Title: NBA Shoot Out
System: Sony Playstation
Publisher: Sony Interactive
Number of Players: 1 - 8 (with Multi tap)

In Brief

Sony continues to show the gaming community that they know how to make top quality sports titles 
with the release of NBA Shoot Out. Hoop fanatics have been clamoring for a simulation style 
basketball game ever since the gorgeous, but limited, Konami release NBA: In the Zone. Shoot Out 
satisfies this thirst with a visual extravaganza complete with all 29 NBA teams, over 300 NBA 
players, real moves, NBA sets and plays, various game modes, and a host of other options. This 
could be the best basketball sim available -  only if EA Sport’s NBA Live ‘96 doesn’t address 
some of Shoot Outs minor flaws.

“Me thinks I’m watching an actual game!”
	
Graphically, no other console basketball game can touch NBA Shoot Out. Though NBA: In the Zone 
has similar polygon hoopsters, Sony’s overall presentation is in a league by itself. The players 
are incredibly fluid, a testament to the use of motion capture. Latrell Sprewell was brought in 
as a subject for motion capture, and many of the dunks are vintage “Landlord” highlights. Players 
have the same attributes their real life counterparts. Muresan and Bradley tower over guards like 
Stoudamire and Bogues. Rodman’s hair changes colour from game to game, and it’s nice to see 
different shades of skin-colour (no one is exactly white or black).

The most incredible visual is the basketball court itself. Having played on an NBA court, the 
Raptors’, I must say the court surface in NBA Shoot Out is a tad more reflective than real life. 
However, I assume Shoot Out’s designers wanted to show-off the capabilities of the PS and made 
the court surface an exclamation mark of the PS prowess. The floor reflects the overhead lights 
as well as the players legs. You can actually see the shoes and socks of  a player in the 
reflection. No more black shadow underneath a player’s feet.  There are 7 camera angles in which 
to view the splendor of NBA Shoot Out. Most of them are useful and allow you to see all of the 
action. The last two views, Action and Manual Camera, are difficult to use, Manual is impossible, 
but allow you see the detail that went in to this game. The Manual Camera allows you to explore 
the court as the game plays on. It is best when you have the computer control both sides and you 
want to roam around the stadium.

On the down side, some team colours are a bit off. For example, the Raptors’ road uniforms are a 
blue/purple not strawberry red as in Shoot Out. Also,  some home court logos and colours are 
incomplete. For example, the Hornets’ key is missing the honeycomb design, and the Rockets’ 
center-court logo is incomplete. The stadium is always the same with the only changes being the 
court surface, colours, and logos. Also, there are only five different dunk animations, a single 
jump shot animation, and no spins, cross-overs, or behind-the-back passes. At least, I haven’t 
seen them yet, and I’ve played the game for almost 24 hours.

“The sweet sound  of the hardwood”

The sound in NBA Shoot Out is very good, though not ground-breaking like its graphics. There are 
two announcers, a colour commentator and a public address announcer. The colour commentator is 
clear, but repetitive. He says things like, “Incredible,” “Oh what a shot,” “Block,” “Alley-oop,” 
and the obligatory, “Fantastic.” He also says a few words between quarters and at the end of the 
game which seem to be the same. The PA announcer is Dick Callahan of the Golden State Warriors, I 
guess they got a two-for-one deal with Spree. He announces changes in possession, fouls, and 
players names. Since he is a real NBA announcer, he correctly pronounces the players names unlike 
a certain announcer in a previous basketball game. He even says some of the more popular 
nicknames like Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwan! There is an option to turn off commentary, but I wish 
they had a separate option for each announcer. I can do without the colour commentary, but I 
really like the PA announcer. As for the stadium noises, there is the sound of squeaky sneakers, 
the swish of the net, and the clang of the rim. The sound of the ball being dribbled is accurate 
as is the cheer of the crowd and their chants of , “Defense . . . Defense!” There isn’t any 
in-game music, but one can listen to typical Jazz/Hip-Hop music at option screens. As I stated 
earlier, effective but not ground-breaking.

“Can it be, great graphics AND great gameplay?”

