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ESPN NBA Tonight
Score: 89%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Midway
Developer: Midway
Media: CD/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Sports (Basketball)

Graphics & Sound:
While both the graphics and sound are acceptable and are done well, they don’t really grab hold of you and shake you. The intro cinema is a little on the bland side, but there are cool player introductions. The crowd and stadium effects are a little on the poor side as well, but the “meat and potatoes” of the graphics engine seems to have been used for the actual on-court graphics, so I’m not really complaining. ESPN NBA Tonight has it where it counts.

Gameplay:
Pretty tight. In ESPN NBA Tonight, you can choose to play the game as a simulation or as an arcade game. I had no problem chargin’ the rim or droppin’ treys. The players animate a little on the slow side, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Difficulty:
Many skill levels to choose from, but I found NBA Tonight a little on the easy side.

Game Mechanics:
You control the players with simple commands such as the square button for stealing, and the circle button for shooting and jumping. You can even use L2 to get the crowd cheering. The only minor complaint I have with the controls is that you have to tap the triangle button for a burst of speed (the faster you tap, the faster you go). I hate tapping games. You know you’re just gonna go crazy mashing that button. My faults with NBA Tonight are few, and even then are just based on personal opinions. The game is fun to play. ESPN NBA Tonight’s got game.

-Glom, GameVortex Communications
AKA Pete Maher

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