I'll say it again: I don't play sports titles. That doesn't mean I don't watch and comment though. Left Field's game is coming along quite nicely and I guess it is my job to give some examples of its promise.

Left Field has dramatically improved the graphics and detail of this game. Visually, the E3 version almost looked like a N64 game....not any more! Textures, reflections and polygons on the characters are very fine and the animation is superb. As reported of the E3 version, the controls seemed to be quite straightforward, so the game really came down to its style. Sure, Left Field has made the maneuvers smooth and intricate, but it has also included a button dedicated to fancy tricks (L)! But they don't stop there. When playing the game, people tend to focus on the action, but a viewer can afford to ignore the foreground for a moment. The players on the bench are animated just as vividly as those on the court. The athletes respond to what is going on in the game: they sit, stand, follow the ball and clap. But not everyone is interested in the game. Some just slump while others do stretching exercises! Perhaps the only graphical disappointment lies in the crowds. They too react and different members of the paying public do different things, but the animation looks like something out of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Most actions only include one in-between frame, making for a very choppy crowd. Fortunately, this should be very easy to solve...in fact, Left Field is probably using the current crowd as a placeholder.

I thought I would also comment on the pace of the game. As some have already noted from the promotional video at toy stores, the game seems somewhat slow. At first I agreed when I viewed the game in action, but that was before the men in front of me looked closely at the controls... an adrenaline rush command speeds things up significantly... Obviously, the adrenaline meter is to be utilized often in NBA Courtside 2002.

Well, that's all I've got. I've given you information through observance...Hopefully someone else will be able to provide impressions of controls.