|
The
game that persuaded me into buying the Playstation comes back better than ever
in its second installment. For those of you unfamiliar with this genre, In The
Zone blew away its competition in the realm of player design. However, one of
the main drawbacks was the lack of simulation options: (i.e. substitutions,
season play, etc.) Undaunted, Konami comes out with its next version, which
some have already proclaimed as the "King of The Hill"
The
Introduction is okay, nothing special, but it does show glimpses of their
technology behind character development, which in my opinion is the best out of
all the games I've played. Something that really stuck out is the Asian
influence of this game, during the intro, they are flashing Japanese words on
some of the interfaces which made me think that a big deal of the quirks that I
had about this game (see gameplay) may come from lack of insight into USA
basketball, read on and you will see what I mean. Although, before I begin, I
could be wrong, but it kind of makes sense.
|
|
First
let me define graphics, graphics includes everything you see, so in this
category, ITZ2 receives a good grade. The player's look wonderful, especially
when you find Jordan, he has his black elbowband, and the black biker shorts
under his uniform, very nice. The animation is also excellent, especially when
playing in the post. Where Konami drops the ball is on other things, like the
player select screens, or the floor of the hometeam, while decent, it is nowhere
near the level of graphical elegance in the players. The resolution is greatly
reduced in the arenas, but this is something you only notice if you played the "other"
basketball game. The players have their actual face, and check out Rodman's
hair, I'll say it again, whoever does the player design for ITZ, is in a league
of his/her own. My one complaint, is what's up with the dunks, surely every NBA
loaf cannot do a Tomahawk Dunk. (i.e. Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason) so why not
limit those without the proper athleticism to basic dunks? Other than that, the
game definitely has substantial eye candy.
|
|
The
music is okay, but the National Anthem is excellent, they even have different
singers, however I question what this adds to the game, but I do enjoy the
camera angles of the players as they await the beginning of the game, but is it
worth the load time. The announcer is a little better than the previous one,
meaning he doesn't make as many errors, (remember Vlade Divash?) But the
background music is a typical loop, not too much effort there, but this is
compensated by how much work obviously went into creating the National Anthem
screen.
|
|
ITZ2
absolutely blows it here!!! Maybe whoever created the game did not know how the
game of NBA basketball functions, in ITZ2, you can only substitute between
quarters, and the game has to go through the drama of loading this into memory
when you do. Although the defense is improved, the way to winning is to use one
player and run around into you are open and then shoot the ball. Forget about
passing because the ball seems to f-l-o-a-t i-n t-h-e a-i-r, while you are
running at breakneck speeds. This hinders the game very much so. The key to
playing defense is to position a big man under the rim, and just block shots all
day. Occasionally the computer will score, but every time you go up to block,
you'll block, even if it is Charles Smith and Shaq is coming down the lane, with
a thunderous d--- oh no it's blocked by the scrawny C.Smith!!! A hint to
Konami, find the person at EA, and take him out to lunch, who knows maybe the
two companies could collaborate and form the ultimate bball game. The create a
player option is cool, but it was very confusing, I don't think I actually did
it successfully yet. Overall, this is still ITZ2's Achilles heel.
|
|
ITZ2
is an improvement over ITZ1. They made the improvements that people asked for,
but they still need to bottle the unbridled enthusiasm of the game of basketball
and create standards, instead of just trying to meet them. They have succeeded
in the graphical elements of the game, but seriously need to reevaluate what
they think will put them over the top. This boils down to one thing, gameplay,
the playability needs to be improved. In comparison with NBA Live 97, this game
is second fiddle, but its ideal if you just want a nice looking arcade style
basketball game.
|
|
ANDRE |
|
|
|
|
GRAPHICS: |
Average |
I
worry about the long term playability of this one. |
SOUND: |
Average |
PLAYABILITY: |
Average |
VALUE: |
Average |
OVERALL 7/10 |
|
|