Like NFL 2K3, NBA 2K3 is presented in the patented ESPN style. The game has all the sights and sounds of the NBA: the pomp and circumstance of pregame introductions, accurate arena recreations, realistic player animations and sizes, and fluid dribbling and shooting (including crossover moves and the ability to change shot direction in midair). All of this is accentuated with special touches such as alley-oops, tipped shots, the ability to make passes on the fly, fierce rebounding battles under the basket, and the added drama and excitement of the ball bouncing off the rim before it either falls in or goes awry.

NBA 2K3 offers a host of moves and modes on either side of the ball with 25 offensive and 10 defensive plays from which to choose. Throw in fully customizable strategy options--everything from player clutch factor to computer shot tendencies, not to mention all types of shot percentages and fouls--and it's easy to create the ideal match up and game environment. The limitless roster manager feature also ensures that league and franchise modes won't get stale.

Street mode offers a break from the grind of NBA play, allowing you to go two-on-two or all the way up to five-on-five in nine playgrounds and gyms. Pick your favorite players from current teams or choose greats from the '50s through the '80s and go at it as the Ballers vs. the Ringers. Street even features requisite trash talk such as "Yeah! You like that?" and grunts backed with "Get some!" --Larry White

Pros:

• Accurate, eye-catching graphic representation
• Challenging artificial intelligence
• Realistic gameplay

• Blocky player movements
• Players celebrate with fans after key shots
• Lob quality of passes

Note: This review refers to the PlayStation2 version of this game.

This game is also a really cool multi-player game. On my XBox I play with my brothers and you can play 4-players. This game is very comprehensize and there are a plethora of options. You can pick any team in the NBA, and play any way you want. You can make up your own players and play streetball. You can play a practice game or practice free throws (which are kind of hard, you need to press both triggers). You can turn off all the rules like backcourt violations and 3-second violations.

The graphics in this game are excellent. The use of lighting effects is really nice, and the game movements are very lifelike. This game definitely shows off the power of the Xbox graphics engine.

Overall this is a great basketball game for Xbox. It's a very good choice compared to the other basketball games for Xbox.


A lot of fun, once you get the hang of it   June 28, 2003
Scott Mitchell (San Diego, CA United States)
I have played a lot of different basketball games for a number of consoles, all the way back to EAs first foray into basketball games with the Sega Genesis. This game is one of the best ever. One downside is that it takes a while to get used to the game's game play. I started playing on the "average" difficulty setting, and promptly lost 10 in a row playing superior teams vs. inferior ones! I put it down to "easy" and got the hang of the game, and am enjoying the game more and learning its secrets.

Some valid complaints: the passing game isn't 100% solid. Many times players will stop once the ball is passed to them, standing still until the ball gets there. This is infuriating when you're trying to orchestrate a fast break. Also, the computer's point guard does a bevy of moves to always get by me. Seriously, I think each game the guy I'm guarding throws up 20-30 points, 90% of them in crazy layups.

Sometimes you foul a guy and it looks like it was a foul on the groud, but they give the guy free throws. That is, the refs in this game are very loose on their definition of "in the act of shooting." You might foul a guy and then he takes two big steps and does a layup and they count the shot. I guess that's a lot like the NBA, though, huh? :-)

If you are a true basketball fan, this game is worth picking up. There are some cons to the game, but nothing major. Also, you can tweak settings (like how often the computer tries to drive vs. shoot jumpers) to help mitigate what are perceived as unfair computer advantages. Also, XBox Live support is present, which is killer.


2K3   June 19, 2003
Rhybert (Trenton,NJ USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is the same as playstation2 verison i love all ov the 2K's this has better graphics then playstation2 but this is a good gane overall.


The best version of the NBA to hit the console yet   April 24, 2003
William Stenson III (Round Lake Beach, Illinois United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Okay here is my review and 1,000 words is not enough to cover this game. Bottom line here is great game with only a few things stopping it, best basketball sim I have ever played.

Pros: The gameplay is very realistic, not perfect but damn close too it.
There are a nice amount of options here, not as many extras as Live, but will sastify most people.
The shot percentage is realistic, no one shoots 70% every night as a team. Some indviduals wil do that, but not the team
The graphics have to be seem to believed, lots of little touches here that just look great. Some of the colors are off, but oh well.
This game is challenging and you will have to lear how to use the plays, special moves, mid air shot adjustments, etc to your advantage.

Okay not for the bad parts, not many here.
The overall pace of the game need to be faster, not seroid fast, just faster.
The passing is tricky to do by the stick, so I use the button. The passes have a hait of lofting and that leads to easy steals.
The turbo needs to be more effective, does not reefllike you move all that much, but I did notice that each position/guy turbo works a little different. Needs overall work, but has exceptions.
The guys will stop moving after you pass it to them, not al the time but the majority. There are exceptions here also, just is annoying more than anything else.

Overall this is the best basketball sim I have ever played on a console and no basketball should be dissapointed in it. It takes a littel time to get used too, especially for Live players, but the true basketball fan will love the way it plays.


Wow!   April 18, 2003
Nba 2k3 is easily the best nba game on the market. It is realistic, fun to play, and a great and easy to enjoy gameplay. The franchise mode is great and the players actually look like the real thing. The two small complaints I have about this game is that Kobe has a 70 3-point shooting rate. But because this game is so awesome you can change that. The other complaint is that every single game no matter who it is Kobe, VC, T-Mac, on J-Rich they miss dunks. One game my friend and I counted that I would have had an extra 28 points if I didn't miss dunks. Over all easily a 5 star game.