NBA 2K6

"They shoot they score!"

Basketball has never been a real favorite of mine. I have always loved football, and always liked baseball, but basketball is just something I never got interested, until playing this game. Before you read on, let me say, I did know the basic rules and how to play basketball, so I was not just some guy who picked it up and learned about basketball for the first time, because I'm not, I am just saying, that before playing this game, I couldn't have given a care in the world about basketball.

So, I was very hesitant to pick the game up, as you could probably guess why. Upon hearing some positive feedback about it though, I figured why not, so I bought it, and let me tell you, I made one hell of a choice. While sports games for the 360, have not been the best of there time, Madden 06 I am looking at you, NBA 2K6 certainly is a game to be amazed by.

If you don't know all the rules of basketball, then this is certainly a very good idea to pick up, instead of some book. I knew the basic calls and fouls, but I didn't know very much else, and now because of this game I can call a foul before the refs on TV can. 2K6 is a very fast paced game, as all basketball games are. There are no long 40 second breaks in-between plays, there is only the time you have on the clock, and how fast you work to win. But playing to fast will make you lose, a lot. You have to always be careful not to throw away a foul call for the other team to get some free throws, or to waste your time outs. This is a game that requires precession at its finest, and you will soon learn that.

Being that I have never played a true basketball game, besides Street and NBA Ballers, I had no idea what to think about five different guys on the court, and how it would flow, but luckily, 2K6 rose to the challenge, and gave gamers a very realistic and pleasurable experience. Passing the ball is a lot more than just tossing it up to a random player, you have to find the open man, and make sure only he can get it, or risk having it turned over. Getting the ball down the court and to the basket is also a whole other challenge you must face.

Do you take the long three? Or go for two, and try to get the foul call? It's up to you, and how you do it is totally your call. While dunking is going to be your first choice of option every time to score, practicing your in the paint shots and three pointers, are key to your teams success. Plus learning a player's strengths and weaknesses are important to. You will need to know who the big play makers are, and who will make the game winning shots, and you need to know how to get it to them. Every little thing counts in 2K6, and after the first time you play, you will know what I mean.

But when it comes to the actual game mechanics, I thought 2K6 was very damn close to perfecting it. It was almost everything I expected from the game and more. I was never expecting to enjoy actually playing basketball, as much as I do in this game. I thought that everything from shooting to passing, to blocking a shot to making free throws was fantastic, which reminds me about the free throws. This is the first actual game to make me feel like I was making free throws, realistically. You have to time your shot just right and you have to make sure it's centered and timed at the exact spot, or you might miss it. I thought that this feature alone made free throw shooting something great on its own.

Plus, have you ever been playing a game, and notice how fake everything sounds. Not just sports games, which tend to be some of the more realistic sounding games out there, I am talking about shooting games to. Sound and music go a long way into making games great now a days. 2K6 really shows us what fine details in a game really are. Everything goes perfect with the game. While you run down the court, the crowd goes from earth shattering creams and hollers, to deadly silent. The squeaking of shoes fills the arena, and the ball flies from player to player. You throw the ball up for one last shot, and whoosh, it flies through the net, just as the buzzer goes off.

That's just a sample of how great the sounds will be in this game. Music selection wasn't the best that a sports game has offered me that's for sure. It had a wide variety of songs, but nothing to great to make me remember them and want to listen to them outside of the game. But basketball has never really been about music that much, so I was very shocked to see that this games wasn't the best soundtrack ever.

But, what I was shocked by, was the fact that I saw something, that no other sports game, has EVER given me, or at least no other sports game I have played has ever given me, detailed crowds. That was my one, major fault in sports games, is that the crowds never have any life to them, that they are always the small little paper cut out, moving up and down people. Sure, sports games now have been trying to make a few of the people more life like and realistic, but most only do it to a few people, and let the rest die. 2K6 did not do this; it made sure that every character at least had some kind of character model to it, some kind of action to do.

And it wasn't just the crowds that had the amazing features and realism; it was everything and everyone in the game. Character models were simply fantastic. They were probably some of the most realistic graphics I have ever seen in a sports game, besides Fight Night Round 3. Players sweated, there jerseys bounced up and down and side to side, and they move with actually realistic actions, and got tired and wore down as they continued to play for long periods of time, everything about the game was life like and I couldn't believe the realism.

The environments were also something to marvel at. Before the game, you would be treated to some kind of clip like watching crowd members in the food court eating, or walking around, or going to their seats, and everything was like you were watching an actual basketball game at your house. Then during halftime, you were treated to an actual in game half time show, complete with highlights and player by player break downs, and interviews, and the works. When I first saw that, I was flabbergasted, and that's not a word I use a lot.

NBA 2K6, is probably, not only the greatest basketball game I have ever played, but one of the top sports games I have ever played. The realism, graphically, sound wise, and game play mechanics, are incredible, and some of the best I have ever seen. If you are new to basketball, or want something fun to play on Live, or by yourself, then this is the game to get, and now. I was not disappointed by this game, and it exceeded my expectations as a game. One of the first must have titles of the system, and it shows.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/06, Updated 01/03/07