With years of expertise and a solid game engine with layers and layers of annual refinement, EA Sports' NBA Live series is regarded as the best series of basketball simulations on any platform. And while the company has rushed its other sports franchises to stores in an effort to make the PlayStation 2 launch, the first PS2 version of NBA Live has only been seen in the form of a few short video clips. We had the opportunity to play an alpha version of NBA Live 2001 and found that the PS2 version of NBA Live is probably the best of the series.

　　From a gameplay and functionality standpoint, the PS2 version of NBA Live 2001 is a carbon copy of the PlayStation version of the game. NBA Live 2001 for the PS2 contains all the gameplay modes of the PlayStation version. You'll be able to play through an entire season with trades, player stats, and all the other goodies found in most season modes. You can also reconstruct the playoff tree as you see fit and lead your team to the championship. Additionally, you'll be able to play quick exhibition games, square off one-on-one against Michael Jordan, and even play in a three-point shootout against any player in the NBA. The game supports a very detailed create-a-player function, and it lets you draft your created players to the team of your choice. And while the game's primary focus is its deep simulation-style gameplay, EA has still added the arcade gameplay toggle to every game mode. The arcade style of gameplay features over-the-top dunks and flaming basketballs, and little things like out-of-bounds and fouls have been overlooked. Also, this year's version of NBA Live features a brand new feature - the NBA Live challenge mode, which is similar in style and function to the Madden challenge mode found in the more recent Madden games. In the NBA Live challenge mode, you must complete certain objectives, such as racking up a certain number of rebounds or steals, as you play through an actual exhibition match. Completing these objectives awards you with a certain amount of points that you can spend on increasing the attributes of your created players or unlocking the game's various secrets.

　　NBA Live 2001 really controls well. The game is filled with authentic NBA moves, and it delivers plenty of depth with only a few button variations to remember. Unlike most basketball games, which force you to use complex button combinations to activate special defenses or offensive plays, NBA Live 2001 focuses on simplicity. Picking up the game and playing is extremely easy, and as you get more comfortable with the controls, you find more depth within the different control variants. Experienced players will be using icon passing, crossovers, jukes, pump fakes, picks, and screens, and they might even be doing some flashy stuff like passing out of layups or breaking out some alley-oop dunks. Like NBA 2K1, this game features a very good post-up scheme, and it allows you to drive the ball to the hole and then choose one of four different shooting angles to outsmart your defender. The game's control is just as good on defense. Defending players will be able to face up, call for a double team, go for steals, blatantly foul, and swat the ball away from rival shooters. Additionally, NBA Live 2001 features an element not common to basketball games in its passing system. The passing is never automatically assured in NBA Live 2001. Depending on the position of the defense, as well as the fatigue and position of your players, passes can go wild or end up in the hands of defenders. This system really broadens the gameplay and encourages players to look for the good pass instead of simply tossing the ball around to every player until they find one that's open.

　　NBA Live 2001's most noticeable feature is its graphics. The game features some amazingly detailed graphics, not only in the player models and their animations, but also in the courts and the crowd. All of the players in the game have been realistically modeled, and they all look true to their real-life counterparts. Unlike other basketball games, which modify the same basic physical model to make up the body of every player in the game, NBA Live 2001 uses several different body elements to make the bodies of its characters. Additionally, all the faces of the players have been realistically rendered and look absolutely great in 3D. The animations are smooth and flow very well, without any glitches or jerkiness between actions. Players also move and act like they would in an actual game. After fouling, players will complain or look disappointed about the call, and after big plays or during free throws, players will congratulate each other and even pound fists. Like most next-generation sports titles, the game features a very good replay mode that allows you to examine any detail of the previous play at your leisure. Not only are the in-game graphics nice to look at, but the presentation is very slick as well. NBA Live 2001 features an easy to use menu system, with plenty of colorful menus and icons to look at. And, between quarters, the game gives you a very cool rundown of the action so far.

　　EA really outdid itself in the sound department this year. The game's main theme was written, arranged, and performed by R&B singer Montell Jordan, who is best known for his hip-hop house party favorite This Is How We Do It. Additionally, the game is chock-full of hip-hop and R&B, featuring cuts from Da Brat and Bootsy Collins. The game also features play-by-play commentary by Bob Elliot, and it has some of the most detailed and comprehensive voice work seen in a sports game to date. NBA Live 2001 debuts EA Sports' new "event stack" technology, which keeps track of player stats and game events and then uses layered statements and commentary to reference what has already happened in the game while talking about what is currently happening. This system really sharpens the focus on the action and lets you hear relevant commentary instead of broad generalizations. Sound effects like dribbling noises, screeching shoes, rattling rims and swishing nets, and even crowd noises round out the solid audio package.

　　Though NBA Live 2001 has a ways to go before its January release date, it's obvious that EA Sports held this jewel back so it could make it the best basketball game on the PS2. And, with Konami's NBA 2Nite on its way to the PS2 and Visual Concept's NBA 2K1 already on the Dreamcast, NBA Live 2001 is going to have some stiff competition. Still, with solid gameplay and an awesome heritage, the PS2 version of NBA Live 2001 should be in a very good position to establish a reign over other basketball games for the new generation of consoles.