NBA 2K2

NBA 2K2
Developer(s)	Visual Concepts
Publisher(s)	Sega
Series	NBA 2K
Platform(s)	Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
Release date(s)	Dreamcast JP May 23, 2002 NA October 24, 2001 EU March 8, 2002 PlayStation 2 JP May 23, 2002 NA January 12, 2002 Xbox NA February 27, 2002 GameCube NA March 20, 2002
Genre(s)	Sports
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Media/distribution	GD-ROM, DVD, GameCube Optical Disc

NBA 2K2 is the third installment of the 2K series, it was still developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega Sports. It was released for the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and the Xbox. It was released on October 24, 2001 on the Dreamcast and later ported with PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and the Xbox in 2002. NBA 2K2 featured more street courts such as Mosswood, Fonde Rec Center, Venice Beach, etc. The game still featured the old street courts like in the previous game NBA 2K1. It was the first NBA 2K game to be released multi-platform on the series, and also the last to be on the Dreamcast. The cover athlete is Allen Iverson.

Overview

NBA 2K2 now offers a number of new features designed to improve upon Sega Sports' basketball franchise, which began on the Dreamcast in 1999. In addition to the NBA teams, players, and stadiums from the 2001-2002 season, the game includes five legends teams starring legends such as Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, and Bill Russell.

Each player's abilities reflect those based on the 2001-2002 season, so the location of shots is important depending on the athlete. Moves such as crossover dribbles, pump fakes, speed bursts, and both icon and directional passing allow players multiple options to move the ball down the court. While approaching the net, players can press a single button to pass to the man closest to the basket or use their athlete's size advantage to back down a defender. Players can also call for a pick with a press of the button, pass out of a shot, or select one of four in-game offensive plays from a roster of 16.

Defensive moves include steals, a combination block and jump button, as well as the ability to face up a ball handler, double-team a star player, commit an intentional foul, and call one of seven defensive sets such as Man-to-Man or Half-Court Trap. Before playing a game, adjustments can be made for game speed, quarter length, and difficulty. In-game features include instant replay and a choice of five different camera angles. User statistics as well as season and franchise progress can be saved after each game.^[1]

Features

Modes of play include Exhibition, an adjustable Season (from 14 to 82 games), Practice, Tourney, Playoffs, Fantasy, where players can create a custom tournament or league after drafting, and Franchise, which involves signing free agents, cutting players, making trades, and scouting for new talent before embarking on consecutive seasons. Players can also edit or create a team using ten custom logos as well as design their own star athlete from scratch.

Differences from Dreamcast

There are differences from Dreamcast and the other three consoles PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube. The Dreamcast version is similar to the previous game NBA 2K1. The Playstation 2 version has differences from the Dreamcast version. On the PlayStation 2, the intro featured R.O.C. the Hip-Hop group on the intro, where Hip-Hop soloist LUNATIC was featured on the Dreamcast version. On the Dreamcast version, choosing a team on Exhibition, they show "Home" and "Away" on the screen. The PlayStation 2 version did not show these on the screen. The loading screen on the game had a background music showing the title and the basketball on the PS2 version, but with the Dreamcast however, the loading had it very similar to NBA 2K1 with the background music with a crowd cheering in the ending. The starting of the game with the Dreamcast version shows "Today's Game" (like in the previous 2K games) whatever team you chose shows it there but with PS2 it does not show this feature. The PS2 version only shows just the team and the logo. While playing Street courses (on PlayStation 2 version) shows a background music on the game while playing. On the Dreamcast version did not have BGM's but have SFX sounds on the background. On PS2 version, playing the practice mode shows a stadium like in "Exhibition" mode. But on the Dreamcast version, have a practice basketball gym just like in the previous NBA 2K games.

References

1. ^ NBA 2K2 Overview

External links

• IGN.com
• Gamespot.com