TV Sports Basketball
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Many mediocre sports games have been saved by the simple
fact that they offer decent multiplayer modes. Never was
this more true than in the case of TV Sports Basketball, a
very average b-ball sim that allowed five players to
participate at once. As a matter of fact, not only does the
game become a great deal more playable when you have a few
friends to join in on the action, but it can actually become
a heck of a lot of fun.
As opposed to the flamboyant Lakers vs. Celtics series of
games that appeared on the Sega Genesis, TV Sports
Basketball wasn't flashy at all. The graphics are average
and music is nearly non-existent. The producers of the game
did apparently attempt to make the TV Sports experience a
realistic one, as evidenced by the option to call offensive
plays and run specific defenses (which wasn't at all common
for basketball titles back then). As a result, the game can
be a bit too slow at times.
The majority of the game is spent on one half of the court
or the other. The gamer gets a view of the basket from
halfcourt. But whenever a player crosses midcourt with the
ball, the game switches to a side view perspective for a
couple of seconds. During this time, the players simply
cross over to the other side of the court by themselves,
while the gamer has the opportunity to select a play to run
once the view switches back. It's an interesting system, but
it tends to interrupt the action way too often - especially
when you consider how many dozens of times it's necessary to
cross the halfcourt line during a basketball game.
While TV Sports Basketball can be extremely boring in one
player mode, get five players together and the game becomes
a blast (especially if all five participants play on the
same team). The game is actually very challenging, and
victory rarely comes easy. There are certain to be some
tense moments amongst participants when things start going
downhill for the team. However, victory is that much more
fun to achieve when you have four friends to help you get
there. With five players in the fold, each participant will
likely come to choose a 'favorite player' to use in the
game. While guys like 'Difalco' and 'Etherton' can't
quite compare to Jordan and Pippen, you'd be surprised how
much you can enjoy using these imaginary players. Each one
has specific strengths and weaknesses, and each participant
will be responsible for playing up to the particular
abilities of the players.
TV Sports Basketball is a worthwhile game as long as you
won't be playing it alone. But even if you do want a
basketball title for the Turbo and you don't have anyone to
play alongside you, this is the best option that's out there.
Overall: 6 out of 10
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