This is the UK, right, so basketball shouldn't be allowed to be fun. It should be flat, repetitive matchplay of lanky, lumbering giants running backwards and forwards, swapping 'baskets' and getting reprimanded each time a stray arm catches TR an opponent. Right? Well, someone forgot to tell that to EA because NBA Live 2004 is actually... ahem... rather enjoyable.

Somehow, the company's Canadian development team has managed to convert a pallid sporting experience into a full-blooded and surprisingly speedy affair. Sure, contact isn't allowed, but that shouldn't stop you leaping full-pelt into a crowded ‘post area’ and delivering a textbook dunk. For an immediate sports game, NBA Live 2004 s a bit of a dark horse and holds its own amongst the likes of NHL Hitz: Pro and Club Football.

The usual game modes rear their enormous, statistic-crazy heads. Just like EA's recent ice hockey game NHL 2004, the RPG-like Dynasty mode proves the top dog for players with a few months to kill. Guide your favourite NBA side through a full season, train up your stars in the gym, hire coaches and even create new players to trade. There is as much to do here as in a bikini-themed fantasy park.

However, despite all the options, it's the on-court action that really matters, and this delivers admirably. Despite the default Baseline Low camera proving unnecessarily claustrophobic, the game enters its own once switched to the Press Box vantage. The players are big, bold and chunky with excellent definition and 'realistic' cartoon appearances. They may not move across the shiny surface with the utmost conviction, but their upper-body motions are certainly impressive.

The gameplay is also a harder-hitting, more end-to-end affair than ESPN's rival NBA product. You can literally steal from one end of the court to the other in a matter of milliseconds. Passes are intercepted with greater frequency, and weaving your way into a slam-dunking position can be ably executed with a sly use of the 'sprint' button - especially handy once you realise just how difficult it is to nail three-pointers.

The problem with NBA Live 2004, however, is that its appeal is limited over time. The AI in the game is so impressive that it's possible not to feel entirely in control of your players. And while the multiplayer game is inevitably engrossing, it appears to suffer from annoying graphical slowdown.

If it's an immediate, hard-hitting and exciting sports game that you're after, NBA Live 2004 is definitely worth the bucks. Don't expect it to change your life, but it might at least warm you to one of America's most popular sports...

1. Surprisingly fast and furious
2. Great in-game visuals
3. Intuitive controls

1. Too much frantic button-bashing
2. Suspect longevity

Power
Great, larger-than-life character models and excellent camera. Slight slowdown in multiplayer.

Style
Typically ballsy presentation and swish cutscenes. Choose the right camera setting, though.

Immersion
The action is incredibly fast-paced, and the controls make it easy to offend and defend.

Lifespan
Lots to do, but it's too straightforward to want to play it forever - and it lacks Live.

Overall A bit too arcade-like, but still a rock solid basketball sim, and certainly a decent improvement over its predecessors.