Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: January 2, 1997

With the basketball simulation market being dominated by one real game, NBA Live, it is refreshing to see someone else come out with a promising title. Sega has brought their basketball title, NBA Action 98 to the PC platform to go head to head with EA Sports. There are some elements that are built into the game that could prove to bring this title into the limelight.

Once NBA Action 98 is up and running, the first thing that a gamer is going to notice is that there is no support for any 3D acceleration, making the graphics run in standard video modes. This is not the worst thing that could happen, but forces NBA Action 98 to rely almost completely on the strength of its gameplay. There are plenty of options to choose from in the main menu screen, among them are choices for playing seasons, playoffs, exhibition games, or practicing. There are also menu options, such as graphical detail, that allow you to customize the game to your liking.

The graphics run in high resolution and feature motion-captured players. When a game begins, you watch the players run out of the tunnel as they are announced. This is a nice touch to the game, but you can skip it by clicking a button. Once the tip off takes place you quickly can see that the animations for the players are excellent. There are animations for just about everything that you could imagine in basketball. For one, the motion-captured players look like basketball players making the moves to the hoop.

One of the best parts of this title is the flexibility of control that you have over your players during the game. NBA Action 98 supports a number of excellent features through joystick control. During the game, passing is icon-based and is very easy to adjust to. Every player is represented by an icon and, to pass to them, you simply have to press the appropriate button. This is great for fast breaks and give and go’s, giving you the utmost control over your passing game. There are also some other unique aspects to the controls in NBA Action 98. You have the ability to pivot players and slide players from side to side. This allows you to do lay-ups and hook shots. The same key used for doing dunks is a special key that allows you to do between the leg dribbles. Every move is associated with great motion-captured animations as mentioned above. All controls are customizable and there is support for any type of joystick.

NBA Action 98 is an exciting simulation to play. This is aided by the computer’s awareness on the court. Instead of players simply moving around the court and following “scripts,” players seem to actually play their positions. There are different modes of play, letting players set the difficulty level to their abilities. On the easiest mode, the computer is very easy to beat, while on the harder modes the computer will defend and push on offense a lot more. One thing that you quickly notice is the computer’s awareness of the ball and the other players on the court. The computer will execute passes to open men and avoid double teams, just like in real basketball. During the game, players have special moves or signature moves that they will execute. Depending on the position that player may have a different signature move. So you won’t see centers doing amazing drives to the hoop from the key!