“It’s
Showtime!” No, this is not announcing some big Broadway production but rather
showtime NBA style and that means a little crowd-pleasing razzle dazzle. Think
the Magic Johnson no-look pass; think Michael Jordan taking off from the
free-throw line for a dunk, or Vince Carter leaping over someone for a dunk;
think … well, think of your own rookie elevating the gameplay of his teammates,
giving the hometown crowd some cheering moments while focusing the spotlight
directly on him.
Allen
Iverson stuff? You bet, and Sony’s NBA 06 tries to grab that feeling and insert
it squarely into the release of this PlayStation 2 title. Just when you think
the game has some elements right, though, a few bumps pop up – sort of like
taking that 20-foot jumper, everything perfectly lined up, and then your elbow
is jostled at the top of your release.
A few
framerate issues on the online portion can dampen the spirits; still the game is
solid in other regards. There is a new shot meter that works rather fast and
requires gamers to develop a sense of timing. The idea is to release the shot at
the apex of your jump. The meter zooms through a color spectrum. Hit green and
you are golden. Hit yellow and it may go down and may now. Hit the pervasive red
and (everyone sing) “she’s a brick hooouse!”
And don’t worry,
if you don’t care for the way the shot meter works, you can turn it off in the
options settings.
In addition
to the online play, which features a fair share of tourneys to participate in,
the game also features NBA season modes and a new mode called The Life Vol. 1,
in which players attempt to experience what it might be like to sign with an
agent, go after endorsement and multi-million dollar deals while juggling the
rigors of an NBA season. Perform well on the court (the game will drop you into
key moments in a game during the course of a season) and your teammates will
respond, and the endorsements will flow. Perform poorly and you will start an
uphill climb for respectability.
It’s Showtime!
At times the
controls seem a little sluggish, and what you are trying to tell your controlled
player to do does not seem to be getting through. This is a problem that can
lead to some frustration. Some of the animations are repetitious and you may
find yourself being school defensively more times than not when you try a hand
swipe and end up diving and flailing for a ball that has danced just out of
reach.
Even The
Life Vol. 1 is not immune from issues that detract from the gaming experience –
and some of the failings are noticeable right at the start. When you begin The
Life, you are a rookie looking to make the team at a coach-run camp. They are
there to test your stuff and see if you have what it takes to make it in the
NBA. Ok, much of this also acts like a tutorial to the control scheme. Initially
you are shown a series of moves and then you move on to the segment called
‘Shout Out’ where you have to perform the moves as the coach shouts them out –
sort of.
This is
where some of the more glaring holes in the control scheme start to show up.
Moving the right thumbstick left or right produces a crossover move. From about
5 o’clock counter clockwise or 7 o’clock clockwise produces a spin move. Forward
is a jab step and back creates space (think fall-away move of the dribble). All
seems simple enough, and then coach starts calling out moves. “Juke step!” Err …
wait … did we cover that? Don’t look in the manual, no help there.
The moves
are displayed across the upper left corner so if you miss what the coach said,
you have a reminder. “Jab step, spin, crossover, dunk,” he yells. Hold your
horses there, coach, the text display says shoot, not dunk – and that’s an
entirely different keystroke.
The Life
also limits the type of player you can be. You can customize some elements,
which appear in the videos, but you will always be a point guard. Some of the
goals in the pre-draft training camp start off easy and then progress to
nightmarishly hard. When you get to a scrimmage portion you are given a set of
tasks to accomplish within the time limit. Sounds easy until you are running out
of time and no opportunities have presented themselves to make that outstanding
defensive play. Since all these are pass or fail (no half measures) you will
wind up repeating the task to pass and continue the storyline. Honestly, at
times it felt like the controlled character was wading in mud while opponents
were skimming the blacktop in super nitro-powered Nikes.
Still the
tempo of The Life is rather good, and once you get to the season, while the
challenges still seem stacked against you at times (and no real difficulty
levels to adjust to bail you out), the experience is unique and present a solid
foundation to build off of for Vol. 2.
Minigames, like
shootouts, help vary the experience
Player
models look very nice, and the environments are generally well done (forget the
crowd of clones) though the highlight camera detracts a bit and seems intent to
allow a set cutscene to play out in spite of player attempts to interrupt it.
And the music sports a decent array of tunes that are easy on the ears.
But at the
end of the day, the problems that this game has outweigh the pluses and
innovation. The Life is unbalanced in many regards, but a fine idea. The shot
meter takes getting used to but once you find that rhythm, it can be fun – you
know, just like in a real game when you get hot and can’t miss. Minigames within
the NBA structure provide diversion and entertainment but sluggish-feeling
controls can hamper the enjoyment factor.
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Gameplay:
5.8
Sluggish
controls, load times and some balance issues create a game atmosphere that moves
from the possibility of entertaining to frustrating rather quickly.
Graphics:
7.0
The Life’s
cutscenes are very good, the player models look great, but once again, some of
the animations are repetitive and taste of the “that’s not what I was telling
the game to do” flavor. Still, all in all, this is a solid element.
Sound:
7.5
Good tunes,
decent narrative.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
There is a rhythm
to the shooting that is not bad at all, and tying ball-handling moves to the
right thumbstick is a solid idea, but the game has balance issues, and if another
team gets hot, and you’re not, well – can you say ‘embarrassing,’ and
‘blow-out.’
Concept:
7.0
The Life Vol. 1
is a solid idea and presents a new take on the standard
create-a-character-and-play model. This is a guided foray into the game world in
many respects, but still creates a different feel.
Multiplayer: 6.0
There are a host
of tourneys to play in and solid online support, but the framerate seems to take
a bit of a beating at times.
Overall:
6.0
NBA 06 has some
pluses in terms of what was intended. The problems really come in how they play
out in the end. Still, the game has solid graphics and good music, and playing
in The Life provides a different view of playing hoops NBA style. It’s a good
try that just falls short.
