Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside

Hit the hardwood with Kobe Bryant and all 29 NBA teams (with full rosters) in this basketball game by Nintendo. If your not happy with the current rosters you can always make some trades or create new players. Each athlete can perform a variety of moves, such as spins, no-look passes, and switching hands on the dribble. Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside also features four-player simultaneous play and games are called by Seattle Sonics' announcer Vic Orlando.

Control Stick = control player
B = jump ball
Z = speed burst
Start = pause

OFFENSE

A = pass
R + Z = position pass
B = pick up dribble/shoot the ball/dunk/lay-up/finger roll/free throw

DEFENSE

B = jump/rebound/block shot
A = steal ~ Ron Ellerson, All Game Guide

Kobe Bryant's NBA Courtside is an excellent sports game. Even if you're not a big basketball fan, you'll still have a lot of fun. For me, the thrill of the game is what matters with sports carts, so the sport isn't as important as how it's executed; if someone made a fun cricket game, I'd probably buy it.

This game is fun. The players look and move like they do in real life, and every NBA court is authentically represented. The arena announcer is good enough for the job. He announces the tip-off and then calls out the names of the players who score with an emphasis on the home town guys. You'll get decent instant replays of the more exciting plays, and you can always pause the game to do a replay.

The controls are pretty complex, but the basics such as shooting and passing are easy to master. True basketball fans, though, will enjoy all of the options to choose from on both offense and defense. My only qualm is with the button which automatically puts you in control of whoever is closest to the ball on defense; there seems to be no way to switch this off once you've selected it, and it's frustrating to be moving one player only to suddenly switch to another and then another as the ball gets passed around. The designers should have made this a button which switches to the player closest to the ball only if you press it, not automatically.

There are season, pre-season, and play-off modes to choose from with three levels of difficulty, so you'll get long-term playability from this cart. The documentation which comes with it is also very thorough.

NBA Courtside is licensed by the NBA and its players association, so every team is there with all its players - sans a few - and its official logo. Dennis Rodman is suspiciously absent from the Chicago Bulls, and Michael Jordan's name is there, but his photo isn't and the announcer refers to him as "23" even though his name is written below him as he runs up and down the court.

Overall, this is a fun, realistic basketball game and a worthy purchase for any sports fan. ~ Brad Cook, All Game Guide