A few days ago, I traded in NBA Live for credit to get Inside Drive. Excellent trade. As disappointed as I was with NBA Live's pitiful attempt to simulate defense, rebounding, team play, and realism, I'm surprised with Microsoft's first-party basketball title. Relatively speaking, it's better than Fever. I was gonna wait for Sega 2k2 to come out, but I'm pessimistic of these ports that obviously don't consider the horsepower of an Xbox console, even though it would be from the premier basketball franchise.

(9/10) Gameplay easily is the most important aspect of any game and Inside Drive didn't forget that. I really enjoy the convenience and ease with which substitutions and play-calling can be made. I hate how these normally slow the speed and flow of the game considerably, but no longer do you have to make individual substitutions by selecting the player to substitute and the player to replace. The first time I played the game, I used default settings. The computer makes automatic substitutions under certain circumstances: injury, foul trouble, fatigue, etc. But if you'd like, you can choose to have more precise control as a player/coach. Try the playcalling. You'll find it's not too little and not too much. You won't get pounded by offensive rebounding (unless you have a series of bad mismatches...dumb coach). And defense is reasonable. Under difficult settings you won't find the computer cheating, nor will you be able to shoot 80% from the floor, nor will you always get lay-ups/dunks from holding down the turbo. I don't agree with some of their player ratings (Juwan Howard is better overall than Nowitzki according to this game.) and there is no player rating for man-to-man defense (sorely overlooked). With the exception of rookie level, you can't ''mash'' buttons and you can't get away with an offense based solely on dunk/layups and 3-point shots and expect to win. The defense won't allow it. If you try dunking too often, you'll lose control of the ball often. Think about it: in a real game, players don't dunk all the time. And this game won't let you either. But most important, the game is fun. No franchise modes or create-a-player, but I can live with it, especially in exchange for the vivid and fluid gameplay that is sure to elicit many 4-player marathon tourneys. This game does basketball fundamentals surprisingly well. And that's what leads to a fun game.

(9/10) Graphics are simply amazing. Players look like the players they're supposed to look like more so than any other game currently available. And the players don't ''float'' across the court (or at least less than other games). When you move players up and down the court, they actually consider that players don't always run down the court. Without turbo, you actually see that your player will transition from slowly walking, walking, and running as is appropriate. And you see guys pivot when they make an post-entry bounce pass. And you don't consistently get ridiculous dunks in traffic, like I've seen in a certain unnamed EA title that I owned formerly. Electrifying dunks shouldn't be so commonplace that they're boring and this game doesn't forget that. Motion capture is by two N.Carolina products and some no-names. The jump shots are modeled after Shammond Williams; he's not a household name, but he's got a good jump shot and good form. (Don't you think it's funny that as well as Reggie Miller shoots, no one will EVER model his jump shot in a game?) And the dunks are modeled by the spokesman, Air Canada. Who else would you want?

(7/10) Sound has its ups and downs. The tracks are kinda cool. And you've gotta love anything with an original track by Mr. Baby-Got-Back on it. I enjoy the announcer, because he says things you might here as precautions to the fans. Then again, he does say a car is on fire sometimes... The play-by-play is cool because they actually take into account how many shots you make/miss in a row. They'll be very specific about your futility. And you occasionally hear them cut each other off, which is something that should be expected. Of course, it's very difficult to be completely fluid when mentioning so many different player's names in those pre-phrased, fill-in-the-blank statements, but I'll let it slide. But I must say, I don't like Marques Johnson. He just says too many ridiculous things that aren't funny; they're not even funny in a corny way. In case any of you don't know him, beside working for Fox Sports, he also was in White Men Can't Jump. He's the tall big guy who tries to rob a store, gets pissed that he's hustled, and threatens to get his other gun and shoot everybody there.

Overall: I honestly don't think anyone will be disappointed with this title, assuming you like basketball games. It's accessible to newbies and veterans alike. I strongly recommend it if you want good gameplay. If you're stubbornly insistent on the franchise or create a player aspects, wait for Sega. But if you're like me and just want a fun game that you know your friends will play readily, get this game. I'm very thankful for Inside Drive. It's Xbox exclusive and presents significant competition for Sega. It poses better competition to Sega than Fever does to Madden. Before Inside Drive, Sega could just polish the previous year's version of NBA (whatever year) and it'll still crush Live or whatever competition. Inside Drive will push Sega and that only means better games for next season. Only question: why haven't I seen one tv commercial for it?