NBA 10 The Inside

For NBA 10 on the PSP I said that Sony threw in everything but the kitchen sink, and the same holds true this year. The biggest problem is that the developers didn’t really work on improving the actual basketball simulation game.

While it may not be the best pure basketball game you’ll ever play, it’s definitely tons of fun on many different levels. It’s also our favorite PSP hoops game of the season, which, considering how good they all are, is really saying something.

While not a *huge* upgrade from NBA 09, NBA 10: The Inside is still well worth a look for the NBA fan on the go.

It’s strange to think that a game with lackluster core game mechanics can make up for it with its variety of gameplay modes, most of which rely on those same core mechanics, but that’s exactly the case here.

While the mini-games can be pretty fun experiences on the go, the basketball element needs a lot of work here.

NBA 10: The Inside isn’t going to blow you away in any aspect of the game since it just offers a decent game of portable basketball that will be enjoyable by those that can accept its flaws. Just looking at what NBA 09 offered last year, you might as well use the $29.99 that you’d pay for this year’s game and get what is essentially the same game without the added fluff for a cheaper price.

NBA 10: The Inside is a solid game that’s sadly lacking in a crucial department. It’s a bummer that the basketball is the weakest aspect of an otherwise impressive stable of standard and off-the-wall game modes.

Both NBA Live 10 and NBA 2K10 offer PSP versions this season, but The Inside hardly suffers in comparison to its competitors. With its more forgiving take on the sport and wide array of simple but addictive minigames, it should be the most appealing choice for more casual sports fans who want some arcade-style hoops with a solid array of minigames on the side.

It is really hard to recommend this year’s edition of The Inside. The additions from last year are strictly on the Block Party side of things when improvements were desperately needed on the hardwood. If you still have last year’s edition, I would say stick with it for one more year. But, if you are in desperate need to play an NBA game on your PSP, be prepared for a mediocre performance on the court.

If portable Basketball on the go is what you’re looking for, you could do worse than The Inside. But the real inside scoop is the fun time-wasting mini-games, which depending on whom you ask, either compliment an otherwise generic sports package, or eclipses it.

What we’re presented with is a patchwork, yet not entirely unworkable mishmash of NBA clichés, as spliced with a series of fun but ultimately insubstantial mini-games and fan-service bonuses.