NBA 2K6 Xbox 360 review

American sports generally don’t go down as well over here, which is probably quite normal. They aren’t played or followed to any great degree, but those in the know tap their noses in a secretive manner, as they are in on a club that allows them to play some of the best sports games in the market.

Much of the problem is that us European folk just don’t get the sports such as Basketball, and we often look on wondering exactly what it is that our American cousins get so very excited about. Basketball is probably the most hardcore of these sports.. With scores running into the hundreds each game, it can seem repetitive to the untrained eye. Persevere though, and we can begin to see why these games sell by the bucket load with each annual revision.

Speed, speed and more speed

Without a shadow of a doubt, NBA 2K6 plays one mean game of Basketball. As you would hope, it’s end to end stuff all the way, with baskets coming fast and furious. If you are familiar with the sport, you will have an immediate appreciation of how lovely everything looks.

With the right setup, you will gasp as you see the streams of sweat running down the players faces. Basketball never looked this good. The players, crowd and courts, are all superbly realised, and the animation is straight out of the top drawer. If you like eye candy, you can gorge yourself until you are sick on this game. It’s fast, frantic and just how it should be.

Not friendly to newcomers

The game doesn’t really do much to help those new to the sport, and this will probably be it’s downfall in this part of the world. There are no tutorials, no real help or guidance, and the training mode is useless in teaching you what you need to know.

Once you start playing, and start getting stuffed because you can’t steal the ball, or get a basket, it can be very off-putting. This makes it a game where the pleasure received is only apparent once the effort has gone into learning it. The myriad of new controls will also throw the new player, and they’ll be puzzled as to how they should steal the ball, or pass appropriately.

If at first you don’t succeed...

Persevere though, or get someone to talk you through it, and the game opens up immensely. It looks like Basketball, it plays like Basketball, and it sure as heck feels like Basketball. Do you like Basketball? You’ll be in heaven. If you don’t like Basketball, it’s unlikely this game will win you over, unless you have a friend you can play against to even things out, or have the perseverance to get over the steep learning curve. Those of us who get it are in for a real treat.

The best 2K basketball game yet? You bet, and it plays meaner than ever before. To get the baskets, you really have to think things out. Running straight to the basket gets you nowhere and will end in frustration, so take things slow, settle back, and pick out your pass. This is easily done by tapping a button so that icons appear above the other player’s heads. These icons correspond to buttons on the pad allowing you to pass quickly and accurately. This results in baskets being very satisfying affairs, and the accompanying slow motion replays are sweet enough that you will want to watch them.

When the shoe is on the other foot

Defending is a little trickier. The opponent AI is definitely up to scratch and you’ll struggle to get the ball off them. To steal you have to use the right stick, pulling it left means your left hand reaches out to steal the ball and pushing it right does the same thing (with your right arm of course).

This is pretty tough though, and often results in a violation as you end up climbing all over the player you are trying to steal from. It really does take some getting used to and it’s necessary to master it, otherwise you’re going to have a rough ride on the score sheet. You can switch control between players manually, and your own team AI does a good job of trying to keep your opponents away from the basket.

He shoots, he scores!

With solid Xbox Live play, NBA 2K6 is a professionally rounded off package. Special enough to be the best out there and satisfy the fans, but not friendly enough to encourage most newcomers to take up the challenge, which is a shame as this game deserves all the attention it gets.

I’d encourage those of you sitting on the fence to pick it up as a rental and try it out, and as for the rest of you, well; you’re probably already sitting there with a smug, knowing look on your face.