NBA SHOOTOUT 2001

"Take it! I'm sick of this game" Click To Enlarge

"I deserve better than this game" Click To Enlarge

Gameplay:
The gameplay in Nba Shootout 2001 is decent but nothing to be proud of. The players seem very awkward and clumsy. They run like they have some kind of head disease and run like a hunchback. Sometimes they will play smart and at other times the AI just goes crazy with stupid passes,moves,etc. For example sometimes you'll have a fast break and when you press the shootbutton instead of going up for a rim shaking dunk you'll go behind the backboard and airball the layup, costing you 2 points. The idea of touch-shooting was a nice one, but it still needs some work. You will find yourself making 10 straight and then the next time down the court you will miss 10 in a row when the bar lands in the exact same spot. The computer controlled players don't move well with the ball either unless you call out a play for them. They will all just stand outside the 3 point line waiting for you to either shoot or give them the rock. On the Rookie and Veteran (2 easiest levels) you'll find yourself making every shot with any player, and if you adjust the game to All-Star or Hall Of Fame (2 hardest modes) you won't hit the broadside of a barn, this is very disturbing. Free-Throws were also very poorly designed in Shootout, you are forced to line up the basket with a long tube that floats back and forth and then as the ball starts to fall you must line it up on green, which the manual does a very poor job of explaining how to shoot these shots. At first you will find yourself airballing them or shooting them hard off the backboard, also you can shoot them in the exact same place at different times and sometimes you'll make them and others you won't. Most of the shots you will make will only be dunks, which are very unrealistic, because in the NBA you don't see a player dunking over 4 players of the opposing team. Also where is the francheise mode 989? This has been incorporated in basketball games since at least 1999. However if you have a friend and like arcade basketball games this might be alright if you adjust the rules a little bit. The gameplay in Shootout is more fitting to a Nba Jam type basketball game than the simulatiion it appears to be. Sadly it probably has the better gameplay of the 3 basketball games appearing on the Playstation 2 so far (Live,Final Four).

Graphics:
The graphics in Nba Shootout 2001 are a mixed bag. The arenas,banners, and crowds are excellently represented. When you score a big basket at home the crowd will get up and cheer and you can easily recognize the areans to their real-life counterparts. On the bad side there are some serious problems. A lot of the players look very similar and you don't really get the feel that you are actually playing with that person. As i mentioned earlier the player models are horrible, when was the last time you saw an NBA player running down the court like a hunchback? Some of the dunks are done excellent and others horribly. You will sometimes go up for a dunk and appear behind the backboard. Like I stated earlier these are really a mixed bag, if you can get over the player models you should be alright.

Sound:
The sound, like the graphics, are also a mixed bag. Ian Eagle of the New Jersey Nets brings you the game, as Shootout only has 1 commentator. He is usually very dull and repetitive when speaking of the game. Occasionally he will come up with a fresh line but usually you hear one of his 8-10 phrases repeadly throughout the game. When the home team scores you will almost always hear a song comming over the PA system in the arena, usually a farmillar song. The sound is very average but not too bad.

Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 6/10
Gameplay 5/10
Lasting Appeal: 6/10
Overall: 5.5/10


StainD