Good looks only go so far.
PlayStation 1
Released in 1995 by EA Sports
Grade: C-
This simple 5-on-5 basketball game is notable for combining retro-style player sprites with a 3-D rendered environment. It’s decent fun but has a slew of gameplay issues.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the first EA basketball game in 32 bits, and plays almost like a port of the 16-bit versions, which still had 97 and 98 versions on the way. NBA Live 97 on PlayStation and Saturn began the ugly but necessary transition to 3-D graphics.
Praises and gripes
It’s downright cute. The sprites and 3-D court have a nice look and the sliding, titling side view camera moves smoothly. The gameplay is familiar for anyone who played the 16-bit versions. The control is simple to pick up.
It also inherits the same old problems. Rebounds are tough to track down, defensive AI is spazzy, shots near the basket can look awkward, and fouls are random.
On top of all that, there are some new problems. You’ll constantly pass to the wrong guy, which is infuriating when you have a wide open teammate under the hoop.
You can often lose control on defense and watch your player slide way out of position.
Players take up a bit more space on the court than in the 16-bit versions and will frequently bunch up into little mosh pits.
Every now and then a shot will go in or not go in to your surprise, and you’re thinking, “How’d that happen?”
I really wanted to love this game. It’s charming. But the gameplay flaws rear their heads way too often.
Fun little note: This may be the first game to have players’ last names underneath them as they posses the ball, which was repeated in damn near every sports game since.