Portable Gaming Revolution

Welcome to the next edition of the “Quick Hits” review. Where you get PSP reviews, in a fraction of the time

This time we’ll be diving into an old, hehe…old, title known as NBA, by 989 studios. Upon booting up the UMD the soundtrack that starts up is great, although I am getting a little tired of the cliché hip-hop found in most basketball games. With Sony backing this title, I should think a wider range of music is at their disposal. Also The crowd cheering is a bit bland, but it is just crowd cheering. What should I expect, right? Everything else is there though, from the sneaker squeaks to the announcer on the overhead telling you who knocked it out of bounds.

Graphically I can’t stress enough about how detailed and colorfully rich this title is. You can pick up on what player you want to throw the ball to as easily as seeing Iverson’s arm guard, to Shaq’s notorious tattoo’s. Furthermore the court is shiny and reflectively beautiful, and that really lets you see some of the PSP’s crisp display and graphics quality.

As far as Gameplay goes, this is where the game tends to lack a bit. Don’t get me wrong, as there isn’t much to complain about, but it is there. For instance, when you rebound a ball under the opposing teams goal, you turn around to toss the ball to another player, and tend to step out of bounds causing your team to loose the advantage of rebounding in the first place. Also, when you come in close to score on your goal, for some reason, the guy your controlling usually decides not to jump up and dunk, but rather just toss a nice simple jump shot up. What’s the fun of that?!? Being the intimidating 5’10” (1.78 meters) tall that I stack up to, I love when I can dunk on someone in game. Lastly, the control function to shoot is off the wall. Instead of holding your shoot button and releasing at the right time, like every other basketball game on the market, you have to tap the button, wait for your shot to turn green, then tap it a second time and hope your timing wasn’t too soon or too late. This is WAY too tedious for a handheld system.

With all that said, this game is still a big time consumer of mine, and i’m a hockey fan, so that should say something. I’ve put more time into this game lately than any other since I’ve picked it up. That’s why I’m still giving it the title of a “Quick Hit!”

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By: Bret Jennings
cyko95 in the Forums
cyko95@pgrevolution.com
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