I was one of the many who voiced their disappointment in NBA: In the Zone. While many of us 
applauded its graphics, many more of us cried out for a more complete simulation. While there are 
a few omissions, I’ll get to those soon, NBA Shoot Out has much to offer to would-be Pat Rileys. 
There are three levels of difficulty: Rookie, Veteran, and All-Star. You can also choose to play 
in Simulation Mode or Arcade, the latter does away with fatigue and fouls outs. You are given the 
option to play an exhibition game, season, or playoff. In Season mode, you have the ability to 
choose several teams to control and decide which games you play or have the computer play. You 
can also play multiple seasons by saving to a different slot on your memory card.

In terms of roster management, you can trade players on a one-for-one basis, and you can choose 
you starting line up. If you choose Simulation Mode, you must be aware of player fatigue and 
substitute when necessary. Shoot Out allows you sub a player into any position regardless of his 
“natural” position. Try Mugsy Bogues at centre ;-) While playing, you have a choice between two 
offensive (out of a total of five) sets and two (out of two) defensive stets. The two sets must 
be chosen during a time out, but can be switched on-the-fly during actual gameplay. Hence, I can 
go from a Box set to a Hi-Lo Post with the press of a button (R2).

Controlling you players is easy. D-pad to move, and individual buttons for quick pass, long pass 
(to the player closest to the basket), shoot, dunk, and speed burst. You must press and hold the 
shot button until your player reaches the height of his jump. Shoot Out utilizes the familiar 
point-to-your-team-mate passing rather than In the Zone’s select-your-team-mate-first scheme. The 
game also allows you to pass while in mid-air and do alley-oops. On defense, the buttons are for 
shot blocking, stealing, and switching to the man closest to the ball carrier. In NBA Shoot Out, 
stealing the ball and blocking is tricky but not impossible. 

It doesn’t take a long time for a person to get comfortable with the controls of Shoot Out. If 
you’ve played NBA Live then you’ll quickly become very familiar with Shoot Out’s controls. 
Passing can be very precise, though your opponents defensive skills have much to do with you 
completion rate. Your computer controlled team mates carry out the offensive plays pretty well. 
They move and set picks unlike those idiots in, you guessed it,  NBA: In the Zone. On defense, 
your team mates block shots and grab rebounds according to their stats. They also switch off a 
pick if you select that option. If they are able to grab a rebound, running a fast break is quite 
fun.

“It a great game, but . . .” 

I’ll be playing this game for hours, but sooner or later I’ll hit the sack. If there were a few 
more options in NBA Shoot Out, I would never sleep again! The most glaring omission, and I know 
most of you will scream, is a lack of stat tracking over an entire season. The only stats are 
players’ stats from the ‘94-’95 season, half-time, and end-of-game stats. The half-time and 
end-of-game stats are missing turnovers and assists.

Even though NBA Shoot Out allows you to choose from 5 different offensive sets and 2 defensive 
sets, there could have been more plays. NBA Live 95 on the PC had 7 offensive set, but each set 
had at least six different plays!

While all the moves in the game look great, the tend to get repetitive. There five different 
dunks, and it doesn’t take long before you see all of them. I would have liked a spin move of 
some sort or another dribbling move. There are two unused buttons on the control pad that could 
have been assigned a special move. Finally, I haven’t been able to fake a shot. I’ve tried the 
usual quick tap of the shot button, but that just launches a brick. If anyone figures this out, 
please let me know.

“Shut up and give me some ratings!!”

Graphics: 9.5/10

+ NBA meets Tekken
+ Multiple views
+ Gorgeous courts
+ Cool intro, great option screens with FMV
- Dunks and some moves become repetitive

Sounds: 8/10
+ Good crowd and stadium noises
+ PA announcer pronounces names correctly
- Colour commentary gets repetitive

Gameplay: 8.5/10
+ Many options
+ Excellent control over players
+ Computer controlled team mates aren’t complete idiots
+ 8 Player Multi-tap
- Not enough plays, moves, stats

Replay Value: 9/10
+ Player trades allow you mix it up
+ 3 difficulty settings, 2 modes of play
+ Exhibition, Playoff, Season
- Can’t stay awake forever

Overall:  35/40 = 88%

I can’t wait to see what NBA Live ‘96 is like. Until then, I’m in hoops heaven!

Roy Ramonal
royr@enterprise.ca