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NBA 2K6 is a basketball game for the NBA fan: complex and satisfying to the very end.

User Rating: 9 | NBA 2K6 X360

By DanteKiller | Review Date: February 24, 2006

First it was Full Auto, then it was GRAW, and now NBA 2K6 for the Xbox 360 is the newest game that awes the entire audience with next-gen graphics. The graphics are incredible. At first, the players are dried up and look their best when they enter the stage. Once the game gets going, you can see the player sweat to his last drop (literally). When you zoom up close during the replays, you can see that the players have been given only the best amount of detail this side of Madden. But sometimes, the players in the game don't exactly look like the players in real life. For example, Dwayne Wade doesn't just look like the real thing--he IS the real thing. But when you go to Shaq, he looks like he just got ready for Shaq-Fu 2: Attack of the Retarded Level Designers. But, then again, this IS one of the first sports games for the Xbox 360. If there is one other thing wrong with the graphics, it is that now we can see reporter Craig Sager's horrible outfits clearer than before. Jesus, it looks like a wardrobe only a mother could love. Yellow and pink?! I've seen androgynous men with better style than him.

Moving on, the sound design is also well done. This is the most overlooked aspect of a videogame, but when it comes to sports titles, Visual Concepts nails the sound of the NBA. The commentary runs like you are sitting in the crowds watching the game or watching it on TV. Voices echo from one side of the court to the next while the fans cheer on their favorite teams. Again, there are a few things that they could have improved on for VC's first 360 outing. When you are zoomed in on the players, you can't hear anything that they say; not on the sidelines, not on the court, not even at interviews. But this is a minor complaint that can easily be forgiven. The soundtrack also has a great impression. You have lisenced tracks from artists like Ghostface and RJD2, making for an ear pleasing festival of joy, rapping, and sweaty men.

But graphics and commentary alone don't help a sports title if it doesn't have excellent gameplay, which is where NBA 2K6, or even the other 2K titles, succeeds. Sure, you still have the same dunks, layups, and passing controls as before, but the real hook to this version is the dual analog control that they put in the game. You can use the second analog stick to tweak your dunks or layups to perfection. The AI is also very well done, staying in between the fine line of Perfect Dark Zero's high school dropouts and Dead or Alive 4's rocket scientists. Your opponent will try to block your shots as hard as they can when it comes to the regular shots and layups, but when it comes to the dunks, I have two words for you: Shaq Attack.

To sum it up, NBA 2K6 is a game for the NBA fan: complex and satisfying to the very end. There are a ton of modes to find in here: quick matches, 24/7, season, tournament, Xbox Live, and more. With near-perfect graphics and quality gameplay, NBA 2K6 could not only be the best sports game of the year, but one of the best basketball games of all time.

NBA 2K6

NBA 2K6 is a basketball game for the NBA fan: complex and satisfying to the very end.

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