NBA 2K marks Visual Concepts' latest effort to enhance console sports gaming.  As with NFL 2K, it's not merely through pretty Dreamcast-powered graphics, but by providing an overall gameplay experience that rivals the best the competition has to offer. And much like its other Dreamcast sports effort to date, Visual Concepts has managed to raise the bar on basketball videogames while landing a few steps shy of creating a new standard by which others should be judged.

The visuals do an excellent job of showcasing the Dreamcast's graphical power with attractive player models which are particularly notable for their level of facial detail. While some players, such as Shaquille O'Neal, look a little odd, others are the spitting image of their real-life counterparts. The motion-captured player animations are authentic and really do a lot for the sense of realism.  Facial animations are simply gravy. The smooth on-court graphics are even more impressive when you take into account the fact that, on top of the 10 people on the court, there's also a scoring table, a bench full of polygonal players, a coach, and animated (though sprite-based) crowd members.

Sound is also fairly impressive, with strong commentary and true-to-life basketball sound effects. As with all sport games to date, the commentary does get fairly repetitive after playing several games, but it's rarely annoying. In fact, the over-the-top reaction to dunks by the play-by-play man annoyed me more when I first started playing than it does now. The sounds of the game and the crowd are dead on, and coaches even offer their opinions on the action from time to time -- an excellent touch. But, as with NFL 2K, the sound will occasionally get glitchy and repeat. Also, scoring information relayed over the PA is often chopped short for no apparent reason. These two problems aside, however, the game still sounds better than any other hoops game I've played.

Rather than using such excellent presentation as a wrapper that masks a truly average game, Visual Concepts has attempted to give us the total package and, for the most part, they have succeeded.  Players generally act and react like their real-life counterparts and gamers are rewarded for using authentic basketball strategies rather than trying to drive to the hoop with the first player who gets his hands on the ball. Get Reggie Miller an open three, and he'll probably sink it. Have Shaq down low in a mismatch? Back down the defender, and get him where he needs to be to score. Unrealistic strategies from other hoops games don't seem to work too well in NBA 2K, really forcing you to rethink your game plan. On the default difficulty setting, you may find yourself struggling to win (or even to put up a respectable performance) as you come to terms with how to be successful. This isn't a bad thing and you will be rewarded with an excellent experience if you stick around long enough to become proficient. 

Controlling your players with the Dreamcast pad is a breeze, although play-calling using the digital pad is slightly odd. Passing using the default button is acceptable, although the icon passing is recommended.  It too, however, is slightly tricky to use if you're trying to get the ball to someone in a hurry.  Otherwise, the controls are solid. A nice touch is how varying pressures on the analog stick changes not only your player's speed, but the animation as well. Want to walk the ball down the court after in-bounding like your favorite guard often does? You've checked into the right game.

However, the game is not perfect.  A few problems prevent NBA 2K from being the basketball game to end all basketball games.  Defenders are a bit too difficult to drive past, often impeding the progress of your player with only a small piece of their body or an arm. (But better too hard than too easy, I suppose).  Another pro-defense flaw is that blocks on dunks and lay-ups come too often.  Illegal defenses are also rarely called.  On the other end, the lion's share of fouls called fall in the offense's favor, with charging calls coming only on rare occasions.  And when the offense gets to the line, the free-throw shooting system, while difficult at first, becomes too easy with a little bit of practice. Soon enough, you'll find yourself shooting 14/15 from the line. But, most annoyingly, players on the perimeter will occasionally stand waiting for a pass - unfortunately for you, they'll have one foot sticking out of bounds, and by the time you realize that you've passed to a player who isn't in bounds, it's already too late. Similarly lame-brained AI will have players stand helplessly as a deflected ball bounces past them.

Despite these complaints, the core gameplay in NBA 2K is simply excellent, and I prefer it to any other hoops game I've tried.  NBA 2K allows you to play a full season (after a fantasy draft, if you so choose), playoffs, as well as giving you the option to create your own player or team. While not as chock-full of extras as other sports games, the features in the game will do the trick for most gamers. 

As with most games, NBA 2K gets even better when you're playing with your friends. Be forewarned, however: while it's a blast, you'll find it much harder to play defense against your friends, with games often turning into dunk festivals. Try your tricks from other basketball titles in two player mode, and you might find a little more success with them than you do against the computer.  

NBA 2K seems to confirm that Visual Concepts' success with NFL 2K was not a fluke, as they've created yet another game that is an excellent representation of the real-life sport. A little bit of tarnish does little to spoil an otherwise golden game.