Games for Lunch: NBA 09: The Inside
In a nutshell: What fun is a basketball game if you can't push people over and do thirty-foot dunks?
2/13/2009 8:14 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 4
Developer: SCE Studios San Diego
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PS2, PSP
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site
0:00 I usually only enjoy basketball games of the NBA Jam/NBA Street variety, but this one has been staring at me from my shelf for months, making me feel guilty that Sony sent it to me and I haven't played it yet. So I guess I'll give it the old college try.
0:01 Shocker, there's a 49 MB downloadable update available. Now I remember the other reason I was loathe to try this one out ... it's on the PS3.
0:04 53-percent downloaded so far. I've been passing the time by listening to
this excellent Harvey Danger album. It's free! Go download it! NOW!
0:06 The download and install are done. That really wasn't too bad. The music helped the time pass quickly.
0:07 Oh, looks like I spoke too soon ... now we're "Installing game data files. Please do not turn off your system or eject the disc or BUY AN XBOX 360 during this process." I may have embellished that message a little bit...
0:09 57 percent. The install is pretty fast, but still slow enough to make me want to just bust out the DS for some
Retro Game Challenge.
0:11 Finally, "Sony Computer Entertainment Presents..." a bunch of logos. THX! Dolby Digital! The NBA Teams! "IN FULL HD!"
0:12 Cut to slow-mo, drawn-out video with on-court close-ups of a bunch of basketball players I don't know (and Yao Ming). Then we transition to fast-paced on-court action. "Big block by Clarence Thomas." The Supreme Court justice? "And the San Antonio Spurs have taken the lead." Cheerleaders. Kobe Bryant makes a dunk. Then back to slow-mo. Then back to awesome passes and dunks and such. "The crowd is on their feet." I know I am. Oh no, wait, I'm still sitting comfortably, and a little bored already.
0:14 So I'm scrolling through a list to pick my favorite teams, and I'm shocked to find that Oklahoma City has a team. Oklahoma City? Man, it's been way too long since I followed pro basketball. The college game is better anyway.
0:15 Would I like to create a progression player, you ask. Hmm ... well, I can create up to five and "get them on the court for some NBA action." OR, I can play without them and earn points to make them better later. "The choice is yours!" Well thanks for explaining, I guess. In that case, I'll just get to the game, thanks.
0:17 Trying for the Options menu, I accidentally go to the Online menu instead. The game has to "connect to NBA Servers" and download some files about this week's game or something. The result? A message saying "Aug. 20, 2008: This is a sample announcement to ensure there is content in the database." Totally worth it!
0:18 The difficulty settings are Rookie, Veteran, All-Star and Hall of Fame. Rookie, please! There's also a feature called "Showtime" that is set to off by default. Why in the world would anyone ever want to turn off something called "Showtime"?
0:20 I can set the shot clock down to eight seconds. I think this is hilarious, but not so hilarious that I want to actually try it. I can't set it any higher than 24 seconds, though, if I want to play a college-style game.
