''NBA ShootOut '97'' (''Total NBA '97'' in Europe) is a

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video game developed by SCE Studios Soho and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the

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in 1997. It is the second installment of the ''NBA ShootOut'' series. The cover features

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

Gameplay

ShootOut 97 features rosters from the 1996–97 NBA season. However, the game does not include

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...

and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

, as they were replaced with custom players named "Roster Guard", "Roster Forward" and "Roster Center" respectively.

Reception

Most critics hailed ''NBA ShootOut '97'' as a dramatic improvement over the original. Kraig Kujawa and Dean Hager of ''

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'' praised the faster game speed and new icon passing system. Kujawa wrote a longer review of the game for ''

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'', in which he additionally complimented the authentic NBA sounds and visuals and criticized the small play book. ''

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'' gave it a 3.5 out of 5 in sound and a perfect 5.0 in every other category (graphics, control, and fun factor), saying that it "shakes up the basketball world, cooking the court with spectacular, slam-dunkin' gameplay and the most realistic five-on-five hoops action ever brought to the 32-bit arena." Like Kujawa and Hager, they highly approved of the icon passing system. A ''

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'' critic called the game "the first true basketball simulation for a console", elaborating that unlike previous basketball video games, the statistics have a significant impact on how players perform in actual gameplay. He also commented positively on the icon passing, but said the game was not as fun as '' NBA In the Zone 2'' due to the controls, explaining that "the game has an almost clinical feel, almost as if the player isn't really affecting the outcome of plays." The game held an 87%, based on five reviews, on the

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website

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. In Japan, where the game was released under the name , on June 27, 1997, ''

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'' gave it a score of 27 out of 40.

References

External links

* 1997 video games Multiplayer and single-player video games National Basketball Association video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Team Soho games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Richard Joseph {{basketball-videogame-stub