NBA Live 2006
Available platforms: Playstation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC and PSP
If you were to say that an NBA player had a big head, most people would assume the player had a big ego.
If you were to say that every player in NBA Live ’06 had a big head, you would be correct, literally. Their heads are awkwardly and disproportionally large. They look like T-Rex’s with their giant heads and short arms.
Luckily, the appearance of the players doesn’t take away from the game play, which is excellent in this year’s installment of the NBA Live series.
In games past there was nothing separating Kobe Bryant from Doug Christie. They both played well but were essentially the same player. This year, Live introduces a little feature called Freestyle Superstars. This allows your NBA mega talents, like Kobe, to perform unique moves and dominate a game. Only the elite players of the league can use the new feature, so there is finally some separation between the great and average players.
There are six self-explanatory playing styles of Freestyle Superstars: Highflyer, Playmaker, Scorer, Sharpshooter, Stopper, and Power Player. When a player has multiple abilities, you can choose which style you want to use for a game since you can only have one offensive style at a time. However, a player can have the Stopper ability, the only defensive style, along with an offensive style.
The Freestyle Superstars feature adds a new flair to the game and certainly boosts the game’s entertainment value. However, sometimes it makes the game too easy. On lower difficulty settings, you can dominate the game by using your Freestyle abilities every time down the court. On the upper level difficulties, it’s not as bad, but still too easy. It is no challenge to dump the ball off to a Power Player and dunk it over two people anytime you desire.
The game feels a little like NBA Street because it is incredibly easy to score and there is a definite emphasis on flashy moves. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since the game is still incredibly fun to play in spite of – or maybe because of – the high scoring, depending on your point of view.
Also impressive is how different teams play their own style of basketball in Live.
The Phoenix Suns run the court and play a fast-paced style of offense. The Pistons play their half court offense and lock down on defense. Live takes away the repetitive feel that many basketball games have had in the past. Almost every game is different, so the replay value is huge.
The Dynasty Mode has been tweaked but remains pretty much the same. You can choose to take control of an actual team or do a fantasy draft, assembling your own squad of high-priced superstars. But the fantasy draft has a major flaw: If you get the first pick of the draft, you get the first pick of every round after it, too. The same goes for every other pick so teams come out very lopsided.
A new feature of Dynasty Mode is the ability to control the front office. You have to hire an assistant coach, athletic trainers and scouts to improve your team and hire defensive-minded coaches or trainers who emphasize offense. You can really shape the way your team will evolve by the type of staff you hire.
A feature that is becoming standard with every game is online play and this year’s Live installment is no exception. You can participate in several game modes. You can play an exhibition game, do your best LeBron in a dunk contest or drain it like Peja in a three-point shootout.
Live is a slam dunk for EA Sports. They broke the mold of boring, repetitive basketball games and produced something that will keep the trash talk flying for months. NBA Live ’06 is a quality game that is a must-own for any basketball game fanatic.
Overall grade: B
Contact reporter Eric Richardson at richardsondbk@gmail.com.
