''NBA Live 2001'' is the 2001 installment of the ''
NBA Live
''NBA Live'' is a series of basketball video games that was published by EA Sports. The series, which debuted in 1994, is the successor to the previous ''NBA Playoffs'' and ''NBA Showdown (video game), NBA Showdown'' series.
Beginning in the la ...
''
video games
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
series. The cover features
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...
as a member of the
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...
. The game was developed by
EA Canada
EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Burnaby, then EA Canada) is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts's largest a ...
and published by
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
under the
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
Label. ''NBA Live 2001'' is followed by ''
NBA Live 2002''. The PC version of the game for the second year included EA's "Face in the Game" feature that debuted in ''
NBA Live 2000
''NBA Live 2000'' is the 2000 installment of the ''NBA Live'' video game series. The cover features Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. The game was developed by EA Sports and released in 1999. Don Poier is the play-by-play announcer with Reggie ...
'', allowing players to use custom facial photographs on created players.
Reception
The PlayStation and PC versions received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 2 version received "average" reviews, according to video game
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
[ Emmett Schkloven of '' NextGen'' said of the PS version, "If you like the franchise, it's a mild improvement. If you're not crazy about videogame basketball, this will not be the game to convert you."][ Rob Smolka of the same magazine later said of the PS2 version, "It's good looking and tplays well, but it isn't quite the leap it should (and arguably could) have been."][ In Japan, where the same console version was ported and published by ]Electronic Arts Victor
was a joint-venture between Electronic Arts and Victor Entertainment. It published various sports games for the Family Computer, Super Famicom, and the Mega Drive. Some other sports concepts include J-League association football, American footb ...
on February 22, 2001, ''Famitsu
, formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' gave it a score of 29 out of 40.
Gil Alexander Shif of ''GameZone'' gave the PC version 9.5 out of 10, calling it "the best basketball game you can buy for the PC, period." However, Michael Lafferty gave the PlayStation version 8 out of 10, calling it "a wonderful journey with the elite of the basketball world, providing a variety of options that will appeal to a variety of players and skills." William Abner of ''Computer Games Strategy Plus
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
'' gave the PC version three stars out of five, saying, "''NBA Live 2001'' isn't a bad game. In fact, if you skipped last year's version you'll probably want to check it out. For longtime fans of the series there simply isn't enough new stuff to get excited about, however, and for every improvement there are missing features and lingering problems that drag the game down."
Human Tornado of ''GamePro
''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' said of the PlayStation version in one review, "If you want a game that's more tailored to individual play rather than team cooperation, then ''NBA Live'' is a great choice. It also ekes out a slightly better score on the graphics front, and there are some extra bells and whistles like the one-on-one game. Still, this year's hoops head-to-head is a very close call. Both ''ShootOut
A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...
'' and ''Live'' will give gamers a run for their money, and they both have excellent production values. For this season it's really just a matter of taste." In another ''GamePro'' review, Dan Elektro said of the same console version, "As usual, it's EA's attention to detail that lifts ''Live'' up above the competition. The changes aren't too dramatic from last year – they're tweaks, really – but the improved graphics and new Challenge mode make it worth the price. If you're looking for the best of the class of '01, ''Live'' is it." However, Uncle Dust said of the PlayStation 2 version, "This ProReview may sound like a long list of complaints, yet overall ''NBA Live 2001'' is the best hoops game on the PS2."
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nba Liva 2001
2000 video games
Electronic Arts games
NBA Live
NuFX games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation 2 games
Video games developed in Canada
Video games set in 2000
Video games set in 2001
Windows games
Multiplayer and single-player video games