The Saga Continues
I've been playing EA Sports' NBA Live series of basketball video games (on a variety of console systems) ever since it debuted as Celtics vs. Lakers. Being a huge Celtics fan and being a huge overall basketball fan, the Live series has always held a great deal of appeal for me.

(As a side note, I've found the game to be marginally theraputic when your team suffers an embarassing defeat. You can always play the rematch and exact vengance in your own little way... for instance, the Wizards recently handing the Celtics their worst loss in franchise history.)

All About Freestyle
While NBA Live's general functionality has remained the same over the years (with standard improvements expected over time), their competitors NBA 2k3 and NBA Inside Drive have seemingly improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years. However, NBA Live 2003 represents a radical change in the future of sports games.

EA's new Freestyle Control allows you to micro-manage your player's ball-handling (among other things) using the right analog stick. This allows you to really control the spin-to-crossover-to-behind-the-back drive to the hoop. This feature alone makes NBA Live 2003 worth owning. I can only imagine how far EA can take this concept with their other sports games.

More Good and Bad
Good: You can actually run a fast break.

Bad: Nearly every blocked shot gets sent flying out of bounds with absolutely no chance of recovery.

Good: Bust out crazy crossovers and stutter-steps to break the defender's ankle.

Bad: Stupid cut scenes and commentary. For example, you clearly block a shot out of bounds. Why does it show you and your coach complaining to the ref afterward? What the @#$% are you complaining about? Or you accidentally launch a full court shot because you pressed the wrong button. The announcers says, "He's shooting just a little outside his range..." Just a little?

What's Missing
I'm sure this has something to do with some legal mumbo-jumbo, but why haven't they added "Legendary Teams" like the '66 Celtics, the '71 Bucks, the '73 Knicks, the '86 Celtics, the '87 Lakers, or the '96 Bulls? How cool would it be to pit your favorite championship team against one from another era? The decade oriented All-Star teams are cool and all, but it's just not the same as playing with the actual TEAM that won it all.

And where the @#$% is the Xbox Live feature? For this reason, I almost went with Sega's NBA 2k3. The only reasons why I didn't were the Freestyle Control and my loyalty to this series. I severely doubt that there will a ton of other fans that loyal to the series with the monumental glaring deficiencies like this. C'mon EA! Get with the program!!!