In the past, festivals marked the passage of time. For example, when the crops were ready, it was autumn. Why not have a Harvest Festival to mark the occasion? Festivals take a back seat nowadays. Luckily, EA Sports release annual updates of their big sporting franchises to help us keep track of the days.

NBA Live 2002 scored just 5.2 in issue 02. The gameplay was overly simple, with scoring too easy. The regularity of scoring in b-ball also meant that games lacked the tension and flow that a sports game needs to be entertaining. Some changes have been made for 2003, though. Graphically, it seems a bit sharper, but it's not hugely noticeable. The main changes are to the control system, which now lets you use the Right thumbstick to pull off flashy moves and dekes to confuse opponents. This means that games now feature lots of stylish little flourishes, which looks very nice. There's actually a fair amount of depth to the system too, with a large number of subtly different moves available.

Another nice touch is the new system for taking free throws. When awarded a penalty, a meter pops up - to shoot accurately, you must stop two fast-moving icons as close to the centre of the target icon as possible. This simple test of reactions makes penalties a bit more interesting.

But don't get too excited - the changes don't alter the game enough to make it particularly fun. Despite the fluid, slick nature of the action, the same criticisms we levelled at its predecessor apply - it's tedious, with the constant scoring and ease of offence resulting in an uninteresting experience for all but the most basketball-obsessed. Scoring happens so often it isn't much of an occasion, making it very hard to care.

Sadly, NBA Live 2003 is simply unable to use its source material to create an exciting video game, unlike EA Sports' NFL and NHL franchises. Basketball fans will be impressed with the attention to detail on show here, but the core gameplay is bettered by many other sports games.

1. Fluid, slick basketball
2. Lots of attention to detail
3. Some improvement over NBA Live 2002

1. Tedious to play
2. Too easy to score

Power
The players look spiffing, and the action is fast and smooth. No complaints, then.

Style
Typically slick EA Sports - impressive TV-style replays, and generic presentation.

Immersion
Fiddling about with all the moves, and executing cooler-than-thou dunks is fun at first...

Lifespan
...but it gets repetitive very quickly. There are lots of matches to play if it holds your interest, though.

Summary
An accessible, immediate basketball game - but it's just not that much fun to play. Still, it's better than the last one.