Pat Riley Basketball

Pat Riley has left the world of hardwood floors f and technical fouls for the bright lights of a television studio, but he leaves behind some memorable accomplishments, including several NBA championships and one amazing video roundball simulation: Pat Riley Basketball for Sega Genesis!

TIP: Step in front of opponents that are being passed the ball and you can sometimes steal the ball. A one-or two-player game with three levels, Pat Riley Basketball can be played in either Exhibition (single game) or Tournament mode. The player then selects their five-man team from any of eight cities: Seattle, Denver, LA, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, New York or Boston.

TIP: When taking the ball out immediately after putting the ball into play, pass it two or three times and you will end up with the ball way down court near the rim.

The game employs several visual perspectives. A horizontally- scrolling angled side view shows most play sequences. Large, well-animated figures dribble, shoot and commit fouls. An arrow shows which athlete is under the gamer's direct control. When a player goes for a slamdunk, a giant close-up, on- the-court viewpoint is substituted. In this mode, the offensive player times the dunk to the sliding dot moving back and forth within a horizontal bar gauge.

TIP: When playing the computer, watch his selections and time outs. As the computer makes changes, watch and make similar changes, e.g. the computer takes a timeout and calls zone defense, and moves a man's position within the key. You can call timeout and switch your style of play to man to man, and move a nigh scoring player into a more desirable position in the key.

If a defensive player manages to position himself between the shooter and the basket, a second bar gauge appears which allows the defender to time his shot- blocking leap. Other alternative camera angles include a behind- the-player view on all 3-point shot attempts that allows the gamer to follow the balls trajectory from the shooter's hands to the basket.

Pat Riley Basketball also gives armchair coaches a chance to strut their stuff. Players are rated in four categories: Speed, Passing, Shooting and Defense and the player-coach can assign each team member to play either Zone or Man-to-Man defense. So dry those tears, b-ball mavens; Pat Riley may be gone, but Pat Riley Basketball has only just arrived!