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American Sports: Arreehh! They're bringing them over here!

Most of the time, Konami Sports games are pretty darn impressive. Great graphics, nice sound and groovy gameplay - sadly only two of these concepts apply to NBA In The Zone.

You see, basketball is a fast, action-filled game with ten people on the court at any one time. On the TV this looks great. On any games console it's dandy. On a Game Boy Color... well, it's too confusing to be honest.

NBA In The Zone is very polished in terms of presentation - all the teams from the NBA are here and there are many different play modes like standalone exhibition matches and even championship play-offs. The graphics are rather lovely too, even if all the players do have a basketball for a head.

However, playing it is a different story. Getting hold of the ball is tough enough, scoring even tougher. All the players gather round the man with the ball so the only thing you can do when trying to tackle is frantically stab the buttons. To be frank, it's just not fun.

Why can't people just go back to the days of two-on-two basketball, like NBA Jam? Clearly, the people behind this tried too hard to make it realistic and it really doesn't work. You'd do better buying a real hoop and ball than getting this.

Graphics 40%
At least they do the job...

Sound 40%
Special effects? What SFX?

Playability 60%
Plenty of options for boring people.

Lastability 40%
If you really want it to last - it will.

Overall 48%
Even the Yanks wouldn't like this!