Well my fellow hoopaholics, it appears that the crew from EA headquarters has worked hard to try and rebound from what has been a really disappointing run so far on the lastest generation of consoles. Being a fan of the old school EA basketball titles, I have been whole-heartedly rooting for a resurgence of the series that was so dominant during the early nineties.

Now, getting right into it. EA sports has really upped the ante graphically in this season's version of NBA Live 2003. The player models move with grace and realism. Players also interact with each other as they fight for rebounds and while defending the low block. Players celebrate with the same brash mannerisms of their real-life NBA counterparts, and if that is good or bad is another debate. Even the refs carry the true to life NBA feeling about them. If I was to get nit-picky (I guess that's what I'm supposed to do, I do write reviews) I could only complain about the coaches and EA's lack of effort to make them look anything at all like the NBA coaches that they are modeled after. Especially coach Karl, first he loses with the Dream Team and now his video game persona looks nothing like him, no respect! That aside, NBA Live 2003 is easily the best looking Basketball game on the market to date, and that's a bold statement with Sega's NBA 2K3 launching on the exact same day as Live.

My biggest concern with NBA Live was involved EA's ability to fix the gameplay issues (namely the complete lack of gameplay) that had plagued previous entries. Thankfully, the new features that EA has added this year completely washed away any doubts I had about the game. The implementation of the ?freestyle control?? is something that could change how basketball games are made for the gaming consoles from this day on. What ?freestyle control?? allows you to do is simply amazing in a console basketball game. By using the right analog stick on your controller, you can control almost all aspects of your player's movement; from your crossover dribbles to your low and high post moves. This gives the more gifted ball-handlers a greater advantage when trying to create space for themselves as they drive the ball to the hoop.

Live still suffers from a lack of balance between the star players and the more ?normal? players. Also, the high flying players are still able to dunk almost at will, especially on the more novice levels of the game. However, where NBA Live 2003 really excels at is the ability to successfully simulate the pace of an NBA game. Hardly is there ever a slow down in the action if you opt to play the run-and-gun offense that has become so popular in today's real life NBA game.

The franchise mode in this year's live was built quite well, but doesn't have any truly unique features in it. Players progress at the end of the season (also during the season); you get to negotiate player contracts and of course there is the NBA draft as well. All of these features make for a great gaming experience, but it doesn't have the depth that is associated with the other (Maddens? NFL football) EA sports titles.

The bottom line is that EA has made nothing but vast improvements with this version of the NBA Live series. The ?freestyle control?? gives you control unlike any other basketball game to date. This feature alone makes it a unique playing experience. Add to that the improved graphics, impressive player models, and the exciting style of gameplay that NBA live brings this season and what you have is one rock solid and entertaining basketball game. This is definitely a basketball title worth buying and enjoying for both the fans of the old EA basketball titles, or for the people that just want a great basketball game to play this fall.