| December 14, 2005
By Ken Edwards
No one likes to win a battle without a fight. It doesn’t
prove anything. NBA 2K6 resoundingly wins round one of the
next-gen battle for simulation basketball. And all they had
to do was show up at launch. This is because most of NBA Live
06 is just not there in EA’s first baller for the 360.
If you have a HDTV and are looking for a deep NBA experience,
you will be in heaven with 2K Sports’s latest. If you
only have Standard Definition you will not see a big jump
from the Xbox version of the game. In fact at Standard Definition
you will find the left and right of the game gets cut off.
This shows mostly in the menus, but you are missing part of
the frame because this game (like all 360 games) is meant
to be experienced in full HD.
But even in Standard Definition the cut scenes and close
ups of the players look better then the PS2/Xbox version of
NBA 2K6. Visual Concepts crammed more animations, cloth and
sweat simulation, and high-resolution player textures into
the game for their 360 debut. The jerseys and shorts are animated
separately from the players, which gives a more lifelike feel
to the game.
The higher polygon player models are so good looking that
now it is easy to spot slight flaws - some of the skin textures
have a plastic or procaine look. Most of the time you will
not notice this though because the game looks like a NBA telecast,
and runs at a silky smooth frame rate. Even online, no latency
issues were found.
The new player models show off another flaw in the game.
The models for coaches, cheerleaders, and fans are of a much
lower polygon count, and the textures are not as crisp either.
They upgraded the players from the Xbox version, but forgot
about the rest. This is a little jarring when you see players
in a huddle around the coach.
The player models might be the new watermark, but that is
not the only thing that shines in the presentation department.
As with a number of launch titles, NBA 2K6 takes full advantage
of Depth of Field blur. This means the camera will focus on
the player in the foreground and blur out the fans and other
players in the background. This blur makes the game look spectacular.
Other then the great looking player models and Depth of Field
blur this is the same NBA 2K6 that came out a few months ago
on current generation systems. But that is not a bad thing
at all as nothing has been stripped out (see: NBA Live 06).
The Association (franchise) mode is here, tweaked since 2K5,
and even has a better menu system. Also included is the deep
24/7 mode, a basketball RPG if you will, where you build a
team to compete in the EBC (The Entertainer's Basketball Classic)
at Rucker Park. The Crib is back, offering up Air Hockey and
Darts, two great unlockable mini games. Brought over from
the NFL 2K series, the VIP system allows for tracking of your
stats. It is nice to be able to analyze your own playing habits,
if you even care to look.
The Association and 24/7 mode
Die-hard fans are going to absolutely love The Association
and 24/7 mode. The EBC is a real basketball championship and
not made up - adding yet again to the realism. Once you win
the EBC, you can import your player into The Association.
You can even coach a young player into something great, building
his stats along the way.
Gamers who have not played since NBA 2K5 are in for a number
of changes. Although, some take a while to learn, and may
not appeal to casual basketball fans. With some practice you
will find how much control the, um... controls give you. There
is still a traditional shot button, but now shooting is handled
with the Shot Stick; the Right Analog stick. Push down, and
then up at the top of the arc to shoot. Free throws are also
handled this way. You can also shield the ball from the defender
when driving the lane by changing the angle you press the
Shot Stick.
Isomotion
Isomotion has also been expanded. This is going to be the
biggest change for veterans of the series. The Turbo button
has been taken out of the game and replaced with Aggression
Modifiers. Getting rid of Turbo has been a long time coming
in simulation basketball. The new Aggression Modifiers, mapped
to the Left and Right Triggers, change the commands of the
Left Analog stick and face buttons. Like the new Shot Stick,
it allows for a wider range of very realistic game play.
What this does is allow your player to do so much more then
just sprint down the court or drive hard to the lane.
Jukes have also been added, just a couple years behind the
NBA Live series. These additions to Isomotion make game play
fluid and not forced - and are my favorite changes since NBA
2K5.
Passing has even been expanded. Two face buttons are used
for passing. You can pass the ball to a player, but you also
have the ability to Lead Pass the ball. Lead Passing is basically
a pass when the other player is in motion. This leads to a
fast transition game that doesn’t feel clunky.
All these changes add up to a very satisfying game of simulation
basketball, the likes of which have not been seen before.
Adding even more depth are realistic player and team tendencies.
Phoenix is going to widen the game and throw up a lot of three
pointers; Detroit is going to pound the boards just like their
real life counterparts. Likewise you won’t see Dwayne
Wade tickling the twine from behind the arc. This is not a
new feature, but it has been expanded greatly.
The AI
Artificial Intelligence has always been a strong suit in
the 2K series. If you ramp up the difficulty there is a challenge
waiting for seasoned fans. The computer will take advantage
of lazy defense, and you have to work hard to get a shot off.
Wrapping everything up is a great presentation with new announcers
Kevin Harlan and Kenny Smith (Bill Walton is gone, yay!) and
slick graphic overlays. The default camera even makes the
game feel like a TNT NBA telecast. And with TNT talent calling
the game, they should partner with them. Branding NBA 2K with
a TNT presentation is the best thing that could happen since
EA bought the ESPN license.
The Audio
The game’s audio is nothing short of immersive with
everything separated into their correct channels. This is
an entirely different game when experience in full 5.1 Surround
Sound. Adding to the arena experience are 40 plus hip-hop
tracks.
To complete this solid launch title, the online component
of NBA 2K6 has all the usual trimmings: season, street, tournament
and league play. All your stats are tracked and everything
is presented in a clean interface.
The real winners here are HDTV owners. Playing this game
in High Definition really makes a difference, and shows off
the Xbox 360 nicely. Everything from the great control mechanics
to the challenging AI has made its way to the Xbox 360. The
higher resolution and polygonal models just add that much
more to the realism of basketball. This game, like NHL 2K6,
is a judgment call on wether it is worth the extra cash for
the non-substantial upgrade. Only if you own a HDTV is this
a no brainer.
For this year, a fully featured product is enough. Now it
is on to round two, where we see what happens when these games
are not rushed out the door. I am hoping to see more competition
from EA, as that will push Visual Concepts even harder next
year. |
