Operation Sports:

Building a Dynasty

By Shawn Drotar

Playing individual games of NBA Inside Drive 2004 can be great fun, either against another person or against the computer. Playing online may be even better. But for the gamer who wants the greatest of challenges, you’ll want to step into the shoes of an NBA owner, a general manager, and a coach to turn your favorite team into the NBA’s next great dynasty. NBA Inside Drive 2004 lets you try just that with its exciting Season mode.

In Season mode, any number of teams between one and 29 (that’s the entire league!) can be controlled by a human owner. After you’re finished selecting which teams will be human controlled and which will be handled by the CPU, you’ll be taken to the settings menus. You’ll set up all the details of your new NBA in microcosm. Besides selecting the obvious difficulty settings and quarter lengths, you’ll also choose specific settings for your league, including Season Length and Playoff Length. You’ll also choose how many minutes will be played in a simulated game and how players will progress through their careers—either by experience or by incentives (achieving certain statistical goals). You can choose to turn injuries on or off. Players naturally go on hot and cold streaks over the course of a season, but you can make them perform more consistently if you so choose by turning the Player Streaks setting to off.

Take your team to the top.

You’ll also have the opportunity to choose how the financial system in your league will work. Salary caps (Cost Limit in Inside Drive 2004) can be turned on or off. Finally, you can allow the CPU-controlled teams to trade amongst themselves. After all these things have been set to your liking, along with the options for rules, sound, visuals, and player ability “sliders,” you’re ready to kick off the new season!

After you’ve started the season, you’ll have a wealth of options to choose from. The first on the list is your team’s schedule. From here, you can choose which games to play and which to simulate. From the Practice menu, you can refine your skills in the Shootaround and Free Throw modes. Standings shows you what you’d expect—an overview of the league standings, selectable by division, conference, and the entire NBA. Stats and news will allow the user to peruse the league leaders in the top statistical categories, view detailed stats of any player in the league, or view the stats of any and all NBA teams. Team and player ratings are available as well, and the news section will keep the smart owner in the know by showing the latest transactions, injuries, and award races.

The Coaching menu will allow you to set up the particulars of your offensive and defensive schemes, as well as customize your squad’s playbook. The changes made in this menu will affect your team in both simulated and user-played games—so plan accordingly!

The Front Office menu provides all the tools you need to make sure you have the best players for your team while keeping your budget balanced. You can edit your starters and bench rotation from the Edit Rosters selection, create new players from the Create Player selection, and edit the existing NBA players from the Edit/Delete Player selection.

Just like the real thing.

The final three menu selections are used to modify your roster. Team Status will give you an overview of your team’s financial situation, including your Cost Limit, the amount of Cost points currently used, the room left under the limit, and the number of players currently under contract. If you’ve released a player, and his contract still counts toward your limit, that Cost Limit Penalty will also appear in a window at the bottom of the screen.

The Trade Players menu gives to the opportunity to make a swap with another NBA franchise. Both teams’ Cost Limits will be shown, and you’ll need to take that under consideration when crafting any trade proposal. Players and picks can be traded in any combination. The Sign and Release Players menu is the last tool you’ll need. Free agents can be sorted through quickly and easily, and multi-year contracts can be offered in an effort to recruit a player to your team.

The Season mode in NBA Inside Drive 2004 may be the most engrossing and challenging part of the game. While playing it, you’ll experience a small taste of the pressures real NBA front-office types experience every day. Think you’re ready? Find out with NBA Inside Drive 2004.

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