|
EA Sports’ perennial basketball franchise makes another appearance. NBA Live 06 moves the series into a more arcadelike direction while maintaining the necessary features to make it a basketball simulation. As one of the final versions of the series for current-generation consoles, NBA Live 06 is in some ways the culmination of EA Sports’ basketball efforts for this generation. With the introduction of some key new features, NBA Live 06 doesn’t disappoint.
The game features the usual repertoire of single-player modes. Aside from the usual, you’ll find NBA All-Star Weekend which features the Slam Dunk contest, 3 Point Shootout and All Star Game. The most in-depth mode is the Dynasty mode, though. The game’s dynasty mode has been tinkered with a bit. The dynasty mode now requires that you hire a scout and an assistant coach. The scout will evaluate the potential draft picks and give you ratings on them to allow you to make a more informed decision. If you are happy with the first round of potential draft picks, you can keep the scout onboard to give you information on upcoming competition. This feature is a bit of a waste since most of the information is readily available elsewhere. The assistant coach is tasked with working on the players to develop them into superstars. You can tell the coach to work on defense, offense or athleticism. The coaches are pretty effective, so you’ll notice the player making marked improvement when the results come back in. You’ll still have to manage the team’s roster (by drafting, making trades, etc), its budget, and keep in the loop thanks to the game’s PDA.
The game’s gameplay remains all of its defining characteristics. You still have the separate dunk button and accompanying crazy dunks, you still have the ability to tip in shots or dunks, and you still have freestyle dribbling thanks to the right analog stick. The biggest change to NBA Live 06’s gameplay is the addition of superstar moves. This lets you tell the big-name players from the not-so-big. Essentially, there are six types including highflyers, playmakers, scorers, sharpshooters, stoppers or power players. You can pair being a stopper with something else, but that is the only possible combination. For instance, your superstar can’t be both a scorer and playmaker. However, some athletes have the skills necessary to fit into a number of superstar categories, so you’re able to change them into a different category.
The superstar moves essentially make the game a lighter fare and more arcadelike in nature. You’ll notice a scorer like Allen Iverson make a seemingly impossible shot, witness a power player like Shaq pull off an unbelievable dunk, and note the fancy maneuvering of play markets like Nash. Stoppers work on the defense, giving the superstar more oomph. As I mentioned above, these moves aren’t typically found in a simulation and may be lamented if you are looking for solely a simulation. Arguably, the NBA Live series has always played with the NBA’s rules.
NBA Live 06 for Gamecube supports up to four players offline. Unlike the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, however, the game does not support online multiplayer.
Like last year, the game’s visuals are pretty good. The character models are excellent throughout the game. The characters animate very well and keep up the flow of the game well. The new animations for the superstar moves look great, often times worth pulling a move for just to watch them. As usual, the courts and fans look appropriate. The game can hardly compete with the next-generation version of NBA Live, but for current generation consoles, it looks quite alright.
The game’s audio should be familiar to fans of the franchise. The soundtrack is once again provided by EA Trax and is largely compromised of hip-hop songs. The sound effects are pretty similar to last year’s but still sound great. The commentary is provided by Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, who replaces Mike Fratello since he is now coaching. The All-Star Weekend is announced by Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, who often provides humorous lines.
With NBA Live 06, EA Canada has defined the series as even more arcadelike than previous versions. While not a full five-on-five NBA Street, NBA Live 06 features just enough arcade elements to keep the game interesting while still remaining a full blown basketball simulator. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Oct 18, 2005
|
