NBA in the Zone 2 (PS1, 1996) - Gameplay
1NBA in the Zone 2 is impressive. It was developed and published exclusively for the Playstation by Konami and it follows the first game with the authority. Konami improved the game in almost every aspect.
Lets talk about the graphics first. The game looks just stunning, out of this universe. It had the most realistic basketball players we had ever seen. Even the players faces are correct, leave alone body proportions. Voice narrator is entertaining, feels like taken directly from the 90s arcade cabinets. Music is also good in this game
They also fixed the biggest flaws from the first game. Now the teams contain more than five players and you can substitute, trade, re-order and create players. Unlike the first game, you can play season mode too.
Next Generation, considered it a dramatic improvement over the original game. They judged it to have greatly expanded offensive and defensive possibilities and "the most realistic looking NBA teams in videogame history." Concluding that "with its intuitive control, sharp graphics, and deep gameplay, it's the best basketball game on the planet", they scored it a perfect 5 stars. Johnny Ballgame however had a lukewarm response to NBA in the Zone 2, praising the player animations but complaining that only standard basketball game features are included and the gameplay is limited to little more than dunking and shooting three-pointers. He concluded that "its lack of depth dooms it to the sidelines with the rest of the middle-of-the-pack basketball games."
In my opinion, gameplay in this game is fun and there is a lot of variety. You can dribble and spin around to get to the basket. You can fake the shots and for the first time you can execute moves in the post to get rid of the defender. In defense you can steal, block, and unlike any other game before there is a defensive stand button.
Get together a group of 8 people and you can play basketball like never before.