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NBA Inside Drive 2003 for Xbox Videos >>
NBA Inside Drive 2003 for Xbox
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NBA Inside Drive 2003 for Xbox
38 reviews   4.68 of 5

Product Description

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Sound

The sound is what it should be. The commentary is pretty funny at times, but they do say the same things sometimes. The crowed has a great reaction to what is going on with the home and away teams. Well the sound is good for a sports game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is great. I really like the controls. I love the dunks..there are some pretty clean dunks in this game. Also some clean lay ups. I love the jump shots in this game..you can really make some great shots. Once you put up the difficulty the CPU becomes alot better and makes you really work for the win. The defense is done pretty well. Also I love the season mode for one thing...the create-a-player. I gotta say this is the best create-a-player mode I have seen. You start our pretty sorry but you work to get your stats up. After every game on how good you play you get points to put your stats up. Also after every game each player gets awards for doing different things like scoring 30 points, ect... This game is alot of fun to play, it may not be the deepest sim but its just plain fun.
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Sound

The sound is pretty accurate. The ball hitting the rim, the snap of the rim, the crowd reaction, the stadium music is all proper. The commentators are as good as it gets. People always say how repetitive some commentators are... Its a video game.. with a script.. with programming. There has to be limits to how far they can take it. Turn of the commentators and do your own out loud, I am pretty sure that after an hour, you will repeat a phrase or 2.

Gameplay

It's basketball! hello! This game has many things to offer the avid fan of the sport but the thing that I noticed first was the fact that the stat-tracking kept tabs on EVERYTHING. From the amount of triple doubles to the 5 straight misses. What more can a person ask for. The fact that you can create a player in the middle of a legacy is something that adds on to the replay value. The hidden secret codes add more to the game than meets the eye. It felt good unlocking the old MJ and Pippen and beating them with my new and improved Knicks with a healthy, re-vamped YOUNG Patrick Ewing at the center. :)
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Sound

I don't listen to the sound.


This game is well worth your twenty bucks. If your deciding like me which of the three titles to buy, this is it hands down.

Gameplay

The gameplay is solid, not bad except for the STEALS!. That is the worst part of this game, the steals. The CPU will step in front and arbitairily take the ball. It doesn't even look right. It looks like the CPU just gets the ball. Even with the sliders all the way down the steals will still be plentiful for CPU. But its not that big of a deal, except when your in a tight game, then you will find yourself throwing the controller (like me). The only other gripe I have about the gameplay, is the impossibility to trade with the CPU. in order to trade you have to have the excact point values. I.E. Stephon Marbury who's rated 91, for Ben Wallace who is 91. Draft picks mean nothing in trades. You cannot even trade a 92 for a 91!. Oh well. Also, the dunks are a little ficticious. When the CPU gets the ball to a big dunker he will jump and seriously look like he is flying to the rim magneticly and nobody stops him. Even at the free-throw line, someone like Tim Duncan will get the ball, jump up and like a magnet go to the rim seriously. The CPU will drive all over your defense but thats o.k. I like the Creat-A-Player, its perfect. You can't just go creating a super star, you have to work him. Either by playing games and earning points to upgrade(and it takes a LONG time to upgrade, you can't just play a few games and make your created player a super star, you have to take the long haul and stockpile those points, or you can make it so he gets better by experience in the NBA. The more you play him, the better he gets, Create-A-Player is great. Modes are just season/long haul, single game, and practice. This game is fun until you find the CPU cheating, by being able to do things you can't, lol, but that all adds to the challenge. Also there is a salary cap so you can't just go throwing money all over and win, you have to do it just like the real deal.
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Sound

Finally a game that has play-by-play with flavor. Kevin Calabro will come in at the beginning and say "Welcome to tonight's game" Then you'll get Marcus Johnson's predictions. If they have some humor in em' Kevin will come in after with "Yeah...right...thanks MJ." Kenny Smith is also chiming in with stats and things like that. Whenever a player gets injured Akeme Tikae will come in with her insight as to what his injury might be. She also wraps-up after games.
The Humor comes when, lets say, Horace Grant dunks. Kevin will say "The old man can still fly!" Marcus will say: "That's not very nice, Kevin" Kevin: "Well he's not old, he's just got a good record." Marcus: "Records, I didn't know they said that anymore, that just shows how old he is!" Kevin: "He's got no CD's,(MJ laughs)he's has an 8 TRACK! You know that's right!.
They have some good personality thrown in to this game! Microsoft did a very nice job all around.

