often. Also, layups and dunks are way to easy to block. If Kevin Garnett pulls up to dunk over Mike Bibby there is no way that he would ever be stuffed. And yet, it happens every other time. I realize that you can turn down the effectiveness of blocks on dunks and layups but it is still annoying. Finally, on the new feature of 21, after you make a shot and get to shoot your free throws, your oppenent can jump up and goaltend the freethrows and half of the time they give the ball to someone else. Whats up with that? Well other than those complaints the gameplay is fun. Graphics: This game has above average graphics for a basketball game. The players in this game were done exceptionally well (although Kevin Garnett looks like a gorilla) and every court looks almost identical to how they do in real life. Although the crowd is nothing spectacular, it is not bad. Sound: The soundtrack for this game is pretty good, although when you play for a few hours in a row they just keep playing over and over. You end up knowing all of the words and find your self singing them in the shower. Just Kidding but they are still kind of repetitive. The on-court sounds are good except the announcing, which needs a little more to be good. For example, I was winning a game and the computer took a last second shot which would have sent it into overtime but he missed it. The announcer suddenly yells out "HE MADE IT! WE ARE GOING TO OVERTIME!" although the game ended right there. Little things like that bother me. Suggestions: Fix those complaints that i mentioned in the sections above. The only reason I will not buy ESPN Basketball 2005 is because NBA Live 2005 is supposed to be on Xbox Live, which was mostly the only reason I chose ESPN over Live in the first place. Finally, the roster updates are far from right so next time take more time to update every teams roster.
Overall: This game is basically an overhaul of NBA 2K3 with added features. It has the 24/7 mode, an excellent franchise mode, online multiplayer, etc. It's just a great game and it'll get you addicted in a heart-beat. Gameplay: The gameplay for the most part is fine except a few little pet-peeves. For example, say you're on defense and the ball is stripped. The computer scoops it up for you so fast that you may still be pressing buttons. What usually happens to me is I'll still be pressing "X" without having enough time to react and my player ends up heaving a cross-court shot. It's one of those annoying stat-busters. Another little pet peeve is the iso. It seems that several times in one game, without even touching the left joystick, your player goes into friggin iso. Then no matter what button you press, who you pass it to, they keep doing the gay iso. I usually go crazy on the controller pressin every button except "X" (shoot), until it goes away. It's just really annoying.
One more thing is the defensive AI. I play on allstar and it's so dam easy to just run full-speed down the court, run half-way around a guy, and force your way into a layup or to the foul-line. It's like the sorriest defense you've ever seen. But like one in every 4 times your shot ends up getting blocked. It's still sorry defense though. Graphics: The visuals are superb. It makes NBA Live look like sh!t. Every player looks like the real thing. Yao Ming looks like Yao Ming (compared to the downloadable Yao for NBA 2K3), Ron Artest looks like Ron Artest, Lebron James looks like Lebron James... it's great. The courts are accurate and well modeled too. Sound: It's about time. They finally got some real music for the menus. They got some kinda rap and it's really addicting. One of the songs goes something like this... "I told you once, I told you twice, That my jay is nice, so RESPECT MY GAME." There's alot of songs to choose from but only like 3 or 4 play regularly. You can always edit your jukebox though. They probably got some tips from the guys at EA Sports because that ESPN tune from last year's NBA 2K3 really wasn't cuttin it. The court sounds are good too. Announcing is average, nothing extremely special. Two thumbs up for the sound!!! Suggestions: Tweak some of the gameplay things but other than that, keep up the good work. Oh yea, Jermaine O'Neal should be rated higher than an 89. Elton Brand is an 89 and he isn't as good as Jermaine. Come on, he deserves at least a 92.
Overall: Amazing. My favorite was the "24/7" feature. Under this mode, the game reads the console's clock and lets you play in real time with special bonuses, unique visuals (depending on time of day), hidden players only accessible at certain intervals and unlockable accessories. Plus, audiences lose stamina and skill the longer they go without playing. Gameplay: There's no shame in three-pointers, but driving the ball to the net for an alley-oop to Vince Carter has never been more amusing, courtesy of the game's responsive player control (left analog stick) and dribble features (right analog stick). Its called "IsoMotion" technology. Like the easily navigable main- and sub-menu screens, I just call it Graphics: In a word: unrivaled. Handsome players, enhanced animations (including jerseys and shorts that sway with motion) and a slick new ESPN-powered presentation rock the house. Sega has also made it so that the players become shinier over time due to sweat. My only concern: given the man's current situation, does that mean Kobe will need extra towels?!? :) Sound: Same great music, sounds, and everything that was delivered last year. I just love the ESPN license, because it feels like im watching sportscenter at some times. Nice job Sega! Suggestions: YES! Keep up the good work! You guys are greating at making quality basketball games!
Overall: This games is the best basketball game ever made! It is THAT good. I mean everything is top notch right down to the uniforms moving! GREAT I say GREAT! Gameplay: This is AMAZING. So much better than NBA 2k3 It was not just a step foreward, it was a Tracey McGrady tomahawk jam foreward! You can pass som much better, and the ISOmotion rocks. The gameplay was a little weird at first, but I just adjusted the sliders, and viola! The best bball game ever! Graphics: These are the sweetest graphics of any sports game ive seen. These blow NBA Live SKY HIGH! The jerseys the JERSEYS! THEY MOVE! The sweating looks realistic as well. This is where the game shines in my book Sound: This is where the game falls a little short. The announcers are not the best, Tom Tolbert sounds horrible. The on court sounds are average and so is the crowd, but I quickly got over that once I got immersed in franchise mode Suggestions: Hire better annoucing talent, maybe Bill Walton, or Kevin Collaboro And make the crowd react a little better, DUNK & 3pt contest, and player intros. Thats all GREAT GAME
Made in Canada