With NBA 2K2, gameplay is king. From the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, gamers will always feel in control of what happens with their teams and on-screen avatars. Special moves actually do the job they're supposed to do while ensuring that the user is still always in full control of the action. While last year's effort was very good, there were some problems that needed to be ironed out, namely attempting to pull off shots while executing certain animations. If you were in the middle of a crossover dribble or spin, it was mandatory for the animation to finish before getting off a shot or pass. In NBA 2K2, this has been revamped to allow for the interruption of the maneuver - and that makes the control even more dialed in. Take that speedy point guard down the middle with a spin to peel off the defender, then kick it out mid-spin to the open man at the perimeter for the downtown J. Be aware of your ballhandler's abilities when attempting special moves, however - if your guy doesn't have the hands to control the dribble and protect the ball, you will get stripped during the crossover, just like it should be. The quality point guards like Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Gary Payton will have a much easier time performing the crossover successfully than a Tyrone Lue or Charlie Ward. Offense is much more fun to play with this new addition to the series. Player momentum and physics feel like playing real basketball. Your speeder, smaller players will stop on a dime and reverse direction without careening out of bounds like EA Sports' NBA Live series, and the larger players will lumber about the court with the proper feeling of heft and weight. Cutting to the hole is still more difficult than it should be, however, due to the automatic position blocking that seems to take place when taking the rock down the aisle. Even if you beat the first man off the dribble, it feels like there are invisible force fields that prevent the offensive player from slipping through (to my eyes, anyways) obvious holes in the paint. I don't know if it's the collision detection that's causing this problem, but it is annoying, especially when Sega's own NFL 2K2 got past these problems by creating a "getting skinny" animation to get through holes in similar situations. The AI makes the proper adjustments to its game based on your play, so if you're having particular success shutting down the AI's star player, you'll see it try to get others into the scoring mix. If there's a defensive mismatch available, the AI will exploit it unmercifully. Again, this is something that the Sega series has done well over the past couple of years, but it's been tuned and refined even more for 2K2. The game in the low post has been graced with new animations in NBA 2K2. Baby hooks, floating jumpers, fallaway shots - all of these look and animate well, plus they're actually appropriate to the situation. On occasion you'll see an offensive player pull up for the J instead of slamming down a dunk while within range, but for the majority of game situations, the shot comes off correctly. Fast breaks, unfortunately, don't develop anywhere near to the same extent as they do in the real world - firing a pass to a teammate up ahead may seem like a good idea, but not when he ALWAYS stops to get the ball. It's called a fast-break for a reason, folks, they have to keep moving in order to take advantage of the lack of defensive numbers. This is one area where NBA 2K2 takes a back seat to other titles on the market. Keep those feet moving!

NBA 2K2 has some sweet graphics going on. Visual Concepts have done wonders with the aging Dreamcast hardware, and the game looks great. Player faces are recognizable from the get-go, the courts are shiny, the crowd reacts to the home team scoring by getting out of their seats, cheering and clapping...it's all good. Hey look, a referee that actually stays on court the entire game! How Sega can get the refs onscreen all the time on the old DC while EA's NBA Live still hasn't figured it out on the more-powerful PS2 is a mystery for the ages. Play-by-play commentary is serviceable, if not up to NFL 2K2's stellar standards. The crowd sounds are good, and you can really pick out the squeaking of sneakers and verbal abuse from the coaches when things start going awry. The in-game music is also pretty good, although I'd like to hear some licensed music mixed in with the in-house tunes, similar to what 989 Studios did with their Gameday series. Just to add to the realism, if nothing else...

Options? You want options? How about a multi-year franchise mode, for you Memphis Grizzlies fans who think you can do a better job than Dick Versace and his motley crew? There's not as much depth in 2K2's franchise mode as in EA's game, however - it is far too easy to stack the deck in your favour with trades no self-respecting GM would make (see Versace). You like street ball? Here are five (count 'em!) different courts for you to trash-talk and embarrass the local punks with alley-oops and street moves. It's nowhere as cool as EA Big's NBA Street (and frankly, what is?), but it's still good street-style basketball included along with the sim game, so we're thankful for it. There are camera options galore, so no matter the way you want to play, you can find a camera that suits you while showing as much of the floor as possible. Create-a-player is nearly unchanged from last year, with skin, sneaker, and tattoo options up the wazoo. Tweak every body part to your liking, get those blond cornrows on your avatar's head and send him out on the court. The create-a-team option is disappointing, however, since the team names and logos are the same as last year's with only a couple of new ones to play with. C'mon, Sega, I'm tired of having Sonic, panthers and anchors on my damn uniforms. Give your uniform artist a raise and carte blanche to create new uniforms for the player-created teams, please? Pretty please?

Want to play online, but can't stand those babies who "accidentally" disconnect their Dreamcasts when they're getting rocked like the NY Knicks? Well, just like NFL 2K2, Sega's servers keep track of disconnections along with wins and losses, so if you're going to act like a punk bee-yotch, the whole gaming world will be able to see it. While pointing and laughing at your weasel ass.

There's no two ways about it folks: NBA 2K2 is the best-playing basketball game on the planet. Visual Concepts have done a fine job with the Dreamcast, and this title is a fitting tribute to the little white console that didn't get all the respect it deserved. If you like basketball and own a DC, you can do no better. If you like basketball and own a PS2, spend the $50 to get a marked-down DC and pick up this game - it wipes the floor with EA's NBA Live 2002 on PS2. Alternatively, you could just wait for Sega to release NBA 2K2 on PS2 in the next couple of months. No matter how you get your paws on it, there's no better simulation basketball title available than NBA 2K2.