Gameplay

The bad: 1 problem, player performance. Relate to this, go to this years' NBA Playoffs,then listen to this, the best shooter in the eastern conference is Antione Walker, 64.2 FG %. Yeah, it is my 2nd season, (I won a championship the first year) but even in my first year I shot 61% with him.I think it's because he is the teammate of the cover boy Paul Pierce. Try the eastern conference semis, where Boston got swept. Does anyone recall Antoine missing like 30 out of 37 3pt. shots?! That's it for flaws, there are many players who are either over-rated or under-rated.
(I play full 82 game seasons!)
The Good: Everything else! This is the first game I've ever played where you actually have to time your shot, and where they snap off a shot, just like in real life. Compare it to Live 2003, they jump about 10 feet in the air, + shoot like an action figure, and get blocked half the time! The very small problem is that they are all released the same way. The controls are easy to use, and the dunks are completely sick! Many "poster" dunks throughout the game! Realism is there too, you know how most games assume you make every lay-up, they actually miss some. Dunks get blocked and some shots miss so much, they go over the glass and out of bounds.
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Sound

THE CROWDS needs to come alive comon fans help em out pump up the volume scream,yell,shout,boo Wake up.The bounce of the ball on the floor bounce sounds like that all there is I llke sneakers lets here the cuts on the floor.Louder ref whistles.

Gameplay

Fun and realistic players actully move like real life NBA players it could use a few more animations in player movements like cross overs,no look passes maybe a bounce not a lot just enough to turn up on court moves. Of course this is just my take on it.Close to a live broadcast as close could get a notch closer maybe better liveler crowds getting into the game on certain plays and player movements.Pump it dude its the NBA need the crowds to get in the game.Make me feel it.Comentators need to get a bit more excited not all just a few guys you know who they are.I'm not going to dis the other BB games they all have something going on ID just has and gives more its fantastic.I've play a lot of video,pc,arcade and yes even board games belive me you got to play this game.Its easy to pick up not to fast not to slow hell even my girl gets into it.I've read the reviews now read mine.
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Sound

Sound i wouldn't know about. The music sucks, and the commentary isn't great, so i turn both of them off.

Gameplay

The most realistic basketball gameplay. 2k3 is ridiculously unrealistic. On the highest difficulty, I beat the cpu by sixty points everytime and dunked the ball every single time down court. They actually lowered the highest difficulty in 2k3 this year, from four to three. Inside Drive is tough, but in a realistic way. You make your open threes only if you're open, and you can actually block shots. Screens work well too. The franchise mode is excellent, as good as 2k3's. The other very imporant feature is that you can change your franchise settings, like game time and sim time, after you've already started in the franchise, which you can't do in other games. The player creator is a great feature too, much better than 2k3
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Sound

Such a relief after listening the the Sega announcers all this time. Comments are varied, spot on, and occasionally bizarre. I especially like how the play-by-play mane will cut-off the color commentators when something significant happens on the court. He even apologizes. It's a simple solution tot he problem of computer commentary not always matching the action on the court, and it sounds more natural than you'd think.

