NBA Live 2001 - PlayStation 2

The first thing players will notice is how the graphics represent such a tremendous leap beyond previous installments of the series. In general, players are nicely animated, and there is a good amount of detail to the arenas. However, the individual-player graphics are uneven. While most of the bodies are well rendered, many of the faces are way off the mark. Virtual Shaquille O'Neal's face looks nothing like the real Shaq's face, and most of the NBA's lesser names are completely unrecognizable. Some marquee players, like Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, look fairly authentic.

While the PS2 usually plays an intelligent game of basketball, the controls in NBA Live 2001 have a slightly sluggish feel to them and take some getting used to. Also, EA stripped away both the franchise mode and the NBA challenges (three-point contests, etc.), which had been in previous incarnations of the NBA Live series. There is, however, an excellent one-on-one mode, as well as many legendary NBA players of the past to play with and against.

While NBA Live 2001 doesn't have all we had hoped for in the first pro-basketball PS2 game, it does have enough game to keep you playing all season long. --Mark Brooks

Pros: Often brilliant-looking graphics hint at what the PS2 can really do Very good hip-hop/funk soundtrack Cool one-on-one mode Cons: Many individual players hold no resemblance to their real-world counterparts Franchise mode and NBA challenges removed from series Somewhat unresponsive controls