Poll - Best Hoops game on XBox?

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Thu May 27, 2004 7:14 pm

I know this is an old topic, but was wondering which is the best bb game any why, between:

Live 2004
ESPN Basketball
Inside Drive 2004

I tried Live2004 PC Demo and liked it pretty much. I tried an Inside Drive
demo and wasn't crazy about it (outdated look, lackluster audio). I had NBA2K3 and liked it, but ESPN basketball wasn't that well received. I am leaning towards Live, but want to know what you all think?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu May 27, 2004 7:19 pm

Inside Drive without a single reservation. You cannot beat it. It might not have the most polished graphics or sound but if you're looking for real tendancies and gameplans, no other game comes even close.

It just depends on your priorities. Flash, NBA Live, Substance, Inside Drive...waving shorts, NBA 2k4.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Thu May 27, 2004 7:47 pm

Inside Drive by a landslide for me.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu May 27, 2004 7:54 pm

Inside Drive. No contest.

Out,
PK

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Thu May 27, 2004 8:43 pm

Inside Drive 2004 in a cake walk.

AJColossal · Post by **AJColossal** » Thu May 27, 2004 9:59 pm

ID all the way.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu May 27, 2004 11:42 pm

Inside Drive

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:21 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Inside Drive without a single reservation. You cannot beat it. It might not have the most polished graphics or sound but if you're looking for real tendancies and gameplans, no other game comes even close.

It just depends on your priorities. Flash, NBA Live, Substance, Inside Drive...waving shorts, NBA 2k4.

Ditto.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:39 am

i liked 2003 better.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:46 am

I liked Live for PS2, but I think the Xbox version had some nasty slowdown.

Inside Drive is the best overall game, but I was kind of bored with it this year after playing it a lot last year. I don't think the gap between Live and Inside Drive is nearly as large as others see it. I had trouble getting realistic foul/free throw totals and turnovers in Inside Drive. I think the Live engine does some things much better than Inside Drive, but the lack of offensive rebounds really hurts Live. The main problem with Live though is what hurts most of EA's games...the teams all play the same and you ultimately get bored with it.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Fri May 28, 2004 10:09 am

Inside Drive!

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri May 28, 2004 10:31 am

I found little to like about Inside Drive. Slow animations, weak atmosphere, horrendous player models, over hyped gameplay.

While ESPN's College Hoops was far from perfect, the pagentry and atomsphere, along with decent gameplay and sweet off the court fun made this my favorite basketball game of all time.

To each their own though....

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri May 28, 2004 10:33 am

By the way, I see College Hoops wasn't a choice to pick from. I apologize if I got ahead of myself. If you're asking what NBA game was tops this year, I'd have to say none. I wasn't impressed with any game this year.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri May 28, 2004 4:31 pm

didn't anyone try ESPN or Live? What's wong with either of those? I'm surprised becasue NBA2K3 was so highly praised.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Fri May 28, 2004 4:43 pm

JackB1 wrote:didn't anyone try ESPN or Live? What's wong with either of those? I'm surprised becasue NBA2K3 was so highly praised.

You may want to try some other message boards. People here usually like the more realistic games. ESPN Basketball was pretty much a setback for the series, but it's still more realistic than Live but not as much as Inside Drive. I would suggest going with either Inside Drive for serious basketball or Live for arcade play. ESPN is like a messy mixture of both.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 28, 2004 5:47 pm

JackB1 wrote:didn't anyone try ESPN or Live? What's wong with either of those? I'm surprised becasue NBA2K3 was so highly praised.

I'm pretty sure everyone tried all three...it's just a fact that ID plays a more realistic game of hoops. See my quote in the first response:

dbdynsty25 wrote:It just depends on your priorities. Flash, NBA Live, Substance, Inside Drive...waving shorts, NBA 2k4.

That's just the way it is.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Fri May 28, 2004 6:14 pm

JackB1 wrote:didn't anyone try ESPN or Live? What's wong with either of those? I'm surprised becasue NBA2K3 was so highly praised.

I bought them all. Inside Drive was the only one I kept until I sold off all my season games last week.

NBA Live and March Madness were both similar games. The courts were about half the size they should have been, no offensive rebounds. Freekish slowdown in both games on the Xbox. It has been so long since I owned it, remember the flaws is hard to do. * But according to other forums, not other game had better shoes.

ESPN NBA Basketball put you too far away from the action. No ability to change your camera. * But they did add the 24/7 mode to compete with EA for bling bling style points. ESPN College Hoops and ESPN NBA's biggest flaw was what makes Inside Drive so darn good. I am a graphic whore. I do not see anything wrong with ID 2004's graphics. The animations, while not overdone seem to work for me. The key to ID 2004 is the player control. The feeling that you are not trapped inside an invisible wall. That they give you a camera that makes you feel like you are part of the action. Yes it is a no frills game. No purchasing special shoes, no 24/7 mode but if you want to play basketball this is the game to get.

If there is one complaint I have with ID 2004 it would be the announcing in the game. I am not going to knock the choice of Kevin Colabro. The guy does this for a living. They just do not have enough variation and the repeats get a bit stale. Also before you hit the sliders you will find the AI tends to want to drive the ball against the player you are controlling at an extremely high clip.

I had a rant on this a week ago. I love College over pro but ESPN Football and ID 2004 forced me into playing more pro games then college.

Oh and ID 2004 brand new it is only $29.99. Live is still $49.99 new.

koebner69 · Post by **koebner69** » Sat May 29, 2004 3:57 pm

ESPN NBA is a mess.I tried all manner of Advanced Sliderology to make it work,but the game is unsalvageable.The AI code is broken.There is no defense to be played.Your defender does not occupy actual space on the court.All teams play exactly alike.There are only 4 set plays(with variations based on player positioning).This years' iteration of ESPN leaves me with little hope for the series.The early PR from E3 addressed none of the gameplay issues.They may fix the cameras,and of course there will be more headphones and backpacks to unlock in 24/7.