Introduction

Polish, and fundamentals.

Two things a video game needs to be successful. More so for a video game attempting to recreate a sport. In a genre so dominated by EA and thier Live series(and lately Segas far superior franchise), it takes a special game to attract gamers and get them to put the money down on Microsofts game rather than the competition. MS is off to a good start, but just as the case is with thier Fever franchise, it needs more polish and tuning.

Presentation

One thing going for this game is the presentation. The menus are well laid out and easy to navigate. Although, I think this is due more to the fact that there are only 3 play modes moreso than good design. But good menus nonetheless.

The controls are great. They are almost a carbon copy of NBA2K2s controls, so anyone familiar with that series will feel right at home. The controller configuration pops up each time a game is loading, another nice touch.

In game presentation is also top notch. In game stats are given to you on the fly, including all kinds of numerous streaks and other stats. It is a first for basketball games, it’s a pretty innovative feature that really brings you into the game.

Graphics & Sound

The graphics of the game are good. The best thing about them are the player models. While not the most detailed, they are extremely realistic in both individual touches on each player, like tattoos, etc, and varying sizes overall. Most basketball games vary the models in height only. Inside Drive makes Shaqs big ass look like a big ass, both tall and a huge guy overall.

The animations in the game are also great, although there could be more. Another flaw in the graphics is the crowd. Mainly no interaction between the game and crowd, only one crowd animation. And while, like I said above, most players are presented true to life to their real life counterparts, some players just look way off.

Sound wise, again the game is solid here. Commentary is the main thing I like in this game. They rarely repeat or call the wrong plays, like other b-ball games. Weak areas here are player chatter, need more of it. Sound effects, are strangely almost non existant. Crowd noises, are decent at best. But the crowd isn’t a factor in the game.

Inside Drive offers great graphics that do more than get the job done, and they dont take away from the gameplay either. EA, take notes here.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Inside Drive is a very mixed bag. On one hand, playing offense is great. The controls are top notch, and add to the gameplay in various ways. Example, ID has a "lob pass" feature, which is great for lobbing it up to your big guy under the basket. Not possible on other games. One press of a button calls for your nearest teammate to give you a screen, leaving you wide open for the shot. In other games, it’s a multiple button press that is tedious to execute with consistency in the heat of play.

On defense, you get realistic steals. ID again beats the competition here, where it seems to be blind luck pulling off a steal in most cases. A press of a button calls double team, and you can manage your defense on the fly using the d pad with great results. Another nice touch.

Where the gameplay goes off course, is AI, and defense. The cpu players hold on to the ball entirely too long. Quick attacking teams like Dallas or LA should not be holding on to the ball for almost the entire shot clock before taking one shot. If it was near the end of a quarter or to run the clock near the end of the game, that would be understandable. But the AI does it non stop all game. Another sore spot is shot blocking. The game has almost no conception of the goaltending foul. Going into the paint and shooting with a small guy like Allen Iverson will be a rarity because 99% of the time your shot will be blocked. Switch that around, it is entirely possible to use Iverson to block a big guys shot, like Shaqs or Bradley. And this is on the hardest difficulty setting. Steals, while realistic in the way you force them, are way too common.

While the AI is sketchy in some areas and blocking/stealing the ball is too easy on all difficulty settings, the gameplay is still great. Needless to say, it is the first basketball game since the NES days that I will play with full 12 minute quarters. It is especially good in multiplayer, since you wont be dealing with the ball hogging, clock consuming AI.

Lasting Appeal

Replay value is another thing needed in a sports game. This game does not have much. There are 3 game modes. Exhibition, Season and Playoffs. While you can configure alot of rules and options, the game has absolutly no customization features. No create a player, no create a team. It does have a fantasy draft in season, but you onlny get to play one season. No franchise mode at all. Maybe MS had no time or talent to create a good franchise mode, but I would rather have a bad franchise mode than no franchise mode at all. The complete lack of create a player is inexcusable on a system as powerful as XBox. Games like Live or NBA2K2, regardless of gameplay, will keep games interested long after the NBA Finals end due to franchise modes and custom features. Inside Drive has none of these, and it hurts it in the long run because when you’re bored with regular play, theres nothing else to do.

Conclusion

While the gameplay and graphics are on par and in some cases better than the competition, Inside Drives almost complete lack of replay value leaves me no choice but to recomment this one for only a rental. Next year, if High Voltage adds a franchise mode and custom features, along with a tuned AI and defense, they will have a sure winner on their hands