Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside
Reviewed by Scott McCall
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, which officially kicks off the
Nintendo Sports brand, marks Nintendo of America's full-blown
entry into the sports market. Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside does
so many things right, yet it does the very fundamentals of
basketball -- fast breaks and driving to the hoop -- wrong.
Ultimately, Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside is a bench player in
the world of video games just like the star who endorses the game.
From the onset, it was apparent that Kobe Bryant in NBA
Courtside would be on the disappointing side. The game's
real-time introduction actually probably hurts the game more
than it helps. Several people who I played the game with
commented that it "doesn't look very good" or "looks like it
moves too slow." The introduction was supposed to show off
Kobe Bryant doing various slams and such, but it ended being
a precursor to the game's problems.
And there are two huge problems with Kobe Bryant in NBA
Courtside that prevent it from reaching greatness: it moves
too slow and it makes it too hard to drive to the hoop. The
game's first problem would definitely need to be addressed in
any forthcoming sequels, but it must be mentioned that you
do get used to the speed after a while. In fact, the game really
isn't slower than NBA In the Zone '98 on the N64 or NBA
Shootout '98 on the PSX. But I think that problem leads into
the next one: driving to the hoop. Fast breaks, slam dunks,
and lay-ups are a huge part of basketball, but Kobe Bryant in
NBA Courtside doesn't let you do these easily. Much more often
than not, when you're driving to the hoop, you're forced to pick
up your dribble if you run into a player. Why will it rarely let me
go around him or through him? It's also difficult to just stop
and shoot over a guy in that same situation. Also, because of
the slow pace of the game, the players hardly seem to be running
fast even if there is a clear lane. The fast-paced excitement of
basketball just isn't here.
On the other hand, Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside does some
things better than any other video game version of basketball
on the planet. For starters, the intelligence in the game, which
is one of the most common complaints of recent basketball
games, is fantastic. The computer actually plays defense in the
game. And unlike NBA In the Zone '98 on the N64, there is a lot
happening away from the ball. You'll see guys running and covering
each other all over the place, you'll see picks be set up, you'll see
defensive shuffles, and you'll see many other realistic situations.
As you pump up the difficulty from Rookie to Pro to All-Star,
you'll face computer opponents that play even tighter defense
and make more accurate shots and passes to the point in which
it's almost perfect. One thing I was impressed with was that the
intelligence on the Rookie level was set up to make different
kinds of errors now and then. For example, passes would occasionally
miss their target, shots would miss the basket, or a player would
accidentally step out of bounds. But don't expect these mistakes
on the higher levels of difficulty.
Another great thing about Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside is the
control. There are a ton of moves to learn, but the developers
have made the control scheme about as good as it can get. It's
best to learn the basics and slowly add in additional moves
over several games. Once you realize what all the buttons do,
you'll find that you have incredible control over every facet
of the game. Everything will feel great and responsive with
one exception: the B button. As you'll see below, because it
shoots, picks up the dribble, and does the pump fake, you'll
have trouble dunking when you want to and shooting when you
want to, and that presents a major problem.
On offense, the A button passes; the B button shoots (lay-ups,
dunks, finger rolls are determined by your location and the guy
doing it), picks up the dribble, and can be used for a pump fake;
holding the R button is used to perform a post move and pressing
it twice makes you spin; the Left C button performs a special
move depending on whether you're stationary or running; the
Top C button passes to the player closest to the hoop and is used
for an Alley Oop; the Right C button is used to call for a pick;
and the Bottom C button is used to switch the ball between your
hands while moving and is used as a crossover dribble when
stationary. Additionally, pressing R and Z at the same time
brings up passing icons, which is very nice. You can also switch
plays on the fly by pressing the Control Pad.
On defensive, there are nearly as many moves. The B button
is used for jumping, rebounding, and blocking shots; the A
button is used for stealing; the R button performs the defensive
shuffle; the Right C button is for intentionally fouling a player;
the Top C button switches to the player closest to the hoop; the
Bottom C button switches to the player closet to the ball; and
the Left C button boxes out your opponent.
