Charming. Just as you’re up and about to score, NBAITZ pops up a few stats to distract you. Gamesmanship, ref!

Aaaah, basketball – a world of big trainers, giant men, dribbling and hustling. Seasoned sporting simulators Konami come slam-dunkin' into the picture.
James Price

Picture the scene. You're about to pash the object of your desires. You pucker up, move forward, and get a mouthful of hair. They've turned around! In an instant! What's all that about? Suddenly they jerk away, flitting from step to step in a manner uncomfortable on the eye.

Odd, yes? We take it for granted that real life has a high 'frame rate' - as a gamer, you accept that everyone you know is a smooth mover compared to our pixelated replicants. But it's not too much to ask for reasonably fluid animation and a screen update of above 15fps, is it?

And so to NBA In The Zone '99. As a sports game and basketball sim, In The Zone should move smoothly. It doesn't. Attempt a tackle and, more often than not, your opponent will turn to face the opposite direction in the blink of an eye. There's no turning animation. Just a switch from this way to that. And isn't basketball a non-contact sport? Why yes, it is. And doesn't the tackle you've just attempted on a player's back constitute a foul? Why, yes it does.

It's just not good enough. NBA In The Zone's frame rate is hardly dismal, but it is uncomfortably inadequate. Its players are oddly under-animated, as if moving under strobe lighting. This can make play an imprecise art.