Gaming Target - GameCube: NBA Courtside 2002

Written by Jonathan Nicklas on June 07, 2001

First Impressions: Will it look bad for the game if Kobe and the Lakers get swept by our 6ers?...Wait, I'm a computer geek, and don't watch sports

Fans of Left Field's NBA Courtside franchise should take pleasure in the Kobe Bryant-endorsed next-generation basketball simulation, courtesy of the fine folks at Left Field. Subsequent to the firm's lackluster PlayStation offering УSlam Сn JamФ, Nintendo perceived the software company's project, NBA Courtside, and acquired a stake of Left Field. The development studio's Nintendo 64 software included quite the impressive lineup of games in the genre of sports. Software including Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant, and Excitebike 64 graced the platform. Into the next-generation, the third installment of the NBA Courtside series is in the works, as Left Field publicized it in playable form at the E│ Exposition of 2001.

In terms of visuals, Left Field's offering is the standard upgrade of Nintendo 64-to-Nintendo GameCube. Brand new animations and player models are intricate and smooth and in high-resolution, although the crowd is fairly bland, a standard trademark in games of the sports genre. The development studio is implementing motion-capture technology, and it is indeed quite impressive. Additionally utilizing face-mapping, eye-candy is aplenty. However, the E│ demonstration featured unrealism nevertheless. Of course, expect a beefed-up, more fluid NBA Courtside by the Nintendo GameCube's launch.

The significant alteration to the controls of the next-generation NBA Courtside is the utilizing of the camera stick to pass. The absence of the standard pass of integrating the control stick and pass button is a welcome addition indeed. Courtesy of the camera stick pass, the option of running in any direction and passing simultaneously is available. Despite the addition, the control stick also maintains the switching of defense, and allegedly caused perplexity. Turbo and aggression is courtesy of the analog triggers, L and R, respectively. The turbo, obviously, gives the player extra speed while aggressiveness is utilized to give the player extra further force, also known as (gasp) aggressiveness. The Z button's responsibility is also crucial as it is used to play the low post. Typical maneuvers including crossovers, finger rolls, spin moves, and of course dunks are accessible.

In gameplay, NBA Courtside 2002's predecessors lacked speed and music. However, courtesy of the GameCube hardware, NBA Courtside 2002 is expected to flourish, as it is paced fast and integrates an advanced engine. The AI is admirable as Left Field implemented attributes to players. For example, the man, Vince Carter, and AI, Allan Iverson, are excessively double-teamed. Sensibly, and correspondingly, inferior players are overlooked. Expect the standard modes, including pre-season, season, playoffs, and custom players in addition to in-depth statistics in the hoops game. Presumably, a real-time play-by-play announcer is expected to return in the 2002 edition of NBA Courtside.