It excelled in so many areas, and probably most importantly, it is fun to play. Essentially, NBA Live 2001 for the PS2 is the same as NBA Live 2001 for the PSOne, albeit with a few graphical enhancements. Some endearing aspects of the NBA Live franchise, such as Challenges, have been taken out completely, detracting further from the title. It doesn t really introduce anything new into the genre or the series, leaving the player with many an unfulfilled desire.
Controls are a mixed bag of tight controls with prolonged and over-animated moves.
Trying to pull off a sidestep or spin often takes up a second of animation. While this may get you past your initial defender, it often takes so long it leads you right into another one. If the programmers could ve made the animation a little less extravagant, or allowed the player to make another action in the middle of the spin, it would ve helped one of those nagging problems plaguing the game - not that the animations look entirely great in the first place. Another problem is that the game sometimes makes you feel as if you re a fan watching the game or not watching the game, as you wait for the excruciatingly long loading times to finish. The loading times in NBA Live 2001 are ridiculous.