Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. NBA 09: The Inside is a great portable basketball title.
  2. Anyone looking for a solid NBA simulator with a strong franchise mode and who also wants something more with their game can't go wrong with NBA 09 The Inside for the PSP.
  3. 82
    The on-court action can be tough to follow at times, but because the game makes no attempt to disguise its arcade-style action as a true basketball sim (and often flaunts its arcade attitude), the problems with the five-on-five action are easy to overlook. In fact, the mini-games add so much to this title I'd feel comfortable recommending it for them alone.
  4. It's addressed our biggest complaints from last season and added plenty of worthy material, staking its claim as a top-tier handheld NBA sim.
  5. Overall, I was quite pleased with this title and you won't go wrong picking it up. It's not quite a slam dunk but it's certainly no foul.
  6. 80
    NBA 09 The Inside is a slam-dunk in almost every way.
  7. Where NBA 09: The Inside shines is in its library of mini-games, more than making up for the lackluster core gameplay.
  8. NBA '09: The Inside is a decent basketball title, but an extremely fun mini-games collection. Block Party alone makes this game a worthy pick up and will satisfy your portable playing this season. There is still a functional, if not a little bit disappointing, regular basketball option, but you can see that SCE did not put enough focus into appealing to gamers who just want to play.
  9. While NBA 09 doesn't transform the franchise into a dynasty, it's still playoff worthy. [Dec 2008, p.96]
User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 1 out of 1
  1. harveylloyd
    0
    Hands down worst basketball game ever.nobody looks like they should and when your on defense you might as well put down the controller and just watch cuz you cant stop the offense for **** ridiculous i scored 210 pointsin 7 min quarters.so unrealistic i could kill myself.if i had had any part in the making of this game i would murder all my co workers, family and friends, neighbors,pets and anyone stupid enough to purchase this "GAME" and then hang myself with my own shame. you **** r lucky i only rented this piece of **** Full Review »