EA Sports (www.ea.com)
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 (limited)Street price: $39.95
Minimum PC system requirements: Windows 95/98, Pentium 166, 90 MB hard-drive space, 32 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM
EA Sports is recognized as a world leader in sports software -- and NBA Live 99 is pretty much the signature EA product. NBA Live 99 is the fifth product in EA's ever-popular series of "Live" basketball titles that have sold more than 6 million units to date. And the ancestry before that is even more storied -- EA started it all with the PC classics "Larry Bird vs. Dr. J.," "Bird vs. Jordan" and "Celtics vs. Lakers."
NBA Live 99 is based on all the stats, rosters and players of last season -- excepting Michael Jordan, whose spot is taken on the Chicago Bulls roster by one R. Player (for "Replacement Player," perhaps?) wearing jersey No. 99. But with a little effort and creativity and trading, an experienced user can use the create-a-player feature to customize a M.J. clone for the two-time defending champions.
Gamers can assume the roles of players, with NBA Live allowing multiple players -- as many as eight with networked or modem-linked PCs. The players are third-generation 3-D polygon figures that are the most realistic-looking that EA has produced to date, and the enhanced artificial intelligence has cyber-players realistically reacting to on-court situations. This year's version includes facial expressions -- laughing, frowning and taunting -- during various on-court situations.
Users can become team or league managers -- trading players, creating their own franchises or associations, designing uniforms, naming new squads and playing up to 10 seasons. Or, you can opt for near-reality by simulating the 1998-99 season to precise detail. Since draftees are not yet rookies under contract, they're missing from the game, but EA Sports will offer free roster downloads from its Web site for PC users once the season begins.
Other online advantages include receiving real-time NBA scores and EA Sports news, with ticker scores also appearing on front-end and in-game Jumbotrons.
The game is a TV-style "NBA on TNT" presentation with multiple, customizable camera angles, high-tech replay options and two-man game commentary and game-simulated on-the-court sounds. In other words, when the Jazz play a home game, you're watching Utah players in their home whites, playing on the Delta Center court with crowd noises and -- hey, is that Dan Roberts' voice as the P.A. announcer?