NBA 09: The Inside is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to sports games. Although the game features a clear-cut basketball experience, most of the focus has been placed on the things you can do besides play basketball. It may not please hardcore fans, but it makes for a good portable experience.

Players move a little smoothly and some smaller areas have been tweaked, but overall NBA 09 looks identical to last year's game. This isn't a bad thing since the game has generally pushed hard on the PSP's hardware and generally come away with a slick package. On court action runs at a constant 60 fps and is highlighted by nice touches, such as instant replay and highlight reels.

Commentary is once again provided by Ian Eagle along with newcomer Kenny Smith. Both do a good enough jobs considering the usual quality of commentary provided in sports games. You'll hear one or two lines more than a few times, but until sports games come packaged with personal announcement teams, this is something we'll have to live with.

Mini-games have sort of become the PSP version of NBA's "thing" over the last few releases, so it is no surprise that they are a major element in NBA 09: The Inside. Mini-games are now grouped together and have been given just as much (if not more) priority as other game modes, like Franchise or Exhibition.

One of the more popular games, Conquest, which was sort of a Risk meets basketball mode makes a return in NBA 09 and is now joined by a new, arcade-focused version called Elimiquest. The mode takes Conquest's turn-based, territory-capturing element, and gives you a team of five players. Games take place as normal, though if a single player scores a set number of points, they are eliminated from the team. However, as players leave the court, you'll unlock power-ups. Like Conquest, your goal is to defeat all of the teams and capture their territories, though this can get tricky since they are gunning for your territories as well.

Bang the Boards is one of the new mini-games joining NBA 09's already packed line-up. Here you place a bet on how many points you think you'll score. If you're able to hit the number, your score doubles. Victory goes to the player with the most points after two minutes. Another game, Alley Oop, is a variation of bowling. Instead of trying to knock down pins, your goal is to hit teammates and build up multipliers.

Pinball has been expanded to include more boards as well as a smack-talking robot. Although the games aren't as good as more dedicated games, they are still good. I personally wasn't a fan, mainly becuase I don't like pinball that much, though it's something else to do and doesn't feel like an afterthought.

With all the focus on mini-games, it is easy to forget that NBA 09 also features a real basketball game. However, while a number of noticeable tweaks have been made to the underlying gameplay, not much has changed from last year. The only new mode is Franchise, where you take control of every aspect of managing a team.

NBA 09 also supports both Ad Hoc and online play. It's limited to a handful of mini-games and Exhibition matches, but between the two types, most players should have enough to do.

Overall, player A.I. has been improved over past seasons, though not by much. Offensively, players don't always make the best choices and will usually go for shots when they really don't have much of a chance. Of course, they'll also make a few shots that they probably couldn't, so things do seem to balance out in favor of the A.I.

When on Defense, players are much smarter and will generally give you a really good game. However, even with the improvements it isn't that hard to beat A.I.-controlled opponents, especially after exploiting the few remaining trading issues. You can't build super teams anymore, though if you get lucky you can get some really good deals.

Very little of the core gameplay has changed. The series' best innovation, the color-coded shooting system, is still intact and works as good as ever. Shooting the ball produces a colored halo around the ball. Green means you'll likely hit your shot, while red means you're probably not going to make it. Admittedly, it takes some time to get a shooting rhythm down, so newcomers may not like the system at first, but give it a chance. If you decide you don't like it, you can always adjust it in the Options Menu.

Getting back to Franchise Mode, the most noteworthy aspect is the revised trading system. Most of the A.I. glitches that made building a super team easy are gone. It's harder to strike a good trade with other teams, though every once in a while you'll manage to outsmart the A.I., so there are still problems that need to be ironed out. The only time this is really noticeable is when you're dealing with Free Agents, who will sign for just about any deal you can give them.

Even though NBA 09 seems to take the focus off basketball, I can't say I didn't like the new direction. I'm not the biggest basketball fan, but the mini-games were enough to keep me playing this version longer than past versions of the game. The direction may not appeal to everyone, but anyone looking for more than just a good game of basketball should check out NBA 09.