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PS2 | Sports | NBA 06

Boxart for NBA 06
NBA 06 30 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.5
  • SOUND: 3.5
  • CONTROL: 4.0
  • FUN FACTOR 4.0
  • AVG USER SCORE 5.0
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.1

Review: NBA 06

Review by Atomic Dawg | 11/14/2005 | 11:12:32 AM PST

NBA '06 is serious about its b-ball, and the Life just might convince you to play.

It's tough being No. 3 in a three-horse race. In order to stand out from the two leading ponies you need to have something a little different going for you. For NBA '06 in its three-man hunch match versus NBA Live 06 and NBA 2K6, something different is called the Life, and it's a little sumtin' sumtin' that should attract some gamers.

The Life is a game mode that enables you to embark on a career as an NBA point guard not unlike an action/adventure game. It's mission-based, there are levels to conquer, and you even build up skills and attributes through experience. The difference is it's all about basketball.

Living the Life
NBA '06 does a great job of setting up the storyline in the Life. You go from college draft through rookie workouts and hopefully into the NBA finals. Sony Sports went so as far as to hire voice actors and a script writer to bring drama into its game. Consequently, part of your challenge will be to manage the tug between your agent and your coach and to face a skilled, trash-talking rival in the NBA finals.

In the early stages you have to master simple skills like making a crossover dribble or perfecting a spin move. But you won't move on to the next scenario until you do.

That's the basic set up of the Life. Although you don't actually play full games or schedules as you do in NBA '06's season mode, beating the Life is just as demanding. A Life mission, for example, might begin in the fourth quarter where you must score 10 points, make an assist, steal the ball with a specific player, and lead your team to a come-from-behind victory. Of course, getting to that dramatic scenario means beating team practice levels, drill sequences, and completing a bunch of tasks that play like mini-games. If you like basketball, the Life's a mode for you.

Although you can only play as a point guard in the Life, that actually helps you develop gameplay skills you can use in any other mode thanks to the full array of smart one-on-one controls which are tight and responsive. There's an impressive variety of moves, and the simple, color-coded shot meter gives you more than a fair chance of developing deadly outside accuracy.

However, overall, your offense plays with better balance than your defense in NBA '06. It's a snap to block a shot, especially if you're controlling a defensive monster like Ben Wallace. But it's tough to make a steal. In fact you throw so many hands at your man even you'll feel like blowing a whistle. It's also near impossible to make a steal in the passing lane, too.

Basketball for the Rest of Us
Despite some defensive nitpicking, accessibility is NBA '06's hole card. When you get onto the court, this game is easy to play. It comes off as a sort of basketball game for the non-fanatic. Sure you've got a full season mode and you can manage your rosters or create a player like other NBA games. There's not of deep team strategizing possible, but on the court you can quickly learn to master the three essentials to basic videogame basketball fun: jump shot, dunk, and blocked shots. The presentation's good enough to pass, too. The animation's clean especially down in the paint thanks to some slick dual-player motion capture work, although you'll also notice a "cloning" effect with some players duplicating defensive stances. Oddly, the replay mode closeups reveal some fine detail in the character model, but when the game's in the motion it just doesn't look as lush as some of its competitors

The audio's a little sparse, with no play-by-play. Instead NBA '06 goes for a "live" effect by only using on-the-court sounds, ostensibly to keep it real with its Life scenarios since you're supposed actually be a player. But the fx only offer sporadic player chatter and the too-echoey arena announcers. Not a bad idea, just not enough.

Looks Good for '07
NBA '06 sets an interesting direction for a sports game that bears watching next season. There's definitely something to build on here. The game veers just slightly away from being sim to drive more directly towards being fun.

KEY MOMENT: The seconds are ticking down on your Life scenario. All you need is one clean steal to beat it...and you make one!


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