I found myself scratching my head when I first turned on NBA ShootOut 2004. It's not that I didn't know how to play the basketball sim. It's the fact that PlayStation is still making games for the PS One. With all the other options available today, it was very difficult to take the graphics seriously for ShootOut. You can make the case there are facial features of specific players, and the crowds and arenas suffice, but they're still nowhere near their PS2 counterpart. The most noticeable problem is the blocky player models. Not that 989 has ever been known for their astounding graphics, but I found little reason to be impressed. The animations look good, with a huge emphasis on the dunks. Meantime, the backgrounds fit the bill. The courts are just as good as any other on PS One, as are the crowds.

ShootOut 2004 features a one-man commentary that calls a pretty good game. For the most part, he's on top of every play, with a little flavor when it comes to the highlights. There are a few times he'll get behind, but I have no complaints whatsoever. The soundtrack is fairly likeable, although I have one side note with this. There is one song that contains a sound effect that hits every other beat. I don't think this ever crossed 989's mind, but the sound effect kind of sounds like another word for a female dog. You be the judge. Otherwise, the regular sound effects apply to the game, like dribbling and crowd noise.

One of the most noticeable differences I found with NBA ShootOut 2004 as to other basketball games was the fact that the tempo of the game was much slower. Sure, you can still fast break and all that, but players don't run as fast as other basketball sims, which allows you or opposition to react faster to the play. Another thing is that the defense is very sketchy. Sometimes the computer stops you cold, other times you're asking yourself if there is a steal or block button. The good thing is that you can tell when a player is hot or cold shooting wise, which plays into your strategies on both ends of the court. A quick side note to roster geeks, such as myself: the last day of roster updates at 989 came in late August, and it seemed only a select few of the free agent moves from the offseason were updated. Don't worry though: LeBron and Carmelo both make their video game debut.

ShootOut 2004 only features three game modes, which normally plays a big role in someone's purchasing habits. Exhibition, Season, and Playoffs are the features you can play with; all are the standard for sports games. However, there is no Franchise mode, so it's one and done when it comes to playing through a season. Meantime, there is the unique mode of Create a Dunk, if you're not impressed with the high-flying arsenal already included.

Four degrees of difficulty are offered for NBA ShootOut 2004: Rookie, Veteran, All Star, and Hall of Fame. Like all the others, it gets harder to shoot and defend the higher up you go. You can also change the style of gameplay from Arcade to Simulation. Arcade is more where everyone jumps really high, whereas Simulation is set more to a real-life feel. Another option you can change is whether or not the scores are kept close until the end... kind of like the NBA.

Total Control is the highlighted style for the controller, which has become the norm with basketball sims. Once you learn the configuration, things can be managed fairly easily. The loading time for NBA ShootOut 2004 is really quick, which is another bonus. However, nine of your 15 blocks of memory are used for saving.

PS2: There wasn't any noticeable difference in game speed or graphics after changing the settings on the PS2, so don't even bother wasting your time.

NBA ShootOut 2004's advertisement this year is that it is The Only NBA Game on PS One This Year. What a great motto, since their competition have all moved on to PS2, GameCube, and the Xbox. I'm not sure when it'll happen, but the end has got to be near for producing PS One games. My advice with this one: rent only.