NBA In The Zone '98 (PlayStation)

The third installment of Konami's In The Zone series solves many of the problems that In The Zone 2 suffered from, but it still has some problems.

NBA In The Zone '98 is a traditional five-on-five basketball game that builds off of its two previous predecessors, NBA In The Zone and NBA In The Zone 2. In the original game, emphasis was on its arcade look and feel. It had very little to offer basketball simulation fans. In The Zone 2 had a few more features that made it more of a simulation, like on-the-fly formation changes and player substitutions. NBA In The Zone '98 furthers the series' evolution by making it more of a basketball simulation. New options include an even more complex on-the-fly play-calling system and statistical tracking, which not only keeps season stats but puts league leaders in various categories. Although NBA In The Zone has grown into a more serious basketball game, its roots are still noticeably those of an arcade game.

In its transition to become more of a simulation, the game has actually lost some of its realistic look. The graphics for In The Zone '98 are not as smooth as those for In The Zone 2, and many of the same animations seem to have been reused. The NBA In The Zone series has always suffered from a lack of good AI, and ITZ98 is no different, as AI becomes predictable after playing against the computer for a short while. When playing offense, the computer always does a couple drive moves right before it shoots the ball, so you will learn very quickly how to block its shots. And unlike NBA Live 98, where a steal attempt is almost a sure way to get called for a foul, in ITZ98, players who enjoy stealing the ball are rewarded nearly every time. Defense, as a whole, is way too easy. Unfortunately, offensive play doesn't offer much more of a challenge. In fact, the computer defenders are pathetic! Even on the hardest setting players can drive to the basket nearly at will. There are even a couple tricks you will learn for sinking threes and shooting from the paint.