It's basketball
Graphics: I had heard that this title was one of the best-looking on the 360. Having gotten alot of hands on with the game, I can honestly say I have to agree. The most impressive thing about it all, to me, was the fact that there's VERY little to no lag in this game offline. Online is a disaster zone, and I'll get to that later. But for the single player and split-screen gamers out there, this game could offer just the experience you need to burn a few hours. Character models are accurate, down to the sweat on their faces, and the arenas are impressive. The crowd could use some work, but this was a launch title, so that's nit-picking.
Sound: The sound is good. Crowds will get more into the game if you're at home and leading, and if you're at home and trailing, you'll be able to hear a pen drop. I thought the hecklers in the audience were a nice touch, but you can only really hear them if you turn your TV up considerably. Dunks sound good and the swish of the net when you hit from the perimeter is true. It's a basketball game...there's really not much to say here.
Gameplay: I've heard this game got alot of its features chopped from the original Xbox version to come to the 360. While I don't deny that, I will say this: I haven't played a basketball game in years, and when I do play sports games, I just want a season mode, good stat tracking, and a decent multiplayer mode to use when friends are over. That said, Live 06 delivered for me. There's no GM mode, or fantasy draft, or things like that...I'm not even sure I named those correctly. I don't need or want those options, as I would never use them which is probably evident by my inability to even list all of the features they cut. But there is a season mode and stat tracking, so that kept me happy along with the smooth multiplayer. Now, let's talk about online play. DON'T TAKE THIS GAME ONLINE. Honestly. I haven't seen so much lag since the early days of D.O.A. 4 online. Free throws are tricky enough in single player, but online with the lag factor thrown in, you can forget it. Also, many of the teams (especially the Heat) are overused and over-perform consistently. Just pick the Lakers or the Heat or Lebron James (who wishes he could play A THIRD of how good he is in this game), and you've got a sure win. I'm still tossing this game in and playing here and there, but I never venture online.
All in all, NBA Live 06 brings to the table nothing but a basketball experience. If you're looking for depth, I suggest you look elsewhere because this game is straight and to the point. It's fun for offline multiplayer, and you can play quite a few games in season mode before you'll tire of it. With this one, I suggest a rental just to check out the visuals and gameplay and then, if you need a multiplayer game or if you really like the game engine, which I personally think is pretty good, you could pick it up. Officially, I recommend this game as a rental with the possibility of purchase pending your rental experience.