Not everyone was happy about the change, but most of us did understand that technology was marching on, and that Freestyle was the future.Īs has often been the case with new features however, Freestyle Control did have a few problems in its first iteration. Keyboards were still supported, but they were very limited in mimicking the controls mapped to the right analog stick.
Of course, PC gamers needed to pick up a dual analog gamepad if they wanted to use Freestyle Control to its full capabilities. Obviously, NBA Live 2003’s controls weren’t as advanced as modern games or even some of its immediate successors, but it was a revolutionary enhancement to player control. In short, the blurb about Total Player Control on the back of the box was more than just marketing hype. On defense, down on the stick put the player in a defensive stance, up raised their arms to challenge shots, and left and right attempted a steal with the respective hand.
While in the triple threat position, moving the stick up switched between face-up and back-to-the-basket stances, with left, right, and down performing fakes and holding the ball out from the player’s body. Half-rotations performed behind-the-back dribbles. Basic left and right movements performed crossovers, moving up performed a spin while in motion or a fake while stationary, and moving down performed a stepback. It was a simple approach that still allowed for more complex moves to be performed. Movements to the left and right represented making moves to or with the left and right hand respectively, up was always forwards, and down was always backwards. Dribbling controls in NBA Live 2003 were absolute, meaning that they corresponded to the player’s hands and body no matter where they were on the floor and which camera angle was being used. The left stick was still used for player movement while the right stick now performed dribbling moves, in the same way the sticks are utilised in modern games. This was achieved by making use of the second analog stick that was becoming a standard feature of gamepad controllers for consoles and PC alike. Whether it was a crossover, behind-the-back, between-the-legs, hesitation, or a spin move, moves could be performed on cue each and every time. Whereas previous games relied on a single face button to perform dribbling moves, Freestyle provided us with direct control over the moves we wanted to perform. Indeed, the concepts it introduced have become standard for both NBA Live and NBA 2K to this day.
Billed as a revolutionary feature on the back of the box, Freestyle Control lived up the hype by changing the way basketball video games were played. There’s no better place to start than the feature that made NBA Live 2003 a milestone release: Freestyle Control. Let’s take a look back at a milestone game in the NBA Live series. While certain design choices were controversial and didn’t pan out, it’s a very important release, in large part thanks to the way that it innovated with its dribbling controls. Even for those of us who were more critical, or at least had mixed feelings about NBA Live 2003 when it was new, it’s a release that has since inspired more fondness. I’ve seen a lot of people mention that it was their first game in the series, which no doubt leads to the same kind of nostalgia people like me have for NBA Live 95. It’s interesting how attitudes towards NBA Live 2003 have changed as the years go by.
Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with NBA Live and are keen on taking a trip down memory lane, or you’re new to the series and want to learn about its history, we hope that you enjoy celebrating the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live here at the NLSC! Today, it’s a retrospective of NBA Live 2003. To mark the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re taking a look back at every game in the series with retrospectives and other fun content! This also includes re-running some features from our 20th Anniversary celebrations, with a few revisions.