The Xbox 360 brought us two basketball titles to pick from, EA and 2K sports. No surprises, after all, the two have been trying to out-do each other for years. It’s fitting since in the real sport there are rivals that just enjoy playing each other and it seems to bring out the best in each team when they compete against each other. Basketball is a great sport and one that I enjoy, the seasons never seem to end but I enjoy watching it.

I have already told of war stories of my attempts to play the game so I will spare you any more of those. So EA has brought out a 360 version of NBA Live 06 and it made sense when you look at their line up of launch titles. Having spent some time offline and online with the newest version for the 360, what did I think? Is it worth the money and what about the features? Read the review of NBA Live 06 and find out.

Gameplay

Let me get this part out in the open and then I can move on. I know there is no franchise mode and allot of fans are missing this and wondering why they did not include it in the 360 version. I agree it should have been there in some form but it’s not. What is there looks and plays well for the most part. The opening for each game is cool and showcases the cover player Dwayne Wade in a sci-fi looking gym where you can practice and even slam dunk – pretty cool. You will notice a few major changes to the interface and menus right away. I am not going to feed into the debate that you need a HDTV to play the 360 games to enjoy them, but it does seem like the menus are made for those with HDTV’s. The screen is really hard to read at first and I found this a bit odd. Of course after the first time playing you know what it says and is easy to adjust to but a little surprising.

Overall, the gameplay is solid but it’s not the same as the Xbox version and is missing more than the franchise mode. The Superstar freestyle controls are completely gone and the game is more of an enhanced version of the last one. I can live with that and understand that they had less time to make the 360 version. Sports games start being made right after the last one ships out, so again it’s understandable but some may find this a bit hard to get used to.

Playing the season mode I noticed the A.I. on defense would almost be on top of each other and swarm the ball carrier after reaching the center line. So they tweaked the A.I. and again I could live with that. However, with a weaker freestyle control it is harder to go to the hoop and you now need to pass the ball more and maybe that was the point. After a few games, I noticed much like Madden it seems like the franchise is getting ready for a revamping and a new look. It’s no secret that EA now owns the rights to ESPN and to me it looks like they are getting ready for that move.

One thing that is different is the fact pulling the ally-oop is way too easy and thanks for pointing that out to me Jason. Thanks to the new shoulder buttons it’s rather simple to pass the pall and slam dunk it. It’s not a horrible version, but it is missing a few favorites and needs to be more solid. You need to relearn the gameplay and fans will find this frustrating and a bit confusing. The game is ten bucks higher, which becomes a consideration when a top competitor out there has another version.

So the A.I. has a few hiccups and the gameplay takes some time to readjust to. It still plays great offline, just a new learning curve. I did notice that it is way too easy to Sim games and enter when the team needs some help then continue to Sim the games. I was never a fan of the option to Sim the game you’re in that day or week. It goes with the territory so to speak. I just think they really needed to tweak the Sim system and it’s too easy. Die hard fans of the series will find a reason to enjoy it and it is fun, but lacks certain features that were standard in past versions.

Control / Playability

I made mention that the controls are more like the 05 version, but they are solid and work well just a bit different then fans are used to from playing the Xbox version. Learning the basics will take about 15 minutes for long time gamers to adjust and those new about a half hour. I noticed that the shooting buttons are extremely sensitive and that could explain why the announcers would say “I had my fingers on the wrong button.” It’s nice when your faults are told by the announcing team and even better when it happens when you’re playing a friend.

Kidding aside, the controls are well laid out but I still have a gripe about the simplicity in pulling off an alley-oop. Of course, I changed my tune when I picked O’Neil and was slamming everything in site. Speaking of Shak, the free throw system has been revamped for the 360 and it’s more like something that belong in a golf game. You need to get the right flow and arch but it’s awkward and feels very unnatural. Other than the free throw system, the controls are decent and make use of the 360’s new design very well.

Xbox Live

The online is a bit different in this version as well. You need to first download the online roster and you do this manually. Normally you enter the online mode and it prompts you but this is not the case in NBA Live 06. Other than that the rooms are the same layout and the basic format. One change is there are only one-on-one games. When I heard about this prior to the release, I wondered why then after playing online I see why they did this. We all know all about the HD graphics. While they look great, it is more that needs to be handled over live and while so far most games handle the enhanced graphics with ease NBA Live seems to have some lag. It’s not due to a poor connection. It acts like the game needs to load and transmit the extra graphics and the servers are having a few issues. I say seems because they are working on this and this may not be an issue after the time this review is posted. Overall the online play is good the lobbies are the same but again the menus and words are tough to read online as well.

Graphics / Presentation

When the game first loads and you see Dwayne Wade, the graphics look simply amazing. Sadly, the graphics can’t stay as sharp throughout the games and this is not a knock. They nailed down the actual modeling almost perfectly including the eye movements, the expressions and yes the sweat is dead on. It’s the smaller things like when the A.I. or the defense goes into their coverage, they look smaller than normal. I noticed the backboards seem at times to have a few issues as well. I had calls of being out of bounds when attempting the shot. I thought they refs were nuts, then I looked closer and the closer you get to the hoop the bigger it gets; makes sense with the HD enhancements.

I understand but this also makes it look like you have more room than you actually do. I know this is the first game for the 360 and it will be improved, so I can say it’s the freshmen year and expect a better version next year. It looks great but needs some tweaks here and there and every game we have played on the 360 we could find something. It just so happens NBA Live has a few more that stand out.

Audio

Here is where EA pulled off a triple double in the Audio in the game. It is amazing and sounds great. The squeaking of the sneakers and the little extras like players saying they are open is great. The Play-by-Play commentary is dead on and really is impressive. I will say while I love sarcasm and that style of humor, the announcers do repeat the zingers too much. The rest of the commentary is well-done and shows allot of time and effort was placed in this part to recreate a real game. The music is the standard EA tracks and really only play when in menus but fit the game. Here again, as impressed as I was, it only shows what EA can do with the next version of the franchise.

Replay Value

While I have stated before I could care less about setting prices and that sort of Sim like elements the lack of a franchise hurts the gameplay overall. The game offers enough and will satisfy gamers that are not the die-hard type. If you happen to fall into that category, you may want to rent it first and decide if it has enough for you. It offers a challenge and a nice presentation and shows a lot of promise but feels a bit incomplete. To get the most out of NBA Live 06 you really need to go for the achievements. A few are challenging and they even have enough for those who are just getting used to the game.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 6.2/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

EA has a way of surprising people and we all know that the game really looks like they tried to add a few new things and see what the reactions are. For a freshman showing on the Xbox 360, they did a good job but I expected a tighter overall product. It still looks like they are getting players ready for a big change to the series which is something fans have been wanting for a while now. Here is hoping the next one will feature a full franchise mode and is a little more polished overall. This version is not bad but is an average title and certainly not the best EA game of their Xbox 360 launch titles.

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