After being hugely let down by EA Sports NBA Live 98 (the infamous
CPU foul bug) and March Madness 98 (no pump fakes, substandard 
graphics, sounds and camera angles), and hearing horrible things about 
In The Zone 98, I decided to give Sony's new NBA Shootout 98 a real
 workout. I was looking for a basketball game that offered up equal 
doses of fun and realism. Does SO98 fit the bill? Read on...

Graphics: 9.0
 I for one think the graphics and animations are superb. The players
have some very nice touches, such as staggering when drawing a charge.
The dunks, as advertised, are spectacular. There are supposedly over
30 different kinds. Put Kobe Bryant in the game and let him go to
work; you will see some dazzling stuff. Players pulling down rebounds
can at times look awe-inspiring. The overall animations of
the players is nicely done.
 The courts are nicely done, though there are flaws; there are no
honeycombs in the key at Charlotte for instance. But the floors look
nice and the crowds look decent.

Sound: 7.5
 Standard stuff here. Supposedly the crowd sounds were recorded at
NBA games, and they sound fine; not spectacular mind you, but they
certainly sound more than adequete. The sounds on the floor (sneakers,
grunts, dunks, etc.) are also well done and add atmosphere to the
game. There is no play-by-play; the announcer gives names when players
score and occasionally on assists. His inflection is fine.

Options 8.5
 Sony has included many fine options in SO98. There are the standard
trade, free agent and create player options. Also welcome is the
ability to set the starters for ALL teams. Sony also included a draft
which lets you hold a draft with up to 16 human owned teams. You can
also adjust the game to your liking, with different difficulty levels,
foul levels, rules, etc.
 The stats are done pretty well, though no one can touch the job EA
does in their Live series.

Gameplay 4.0
 But it all comes down to gameplay, doesn't it? And SO98 loses BIG
TIME points for what they call basketball. First, the good points, 
and yes, there are some. Along with the now-standard Icon Passing,
there is now Icon Cutting, setting screens, and Icon Switching on
defense. There are some simply spectacular things you can do with the
ball; the spin move is the best I have seen in a basketball game, 
and the cross-over is damn good as well. There are controllable alley-
oops (though they look awful, as if the pass was shot out of a cannon).
You can back into the basket easily. These are all welcome gameplay
components. But it ain't enough.
 For starters, and this is huge, there is apparently no need to
substitute, 
even when you are playing a simulation game with fatigue
turned on. At least the CPU doesn't do it. Well, that's not entirely
true; the CPU substitutes about as often as the CPU fouls you in EA
Sports NBA Live 98, which is to say NEXT to never. In 48 minute games,
the computer subbed a total of 3 times, with one player each time.
What is the point of including bench players if they are not needed?
Incredible. And I notice no decline in my players skill as I used
them throughout the game with no rest.
 Secondly, and this is huge as well, playing defense consists of going
for the steal, which results in an equally absurd number of steals
and fouls, and BLOCKING SHOTS. And I mean that in captital letters.
There are more blocks in this game than in all the college football 
games played on Saturdays in November. Playing 6 minute quarters will
give you and the CPU about 35-50 blocks EACH. In one game, Chris Webber
had 21 blocks for me, including 5 in one offensive series for the
opponent. If you 
know basketball, you are groaning out loud right now.
 When you do get a shot off, once you have played a while, your 
shooting percentages are WAY too high. Sure, for the game you will
shoot about 35-55% for the game. Now subtract the 43 shots that were 
blocked and you are shooting 75% consistently if you know when to 
release the ball. Similarly the computer rarely misses if he gets the
shot off. Scores for 48 minute games can exceed 275 points for each
team, easily.
 There are other problems; there are no calls for illegal defense, so
your center can stand under the basket and block shots all day long.
There is no goaltending, so you will be robbed of many baskets,
especially in the 2-player game. That brings me to another point.
 As a two-player game, SO98 CAN be fun and very intense if you know
going in that the game that it is nothing like real basketball. In
a strange way, playing defense, with all those blocks is a hoot as 
your buddy tries to bring Stockton inside ("Get that trash OUTTA 
here!") Slamming is spectacular, of course. But way too many times,
at crucial points in a hotly contested game, your opponent will commit
flagrant goaltending and get away with it. Talk about frustrating.
 My first impressions on this game were based on a whole night of
2-player games. Only today did I give the one-player game a thorough
look. As you can tell, I am less than happy with what I found.
While I could NEVER recommend buying this game for the 2-player game
alone, it might make a fun rental if you are in the mood for some
crazy semi-basketball action. As a single player sim-game (especially
in season-mode) it is virtually useless.

OVERALL: 6.6
 First of all, to get the score, I added in the gameplay score twice,
since that is more important than all the other factors. What a shame
this year has turned out to be for basketaball games on the 
Playstation. Only NBA Fastbreak 98 can be called anything like an
accurate simulation of basketball. And with its dated graphics,
sluggish control and sub-standard camera angles, it is far from
perfect.
 NBA SO98 is like so many sports games available for the PSX; all
glitz and no guts. Sadly, Sony seems to be following in EA Sports
footsteps in this regard. I can only hope that both companies get
some serious criticism and backlash for releasing sub-standard 
products. They both need to do some serious self-evaluation on what
they want to be; makers of great sports games, or makers of glitzy
trash that sells anyway. Sadly, I think I know the answer. Let's hope
this philosophy catches up with them sooner rather than later.
-- 

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 Jim S.       
Serious fan of:
*St. Louis Rams       *Michigan Wolverines       *"JAWS"
     *St. Louis Cardinals        *XTC        *MST3K