Impressive! No, I’m not talking about the graphics; don’t get me wrong, the graphics are great, but the “impressive” goes to the game’s sound. Basketball is a very fast paced game. When it comes to team sports, it might actually be the fastest moving sport so I was really impressed with the game’s commentary.

I was expecting a great quality cheering crowd (which it has), a decently good soundtrack (also present), and some commentary maybe at the start of the game, the end of the game, and some quick comments once in a while on a good 3-pointer or a dunk. What I got was much, much more. It seems to me that every single possession was commented. The passing between players is commented on as are the assists, rebounds, 3-pointers and even slam-dunks. The timing is also impeccable; it almost feels like watching the game on television. NBA 09 The Inside really is a complete package sound-wise; all aspects blend together perfectly (commentary, crowd, music and all other sound effects associated with b-ball). Every once in a while the sound will seem to freeze for a fraction of a second, but that’s mostly when the game pauses and the instant replay comes up.

The graphics are not bad at all, but NBA 09 The Inside does not have perfect graphics by any means.

The best part of the game from a visual standpoint is the basketball arenas and courts. They look spectacular. The fans and backgrounds for the courts and the arenas are your average standard fans/backgrounds found in most games. There is no innovative technology there, but it doesn’t look horrible either.

When it comes to the players, The Inside did an adequate job but that’s about it. When I was looking at the screenshots from the EA game and then compared them to the graphics of The Inside I have to say that unless the screenshots were doctored the EA game looks much sharper player-wise. The defensive animations seem a bit choppy and stiff, but overall the game does not look bad at all. There is just room for improvements, but then again, there’re very few games out there without need for improvements.