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“NBA 10: The Inside” comes to us from the makers of Sony’s beloved baseball franchise. Unfortunately, this PSP basketball game fails to capture the realism and balance of its baseball counterpart. That said, those who are happy with a simple, casual arcade experience will likely find NBA 10 worthwhile.

Control-wise, NBA 10 performs well running the floor, passing, posting up, shooting and rebounding. Gameplay starts to become a letdown primarily because of AI and balance issues. Improbable offensive rebounds and steals occur far too frequently, and computer controlled players seem to shoot too well, especially when trailing late in the game.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg — ticky-tack fouls are called more often than blatant hacks, and trips to the free-throw line seem to yield random results. Also, NBA 10 suffers from a perennial basketball game problem — it’s too easy to simply drive the lane and dunk almost every time you have the ball. Those seeking strategy in their basketball gaming will find that calling plays, performed by pressing directions on the d-pad, are poorly implemented and ultimately unsatisfying. These problems greatly disrupt the flow of the action and those that expect realism in their sports videogames will find that this game comes up unforgivably short.

Game modes include the typical exhibition, season, franchise and playoff offerings present in almost all sports games these days. One of the most intriguing additions to NBA 10 is a mode called conquest. This mode blends arcade-style basketball with turn-based strategy elements. You select a team and then try to capture territories by defeating other teams, gaining access to their players as you do so. Part of this mode’s success is that it unabashedly embraces the game’s arcade feel, so the gameplay imbalances feel more appropriate.

Interestingly, like last year’s edition of the game, San Diego Studios decided to include a plethora of mini-games — hoops-based games like horse, as well as random entries including two versions of bowling, pinball and a bust-a-move clone. While some of the mini-games are fun, I can’t help but wonder why Sony’s San Diego Studio didn’t scrap the mini-games and instead focus their efforts on tightening up the basketball gameplay and mechanics.

NBA 10’s graphics are functional, but not dazzling. The most impressive visuals are the arena models and pre-game animations, which are specific to each NBA team. Character models generally resemble their real-life counterparts, but player animations seem disjointed at times, particularly in the passing game and during inside moves near the hoop. For example, too often passing animations do not match the trajectory and direction of the ball’s movement, and post moves can be clunky, looking more like traveling violations than fancy footwork. These quirks in the visuals can be distracting, especially when considered in tandem with the AI imbalances. The play-by-play audio is solid and paced well enough to avoid lag-time. Crowd noise and in-game music are decent, but nothing too exciting.

The robust amount of game modes and mini-games of NBA 10 seem to be compensating for a lackluster on-court experience. In a way, the game suffers from an identity crisis, failing to offer either a quality simulation or arcade basketball experience.

Graphics: 7.4

Sound: 7.4

Gameplay: 6.5

First play: 7.0

Replay value: 6.5





Overall: 6.8