Gameplay

I'll just list what's great about it. The rim physics are very realistic. The computer is very tough to beat, and doesn't seem to be just going through a pre-set sequence of offensive options (unlike in 2K3, where the computer plays the 2-man, inside-outside game ad naseum). The CPU looks for the open man, and generally strikes a good balance between shooting jumpers and attacking the basket. The free-throw mechanic is simple, but you will miss from time to time. Games don't take that long, but point totals (both team and individual) are very true to life. The game keeps track of notable individual achievements over the course of a season, and knows when you've broken an NBA record. The creae-a-player is very good. I've had trouble creating a player who was not overly dominant in the 2K3 series (though it can be done), but ID 2003 eliminates the guesswork by having your created character, erm... suck. I created myself and placed myself on the Knicks, and I'm basically Lavar Postell (except short and white). I get garbage minutes, and have to work hard to make an impression, gaining upgrade points based on my achievements on the court. Very enjoyable, as I get to maintain a realistic 2003 season based on this year's Knicks roster, all the while grooming myself to be a starter years down the road, which tackles the fantasy aspect I also like. Fouls are well called, and the CPU does a great job rotating players in and out for me. And though the CPU controlled opponents can occasionally be forced out of bounds, I haven't found any glaring glitches that give me the edge over the computer. It feels extremely play-tested. I especially like the way my teammates move without the ball.
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Sound

The soundtrack is the only weak thing in this game which is not big of a deal to me because I do not hear the music for all that long anyways. The crowds can do a better job of giving someone home court advantage. You really notice this by going into Sacramento and the speakers are still on your speaker stand when in fact the speakers should fall off the speaker stand from the rumble of the crowd.

Gameplay

I have taken my basketball over to many basketball players homes that I know and allowed them to evaluate this part of the game. I understand the game of basketball very well, but I wanted a true opinion of what a b-ball game should fill like. Synopsis: One took 2k3 back to purchase this game and all the others have purchased this game.
1) The player movement without the ball is like a real NBA game.

2) Players read screens and do not get caught up all the time.

3) Rebounding very realistic. 5'10" guard like myself does not rebound over 6'6" guard like Kobe. You must block out to get a rebound and the true rebounders in the league are the ones that post the huge rebounding numbers.

4) The create a player feature has forced me to put Madden down (I am a football guy) and build my create a player up.

5) The dunks are ill. It is three times more fun to play this game with someone than by yourself. My friend and I (who plays basketball) managed to do the best thing in a video game ever with pulling the off the backboard follow dunk. We were speechless and could not play for about 10 minutes.
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Summary

it goes something like this-

1. NBA INSIDE DRIVE 2003 (hands down best gameplay)

2. NBA 2K3 (wow- an abundance of features and options and pretty solid gameplay)

3. NBA LIVE 2003 (a.k.a. 5 on 5 nba jam- don`t waste your time with this one!)

if we break down these games you will get a split between 2k3 and ID most of the time. the thing i like the most about ID is player movement without the ball! this is the most realistic BB game ever made when it comes to player movement without the ball! players move like REAL nba players move!

they don`t just stand around in the half court set like the do in other BB games, they try to get open. and this is what BB is all about! BB is not about fancy one on one moves it`s all about teamwork and executing your plays! in this department NOTHING touches ID!

you really don`t have to call plays in ID because players just automatically run plays when they`re in the half court set!

teamwork is what makes this game GREAT not one on one moves! allthough i do like the moves and with some practice your one on one moves will improve! but again that`s not what this game is all about... it`s about passing the ball and finding the open man and knocking down the open jumper or driving inside for a dunk or layup etc..etc.. that`s what ID is all about!

but their are some things i don`t like about the game--

too many offensive rebounds... you really have to pay attention to where you are on the court when a shot goes up... if you don`t block out the offense will pick up an easy board!

this is perhaps the biggest disapointment!! no ONLINE play! yeah that`s right you can`t play this game online and this is inexcusable!!

also i noticed some people were complaining about not being able to pass out of a layup.. well here`s 2 things that make this problem excusable-

1. in a real game players don`t pass out of a layup that often.

