Responsive controls, reliable passing, original shot action – these are features you don't normally get from a game that achieves an overall rating of 6.9 out of 10. NBA isn't your normal game though, and it wasn't designed just for the hardcore players. During the first 20 minutes of play, you might argue that it wasn't designed for them at all.

NBA is true to its name, featuring all the licensed teams and players of the National Basketball Association. The court is bright and shiny, reflecting much of the players' actions. Player faces are brilliantly rendered with unprecedented realism. The Shaq polygon model looks just like the real thing. You didn't have to check his name or read the number on his jersey to know who he was – you knew instantly just by looking at his face.

Lighting is used to optimize the graphics, showing off more of the PSP's unrelenting power. Player animations are limited, but the ones that are there are fantastic. Very rich and fluid, and more importantly, very realistic. The players look slightly jagged at times (their edges appear to be a little rough), but that's the only significant complaint I have. The audience looks good with the camera placed at a distance, even though the spectators are nothing more than a paper-thin background.

Fact: shiny surfaces are good. Keep them that way with Pledge.

NBA's gameplay is kept simple with controls that just barely pass the depth of an arcade game. The face buttons are dedicated to shooting, passing, blocking and stealing. When controlling the ball, the square and triangle buttons spin your athlete left or right. The PSP's crystal-clear shoulder buttons are to be used in conjunction with the face buttons: L for passing (button icons appear over the head of each player) and R for specific moves.

That's the only time the game makes you feel like you’re really involved in something, when you're holding the R button while tapping the directional pad. NBA's move list is not the smallest I've ever seen, but it is highly repetitive, using the same button sequences for multiple moves (the move that's performed is based on the floor location). The computer-controlled athletes are repetitive in that they don't perform enough unique moves to give the illusion that you really are facing off against a basketball legend.

Hoping to create some innovation with unique shooting controls, the developers wound up with a game that's more frustrating than it has to be. I appreciate the attempt. Basketball games are a point-and-shoot genre, where all the strategy goes in timing, lining up the shot, and where you shoot the ball from. NBA throws that old, tried-and-true concept out the window.

 
The ball is green, yet my opponent's the one who's envious. Go figure.

The game replaces it with a time-based shot system. It's somewhat like a music game: hit the circle button to prepare to throw the ball, then wait for the red circle to turn green before pressing it again. Do this correctly and the ball will most likely go through the net. Swoosh!

If the circle never turns green you're in trouble (it won't if you're in an awkward position or you're standing too far away from the net). Whether you press the circle button a second time is not imperative to shooting the ball; that will happen on its own after a short period of time. It is, however, imperative to those of you who want to score goals. Red balls have a chance at going in the net, but history says it's not likely to happen.

As I said in the beginning, this is more frustrating than it has to be. It seemed like a good idea – at the very least it was a different one – and might have worked if the timing was a little easier to get the hang of. It couldn't have hurt to make the green light stay on a little bit longer, too. The side effect of this would be a decrease in the challenge, but that isn't that high anyway. I'm no basketball expert, I just like the games, so I can't say what the best choice would have been. All I know is that the choices they did make are ultimately less satisfying than those of its home console predecessors.

You can't steal what you can't feel.

NBA shines beautifully on the court, looking better than most Dreamcast basketball games (some of which were stunning). If having great graphics was all it took for a game to be great, NBA would be one of the brightest stars in the sky. We all know that's not the case though. Graphics are secondary – gameplay comes first.

NBA is fun only part of the time, and during that time it feels shallow. Where's the depth? The crazed addictiveness of Gretzky NHL? The polished controls of World Tour Soccer? They're nowhere in sight. All that's there is a game that, while moderately impressive on the PSP, would leave you feeling gypped on any of the home consoles. Rent it for kicks, but save your dough for something more fulfilling.

Gameplay: 6.9
Take NBA Street and replace the fun factor with so-called realistic gameplay (like not being able to pick up a ball that you're touching). NBA isn't terribly boring, but it's having the opposite effect that Wipeout Pure had on me: the more I play it, the less I want to. The run-pass-shoot gameplay couldn't possibly be fun forever. Believe me, it isn't.

Graphics: 8.8
Gorgeous! If NBA is the first PSP game you play, your jaw will drop so fast it'll make your head spin. This was the fifth game I played, so its visuals didn't stand out quite as much. They did, however, garner far more attention from my eyes than Gretzky NHL and World Tour Soccer, primarily due to the undistinguishable athletes in those games. I discerned NBA's athletes the second I looked at them.

Sound: 5.0
Rap music on the menus, annoying beats during games. Very few sound effects overall. What's there doesn't sound that good – even if I liked the music, I'd still be unimpressed by its lack of clarity.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 7.5
A basic basketball engine that features a unique shooting system. It didn't work out too well, but I'll still thank the developers for trying something new.

Multiplayer: 6.5
WiFi multiplayer for two, both ad hoc and infrastructure are supported.

Overall: 6.9
I can't help but wonder: NBA what? Is it NBA 2005 or NBA 2006? That wouldn't matter if the game was great. I wouldn't be sitting around, pondering which year the game is supposed to represent. I’d be reveling in the joy of another must-have PSP launch title. NBA is anything but a must-have or a must-rent. Rent it if you must, but don't expect it to do anything but appease your eyes for an hour or two.