NBA Inside Drive 2004

Darth Sidious · 09-11-2004, 12:25 PM

They say white men can’t jump. With NBA Inside Drive 2004, it doesn’t matter if you can jump or even run, as Microsoft’s basket ball game for Xbox lets you take on the hottest stars of the NBA.

Developed by High Voltage Software, Inside Drive 2004 is part of Microsoft’s sports games collection released in the fall of 2003 and is supported by XSN, the virtual sports network where players can create and compete in online tournaments and leagues.

Gameplay
When you first start Inside Drive, you’ll want to create a profile and take a look at the masses of options available. Once you’ve set the audio, visuals and rules to your liking, it’s time to play!
Starting with the Practice mode is a good way of getting a feel for the controls and trying out the various methods of passing, shooting and juking.
When you’re comfortable you can make your way to the Season mode to take control of your favourite team as you bounce your way through up to 25 seasons.

General Manager is the option that will appeal to hardcore fans; sign and release players and edit rosters until the ultimate team has been created. You can even create your own players here and customise them to your liking with height, weight and skills.

Before you jump into a match, you’ll have several coaching options available allowing you to edit your playbook and adjust settings for offence and defence. For the most part you will be able to get by with the defaults, but hardcore ballers will want to play around with these options for the best setup.

Once the match introductions are over and you’re out on the court the objective is simple, drive your players through the opposing defence and shoot at the basket for 2 points, or take a chance on a 3-pointer.

During play you can use the D-pad to open up the real-time coaching window and adjust the team defence, defensive pressure, tempo and select a different play.

The action itself runs at a fast tempo and rapid, accurate passing is essential to get yourself in a position to score. Defence can be more difficult as steals just seem to happen at random and it’s pure luck if your player is in the right place to pick up the ball and go on the offensive. If you manage to perform a successful steel, holding the turbo button ensures you make the most of a clear run to the opponent’s basket.

Control
A multitude of controls is at your disposal to drive your players to the basket. The main difference depends on whether your team is on offence or defence. In either case, you will need to master most, if not all of the combinations and tricks to succeed.
Here is a brief overview of the button layouts available.

Offence:
Left analogue stick = Move
Right analogue stick = Juke*/Pass/Lob
Left trigger = Protect ball/Backdown
Right trigger = Turbo
X = Shoot/Pump fake
Y = Icons for passing
B = Crossover/Spin/Juke
A = Pass
Black button = Lob pass
White button = Call for a screen
Back button = Timeout
D-Pad = Real-time coaching

Defence:
Left analogue stick = Move
Right analogue stick = Directional switch
Left trigger = Crouch/Boxout/Arm bar
Right trigger = Turbo
X = Block/Rebound
Y = Icons for switching
B = Steal
A = Switch players
Black button = Intentional foul
White button = Call for a double-team
Back button = Take a charge
D-Pad = Real-time coaching

*Jukes are fake-out moves that allow you to break through the opposition’s defence and get into a position for a dunk. If you don’t juke in the zone you’ll have a tough time scoring.

Graphics
While the graphics are not what we have come to expect from the power of the Xbox, they are impressive none the less. Players look like their real life NBA counterparts and there are several camera angles to choose from that all give a different aspect of the on-court action.
Close up replays automatically kick in depending on the setting you have chosen and allow you watch your tactical masterpieces. Unfortunately, these replays can only be viewed during the game and not saved for later use. This is somewhat disappointing considering that many sports games allow for viewing of those special moments again later in the future.
My only other (minor) complaint about the visuals would be the lack of detail in the somewhat two-dimensional crowd. Some signs would have added a little more atmosphere.

Audio
Want to feel like you’re really part of the action? Then hook up a set of 5.1 speakers and enjoy the immersion of Dolby surround sound and enjoy the squeak of sneakers on the court and hear the crowd cheering for the home team and booing the away side.
Running commentary and statistical analysis is provided by Kevin Calabro, Marques Johnson, Kenny Smith, Akemi Takei and Eric Radovich. The commentary itself runs smoothly but can be drowned out by the volume of the crowd at times, and when you’re on a hot streak the commentary fades into the background anyway as the excitement picks up.

Xbox Live
The first option of interest to hardcore NBA fans is the downloadable content. This takes the form of roster updates and is small file that takes under a minute to download.
Online games are best played with a friend or at least someone trustworthy as there appears to be a glitch or method to create lag when attempting a free through. This makes it nigh impossible to line up the markers for an accurate throw.

With XSN support you can create your own online play offs with up to 31 other players. A word of warning; the nature of this game means you must arrange a time to play your opponent and time zones can make this inconvenient. Miss a game and the winner will be decided by coin toss, giving either player a 50/50 chance of progressing to the next round even if your opponent decided not to show. This coin toss system is open to abuse but if you can find a group of reliable players, you should be able to have some competitive fun.

Replay Value
As with just about every sports game, Inside Drive 2004 has limited replay value, although first time through a season offers up plenty of exciting gameplay.
Online play through Xbox Live will always offer a new challenge and XSN (when players show up) gives gamers a little more competition to aim for.

Overall Score
8.0/10. [Not an average]

Additional Comments
This is the first time I have ever played a Basketball game on either a PC or a console and overall I was impressed with this title.
The lack of commitment to XSN competitions from gamers who take their chances of gaining victory by coin toss can sour the experience somewhat, but as a whole, NBA Inside Drive 2004 is a good game and worthy of at least a rental.