2. the layup animation are GREAT in this game!!! players protect the ball when they go in for a layup, so their`s really no reason to pass. allthough at times the defense will block your layup/dunk. but the dunk and layup animations are fantastic in this game... in order to protect the ball they double clutch or they do a reverse layup/dunk etc..etc... GREAT STUFF!

i like 2k3 but here`s why sega falls behind ID this year--

2k3 where do i begin?

well the freethrow arrows are the lamest thing in sports games to date! when is sega gonna change this? i can shoot 100% from the line almost every game!

players just stand around in the half court set and don`t try to get open!

to many botched layups and dunks! this is pathetic!

the passing and catching animations are completely screwed up- the passes move too slow and when a play catches a pass he`s usually not ready to drive the lane or pull up for the jumper, it`s like you have to get set after you recieve a pass and this really stinks! and they bobble too many passes!

the game plays too slow when you play it online!

you can tweak the game with the gameplay sliders and this will improve upon these problems but when you play the game online you can`t do anything about these flaws!

the list does go on and on for 2k3 but i will stop here. and despite these issues 2k3 is still a great game but only because of the sliders wothout them ID would blow it out of the water.

but i`m not even gonna talk about live.. it`s too pathetic!

Sound

the commentary is rather colorful but the music is just so-so. i would like to hear anything besides rap/hip hop! good JAZZ music would be a nice change! i remember nba live 99 for the PC had the best music i`ve ever heard in a sports game and it was up tempo JAZZ music. it was VERY good! but thiers not much to say about the sound in this game, or any sports game for that matter!

Gameplay

well i`ve already told you why the gameplay is the best. here`s a few features-

Dozens of dunks, including tip dunks, multiple jukes and an enhanced post-up game with new post dekes, put an entire hoops arsenal at the gamer's disposal. Team-specific playbooks and tendencies along with one-touch coaching options provide gamers with the true experience of strategic, on-the-fly play calling.

Achievements. Allows you to take a created player to new heights and lets you show off your skills. When your newly created player earns certain achievements, you'll receive additional points that you can use to increase his abilities.

Practice mode. Gamers can perfect their dribbling, shooting and passing skills in the new practice mode. Included in the new practicemode is the new two-on-two game on the hardwood of any NBA arena.

Player Editor. NBA Inside Drive 2003 gamers can create their own hoopster to battle with the big dogs down low or hit the trey from downtown. The ability to create and adjust player ratings, attributes and physical traits (with hundreds of faces, heads and body types to choose from), puts the gamer in control of the NBA.

Dynasty mode. Gamers can play up to 25 NBA seasons, win championships and retire to the hall of fame. In addition, NBA Inside Drive 2003 challenges gamers to manage their team and players season after season. Gamers have full GM capabilities, including the ability to make unbalanced trades, conduct a rookie draft and trade draft picks to build the ultimate NBA team.


gameplay sliders that allow you to adjust the game to play the way you want it to play.

these are pretty standard features in the BB games of today (except live) so with these features along with the awesome gameplay ID is a serious contender for the best hoops game out right now!



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Sound

I really should end this review, i'm start to blabber on and on. But everything here is tight. The chatter is nice, but it is not out of hand they way 2k2 was on dreamcast. The ingame music is good too. Everything is solid in this game, graphics, gameplay, and sound. Most importantly, the fun factor. I would like to thank videogamereview.com for letting me post my oppion of this game on the net. Now go out and purchase this game or you will suffer........

Gameplay

The gameplay is great. I am not discriminating, but i am black. There for I enjoy to see a good crossover dribble. This game lives up to expectations. There plenty of amazing dribble moves in this game, and unlike 2k3, they actually work. Besides the obviouse, this game also has a great level chatter. Every thing from shooting, to rebounding is all intact. There are a lot of moves for different situations and the animations vary. From different shots, to driving to the goal. This game serves up a great deal of realism. Further more, the commentary is superb. If its a total blow out, and the end they might say something like " can someone tell me what happened, I fell asleep." Or "There are really close drill bits, cars, houses, and then there tonights game." Each game the commentary changes. I have never heard them say the same thing, literally. And the jokes they crack are surreal. I assure you will be laughing at least 30% of the time.
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