In its second year as a major sports game development house, Visual Concepts offered football fans an update that was more than most gamers could expect. While NBA 2K1 needed to cover less ground in the gameplay department than its football counterpart, Sega's second Dreamcast basketball game still offers a similar leap in quality over its predecessor. In addressing many of last year's gameplay issues and adding a great selection of new improvements, NBA 2K1 is yet another winner. 

Visually, NBA 2K1 is fairly similar to NBA 2K, although there's an intangible difference to its look that takes a while to get used to.  Many of the players look more like they do in real life this time around, and the animation is still very impressive. The crowd and bench animations also look just as good as they did last year.  

The sound effects are also pretty solid, with more of Visual Concepts' excellent commentary leading the way. Game noises are just as good as ever, although the coaches' comments haven't seen much of an upgrade from last year. Sound glitches from 2K, including sounds that would loop and a PA that would cut out for no reason have been addressed. Simply put, while the game sounded great last year, it sounds even better now.  

The value of real-world basketball strategy is even greater in NBA 2K1 than it was in 2K. The reason being that defense in the game is much more effective. Guarded shooters are far from automatic, and if there's a hand in a player's face, shots will rarely fall. Realistic play is more essential than it was last year thanks to the inclusion of illegal defenses that are actually called and charging fouls that are, for the most part, called appropriately. Those two calls were mostly absent from NBA 2K and their addition makes for a much better experience. Charging is occasionally called when a defender isn't set, but calls can also be adjusted in options if it's a problem. In two-player games in particular, having charges called when they should be is a godsend.  There are still a few quirks that will hopefully be addressed next year. Crossovers tend to result in lost balls too often - not a good thing. It can still be a bit too difficult to drive around a stationary defender, though, and some gamers might find scoring on the newly improved defense too difficult. A big problem in 2K was players who stood out of bounds on the edge of the 3-point arc. They don't stand there any more, but they've simply shifted to standing behind the baseline. The change has reduced the number of unintentional passes out of bounds for me, but they still happen and they're still incredibly frustrating.  

Control is great again this year, with a few exceptions. Non-icon passing seems a bit sloppier than it did last year, meaning it's a bit too hard to direct the ball to where you want without calling up passing icons. The icon passing, on the other hand, is great. But when it comes to making a quick pass on a fast break or hitting a free man, more often than not, the spirit will be willing but the fingers will not be able.  Real crossovers also seem a bit harder to pull off, as a press of the crossover button will often result in your player taking a step to the side of his ball hand, sort of a basketball juke rather than a crossover. While some players might appreciate it, I found it more of an annoyance than anything else. In an unfortunate decision, last year's free throw shooting system is still around this year - so like last year, free throw shooting is far too easy, with even Shaq making most of his foul shots.  

Visual Concepts added a great selection of new features to the game this year, the most notable being online play. The general consensus seems to be that NBA 2K1 doesn't play as well as NFL 2K1 did over the Internet, but I could not test this out as a broadband user who lives outside of SegaNet's coverage area. Sega has also added a solid franchise mode and a selection of historical teams, featuring such all-time greats as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Dr. J. A street ball mode has also been added, which includes a selection of four real-life street basketball courts. Playing in this mode can be a great change of pace. 

NBA 2K1 is a worthy successor to 2K. It refines the gameplay of its predecessor and adds an improved focus on defense. No longer will your human opponents be able to shove their big man under the rim or run down your defenders as they dunk over you. This is another great success for Visual Concepts, who are now four for four with their sports titles – no small feat.