Nintendo 64
Released in 1999 by EA Sports
Grade: C
The best you can expect from this game is a bit of shallow fun. It fails as both a simulation and as an arcade representation of basketball.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the second of only two NBA Live games on N64.
Praises and gripes
It’s pretty telling that the default settings include no rules and 3-minute periods. The action moves quick and simple and loose, but with some sim elements awkwardly tossed into the mix. CPU defenders stay in front of their man, and there a few advanced controls like spins and screens.
You can score in a variety of ways, like dunks, layups, floaters, and jumpers. The game rewards sheer willpower over finesse. Just get a shot any way you can. I found myself repeating the same half-court offense, just call for a pick, go around it, and put up a floater. But I also found myself scoring baskets by simply heaving the ball downcourt to a guy near the basket, which looks ridiculous.
On defense, the loose control makes it tough to stick to your man. Steals and blocks are hard to come by, but there’s an overpowered shove, which will jostle the ball loose easily. If you change the settings to include fouls, you’ll have to play more realistically, but will labor with the loose control and randomly called fouls.
The game looks okay by N64 standards, moving a bit more smoothly than the PS1 versions, but the camera never seems quite right. Like other basketball games, it’d be easiest to control with a vertical view, but this one feels too high and distant from the action.
Also worth noting, the default controller settings feel awkward, using Left-C for turbo and B for shoots. Luckily, you can customize them.
Anyway, when I sit down to play this game, this is what goes through my head:
First quarter: Jeesh, this game is an ugly mess!
Second quarter: Actually, it’s pretty fun to score and shove people! What light-hearted fun!
Third quarter: Should I feel bad that I keep doing the same moves over and over?
Fourth quarter: Why am I still playing this game?