• ID = PS0747
• STYLE = Basketball
• DEV. = Visual Concepts
• PUB. = Sega of America, Inc.
• R-DATE = Jan-02-2001
• ESRB = E / For Everyone
• PLAYERS = 1-2 players
• LIST PRICE = $19.99
  

NBA 2K2 makes its way onto your PlayStation2 with detailed player models and a smarter AI for improved team rotation, rebounding, and all-around defense. Rosters, arenas, team uniforms, and signature moves are fully updated for the 2001-2002 season. New playbooks and a new play-calling system let you dominate your opponents more than ever before. The upgraded steal system will likely add more turnovers to the game, while a revamped low-post game ups the pressure on the defense.

New NBA rules make it possible to play man or zone defense. This title also offers an expanded crossover game that increases one-on-one gameplay, depth, and strategy. Experience the thrill of playing at both NBA arenas and legendary street courts such as Philadelphia's Hank Gathers Rec Center and Oakland's Mosswood Park. NBA 2K2's broadcast presentation, cutaways, and commentary complete your NBA experience.

Description 2:
It’s all about the egos in the NBA, and such is the case with NBA video games. Not about to let the competition get a leg up, Sega returns with a blistering installment of its pro basketball title, and this time it’s shooting for the championship. Choose your NBA franchise and try to take your club from the opening tip right on through to the Playoffs. All of the teams and players are ready for action, and you even get access to the real arenas, logos, and uniforms.

The AI has been vastly improved for this version of the game, resulting in computer defenses that are harder to read than Phil Jackson’s mind. New motion-capture animation makes the game look and feel like the real thing (or at least as close as anyone’s ever come), and extensive research has yielded accurate playbooks for each team. Another notable addition is the game’s ability to track your performance online and show you how you stack up against the world’s top gamers. In addition to the standard NBA environments, NBA 2K2 lets you play street ball in Oakland, New York, or Chicago.

• Real NBA teams.
• Current rosters.
• High AI.
• Motion-capture animation.
• Multiplayer action.

Amazon.com Review
When Sega decided to discontinue the Dreamcast, it opted to make its excellent sports titles available for other consoles. And not a moment too soon. Competition is always a good thing, and Sega Sports titles, including NBA 2K2, are some of the best in the business.

NBA 2K2 features all the teams, rosters, and, most importantly, rule changes (like the now-legal zone defense) found in the real NBA. Player faces have been mapped to realistic body types (complete with tattoos), so you can identify a big man like Shaq or a speedster like Iverson without looking at their numbers. The game takes full advantage of the graphics-rendering power of advanced consoles by including better texturing, lighting effects, facial animations, and a higher polygon count to make sure all the jukes, spins, jumps, and dunks are as realistic as possible. The audio is also good, particularly the play-by-play, which is accurate and speedy.

The controls are intuitive--even for people used to the Dreamcast--especially in the area of on-the-fly play calling. You can now use the right analog stick instead of the digital pad, so you don't have to take your thumb off the main controls (left analog stick) to call a new play or change formations. Other controls let you quickly and fluidly box out your opponent, spin, shoot, pass, fake, and dunk.

There are also eight street-ball courts, and this addition makes for an almost entirely new game. In this respect, it is the equal of the EA Sports NBA Live series. But NBA 2K2 surpasses EA's title with its excellent AI. This game is challenging, satisfying, and fun in both single and multiplayer modes. --Bob Andrews

Pros:
Gorgeous graphics.
Intuitive controls.
Great AI.

Cons:
A release date too long after the start of the NBA season.