NBA 2K6

"The Perfect Basketball game and maybe the greatest game ever created"

Okay, not the best game ever created.

The NBA. A powerhouse when it comes to video games. Out of any other sports, in my opinion, basketball translates best into a video game, and no company makes basketball games like “2K Sports”. Last year they made the best basketball game of last year, and this year they're going for the same exact thing. Going against “NBA Live” isn't easy, but “NBA 2K6" is doing what it can to be the best of the best. First you got the graphics, (oh the beautiful graphics) and you got the fast paced B-Ball action, and to top it all off, there is even half decent rap music. With all of these ingredients you have one fine game, and what a fine game this is.

First of all I want to point out that the courts look amazing. Every single court is completely different, and the way that the floors shine and glow, its just unimaginable. The colors are quite exhilarating also, and they will leave you wanting to just stare at the floor instead of actually playing that game. For like a couple seconds when you find out how fun playing the game is. The rest of the game looks wonderful also. Each and every player look exactly like the real person in real life. Ben Wallace with his frow, Shaq with his “huge-ness”. When you see Allen Iverson for the first time you'll be amazed that he looks less like a monkey than in real life. A big thing this year was the addition of sweat to the players. It doesn't exactly add anything to the whole presentation of the game, but it's a nice little thing that you notice in there. That's another thing that I wanted to mention about. There are a lot of little things in this game that just make it so realistic. The net is so light and it flips up over the rim and everything. It looks really cool by the way, I get a shiver down my back every time I see it. The crowds look a whole lot better this year also. Even though they use the same character model for a lot of the close-ups, but the crowd from an Arial view looks very realistic. Overall, the graphics are amazing and they're a big improvement from last year's game. 10/10

Now this is about the time when people start to gripe on the game. Rap music. I quite frankly don't understand all the hate for it, but when you play this game, give it a chance. Yes, there are some really dumb songs, but most of it is really up beat, and kinda fun to listen to. There are a lot of tracks, so you'll have a lot to listen too also. You can turn the music off if you want, so don't worry if you still don't want to give the music a chance after you read this review. Now for the announcers. Lets just say better than the last game. There are a lot of different conversations in this version, and they sometimes really do talk about what is happening. This is just another thing that makes this game so realistic. There are sideline reports, (which are done really well) and there are special guests who come to talk about the players. You don't get to hear the actual players, but that's just something to look forward to next year huh. The noises that are made while actually playing a basketball game sound very natural. The squeaking of the shoes, the swishes of the hoop, more of those little things that I talked about before. All in all, the music is good and fresh, but if you are not a lover of Rap music, then you may want to play this game on “mute”. 9/10

“NBA 2K6" is a realistic game. That's what they were going for I'm about 99% sure about that. They wanted to make this the most realistic basketball game on the market. This is an extremely good thing when you compare this to games like “NBA Live 06", and “NBA Ballers”. While those were arcade like games, this one is a total simulator. Everything in the game is exactly like it is in real life. Aside from the announcers and the real life sound effects, managing your team feels like you're actually in control. You can decide whether your team wears today's uniforms, or the retro uniforms. You can be any owner you want, and every owner has their own profile. You can choose if you want to train your skills, and when in the month. You can change the starting line-up, you can trade any player that you like. The association is an extremely realistic part of the game, because it has all of the teams games to the date. This game is what reminds me when all of the real games are on television, so that was also a good addition to the game. Overall, NBA 2K6 is the most realistic basketball game on the market. 10/10

Now, with all of this goodness, the graphics, the music, the realism, it just wouldn't be a good game unless you tied it all together with good gameplay. Well prepare to be amazed. The actual games couldn't be any more fun. Like always you can choose any team you want to play as. It's been updated so that every team has some new players, and all of the veterans you've come to love or hate. The controls have changed a little since the last installment. To steal you use the right analog stick. You just move it back and forward and you swipe in the direction that you pushed toward. The other buttons are pretty basic, click square to shoot, click X to pass. You can also do cool dunks and lay-ups by using the right analog stick while you move towards the basket. Scoring is NBA scoring. So for all of you “street” kids, each basket is worth two points. All of the rules are enforced and sometimes you'll get pretty frustrated because the referees always favor the other team. Either that or I fouled the guy right when I blinked. Either way the game can be quite hard. That wont keep you from the fun too much because the game moves fast enough so that you can catch up quick anyway. The Free throws have been changed also. When you go up to the line , now you must pull back on the right analog stick, then let it go when you think the player should let the ball go. This again is part of the game's drive to be extremely realistic. And while it's sort of hard in the beginning, it gets way easier, and it's a lot more fun then in “NBA 2K5". Overall, the gameplay makes this game the best B-Ball game yet. 10/10

Going into a generation that needs top notch of everything when it comes to sports video games, this game is what us basketball fans have been looking for for a long time. In every category NBA 2K6 prevails. Great sound effects and announcing, an amazing look and feel, and exciting gameplay, this is exactly what I was looking for when I picked this game up, and I suggest that you pick it up right away also.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/06