What can be said that hasn't been said before; another year of experience, another solid year in the graphics department for NBA Live 2003. This year's player models look incredible with every action. The high-flying dunks make you want to get out of your chair, while the big swats sit you back down. EA Sports tried using cut shots of players on the bench, following breaks in the action, but I found them to be useless and repetitive. In fact, sometimes I wondered if the computer was playing the same game I was. For example, I blocked a shot and the ball went out of bounds, and clearly I was the last man to touch it. However, the cut shot then showed the same guy arguing with the ref about whose ball it should be. Cut shots should also make sense, and not just be an alternate graphic detail.

On the audio side, things are decent for the most part, but are basically the same. The generic sound effects that have been around since '95 still exist, but I will say the commentary is better. At least this year's crew follows the game. The main beef I have with the audio (actually, it's more of a joke than a complaint) is with the included Bonus Music CD. The soundtrack is pretty good, featuring rap artists like Busta Rhymes, Just Blaze, Snoop Dogg, and more. However, all of the songs are about NBA Live 2003. Why the hell do I want to listen about NBA Live while driving in my car? I'd much rather have the Madden 2003 soundtrack on CD, because ACTUAL songs you hear on the radio are used. Nice try EA, but I see through your ruse.

Much like the real NBA, defense is non-existent in NBA Live 2003. Ok, earlier when I said I blocked a shot, I lied. I actually stepped out of bounds. I don't think there even is a Block button. Ok, now I'm getting a little carried away, but seriously, the D was severely overlooked. This year's installment is more like an up-tempo fun-and-gun offense, where all stars can successfully go 1-on-5, and shots fall down constantly, as if the rim was twice as big. This is a huge contrast in comparison to last year, where the offense was slow, dull and boring. Still, scoring is a little too easy this year.

Obviously, the new feature Live fans have been waiting for is the Online ability. For the most part, I was satisfied with the rookie attempt, but there is plenty of room for improvement. I mainly was disappointed in the fact that if my opponent quit the game, I was also charged with a Disconnection. For those of you who haven't played online yet, your record will appear by your name, along with the number of times you've disconnected from a game, which helps weed out the poor sports.

Otherwise, the same old, same old is back for another year. Play Now is the exhibition, play for years and years with Franchise, or go One-on-One with someone. What EA Sports will have to do for next year is add a Create-a-Team feature.

There are four different levels of difficulty for NBA Live 2003, but they don't seem to matter. No matter what level you play at, Rookie, Starter, All-Star, and Superstar, the offense will never fail you. Like I mentioned earlier, the majority of your shots will fall. There is a tutorial provided, only you don't press any of the buttons to learn, you just watch.

The most notable feature of this section is the online capability. What you may not have known was that EA also overhauled the controller configuration with Freestyle Control. Using your right analog stick, you control any crossovers, post moves, triple threat moves, and strip steals. I was a little skeptical at first, because I've been used to the old way for so long, but it actually felt fine playing wise. The biggest problem you will run into is learning which direction on the analog stick does what. Meanwhile, the loading time can be a little bothersome, especially waiting online, although that depends on your connection speed. Up to 2 MB could be used on your memory card, so there is still room for other games. One other notable, if you notice a slight difference in the graphics while online, it's probably because the frame rate is lessened from 60 frames-per-second to 30.

I like this year's version of the NBA Live series much better than last year's, but it still needs work. If you are all about offense and no defense, try this one out. But if you're like me, you'll check out NBA 2K3 first to see who will wear this year's Basketball Crown.

My screen name is REDDAWG-ALEX. Drop me a line if you see me in the room.

* NOTE: Online play is ONLY available in the PS2 version of NBA Live 2003 this year. Also, in order to play via the Internet, you will need to purchase separately the PS2 Network Adapter (MSRP 40 U.S. Dollars), have your own ISP (Internet Service Provider) account to get on the 'Net, and have at least 42 KB of free space on a memory card.