The most important addition to Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside
and its control scheme is the post move. This is such an important
part of basketball, yet most video game versions of basketball
don't even have it, let alone do it well. By holding down the R
button, your player will turn away from the defender and move
backwards toward the basket. Then while still holding down the R
button, you can press the B button to shoot and your player will
turn around and perform a jump shot or a hook shot. It's very
important in real basketball for a player in the key to get the ball
closer to the net by doing this, and it's also important in Kobe
Bryant in NBA Courtside.
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside contains all of the important
modes found in any other basketball or sports game. For
example, you can play a Pre-Season (single) game, you can
play a full or abbreviated Season, or you can just go straight
to the Playoffs. About the only modes not included in Kobe
Bryant in NBA Courtside are the novelty Slam Dunk Contest and
Three-Point Shootout modes. You can also, of course, make
trades and create up to 20 custom players.
The number of options in Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside is
also another strong point. You can adjust and/or turn off or on
nearly every single rule in existence in the NBA, from the
various clock violations to how often fouls are called. You
can also change quarter length (3, 6, 9 or 12), fatigue (on or off),
sound levels, indicators, and auto switching.
Besides the gameplay problems, I've also encountered a few
too many bugs in Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, furthering my
belief that the game was rushed. For instance, on inbound passes
you'll often see the defender trying to prevent the pass by
standing out of bounds! Another time, on my friend's second
free throw shot, the ball all of a sudden disappeared right
before it got to the rim! My friend was then given possession
of the ball from out of bounds!
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside is graphically sound. As the
third game to run in the N64's medium resolution mode, it
looks pretty nice at times -- but not fantastic; the textures
appear to be a little bland. Fortunately, all of the players
appear to be modeled to their correct size and even look like
them down to the little details. The player models can, at
times, look a little unrealistic up-close, though. Reducing the
polygon count on the players was presumably done to free up
more processing power for the artificial intelligence, which
is fine by me. Some of the animation can be breath-taking,
however. When you go in for a slam dunk, the default options
take the camera into a close-up of the hoop from one of several
angles. Then you'll see the player perform one of many jams.
They also have cool animation after making the dunk, like
"raising the roof" or pointing. You'll also notice that passing
and post moves can look particularly sweet at times, too.
Sound effects and music seem to be the last priority when it
comes to sports games on the N64 -- or any game on the N64,
for that matter -- and Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside doesn't do
much to change that notion. The music during the real-time
introduction is in painful monaural, and I thought the music
during the menus was in mono, too, until I saw that the default
is mono. Unfortunately, changing it to stereo really only affects
one song: the one during the menus. That rap song is at least
pretty decent, though. The problem is that there isn't any music
between quarters or at half-time, making it much too quiet.
The actual in-game sound is good yet not-so-good. The plus is
the announcer, Vic Orland, voice of the Seattle Sonics. After
each basket, there is excellent PA announcing by him, with special
emphasis for the home team. Because the PA announcer calls
out all the player's names with one of only a few short comments,
there is no play-by-play announcing. The crowd noise isn't bad,
as it's better than a lot of sports games recently, but it still
just isn't good enough. There are some short (5-second)
musical tracks to get the crowd going during the game, most
of which are rap-like. They aren't bad, but they come straight
out of the center speaker. The sound needs to be much louder,
should be more robust, and has to get a lot more variety in the future.
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside was so close to being great it's
not even funny. The post moves, superior artificial intelligence,
comprehensive control, plethora of options, and sweet animation
put it in a league of its own. However, the slow-paced gameplay,
the inability to drive to the hoop consistently (thanks multi-faceted
B button), and the rearing of too many bugs somewhat ruin the
whole experience. The game is definitely light years beyond
Konami's N64 version of NBA In the Zone '98, but it's not up to
par with the PlayStation's best basketball games. Too bad. Let's
hope Nintendo and Left Field correct the flaws, improve the sound,
and release a '99 version, because the series as a whole has great potential.
Graphics: 4.4 out of 5
Sound: 3.5 out of 5
Control: 4.3 out of 5
Gameplay: 3.7 out of 5
Lastability: 3.8 out of 5
Overall: 3.8 out of 5