NBA 06 – PSP – Review

The previous version of NBA for the
PSP, which was a launch title, turned out to be somewhat of a discouraging
experience. Although it was fun at times, the clunky shooting mechanics, shoddy
load times, and the brain-dead A.I. made it nearly unplayable. Thankfully, this
year’s version improves upon almost every aspect that plagued Sony‘s first
offering, although a few minor shortcomings still keep this baller from making
it to the big leagues.

You will notice right from the start that a lot of work went into making NBA
06’s gameplay more seamless. The biggest improvement has gone into the shooting
department, which if you remember correctly, was probably the most hampering
aspect of last year’s game. In the previous version players had to press the
shoot button, and then wait until the ball turned green before activating the
shot. Even though the color scheme is still present this year, it relies more on
a press and release type system this time around, which lets you time your shots
more accurately, and ultimately have more fun on offense.

The shooting mechanics aren’t the
only thing that has been overhauled, as most of the other aspects on the
offensive side of the ball have been retooled as well. Players now move with
even more grace and style, and performing crossovers, 360 spins, and
rim-rattling dunks has never looked better. Unfortunately for simulation fans,
this year’s version is still an arcade experience at heart. Even though you have
the ability to pull off some fancy moves while dribbling the ball, I wish there
were a few more low post moves that could help keep the run n’ gun style of
action to a minimum. Don’t get me wrong, the basic back down and spin to the
hoop is present, there just doesn’t seem to be enough resistance, or people
battling for the ball near the rim. In addition, one of the problems that occur
when trying to back opponents down near the rim is that the spin move and post
up ability is mapped to the same button, so a lot of times you will be trying
set up for a move near the basket, and instead you will do a 360 spin, which of
course will result in a travel. I also had a similar problem when performing
crossovers or stutter steps in the open court, as you have very little control
over the direction of the move, and sometimes ended up going out of bounds, but
at least they were fluid in motion, and the more I tried to pull these moves
off, the easier it became.

Probably the biggest problem with the gameplay, is with the defensive A.I. Even
though it has been improved, your teammates still stand around just a little too
much away from the ball. A lot of times I would be playing solid defense on the
ball carrier, when the computer would just pass to an open man running through
the lane for a wide open shot. It wasn’t like the guy in the lane had to work
for his easy basket either, most of the time my teammates would just simply
watch him run by for the easy bucket. There were also rampant mistakes made on
both sides of the ball during play calls as well. The defense would do a lot of
standing around when my guys were running the respective play, and on the same
note, a lot of the times the offense just wouldn’t respond to the signal and
mess up the whole play, which in turn caused me to repeatedly call out the play
before they would actually do something. Like I stated above, this is an arcade
game at heart, so it’s no surprise that there’s a lack of refinement with the
defense, and maybe it’s for the better considering that a complicated control
scheme could have really hurt the overall fluidity of gameplay, and might have
caused the fun factor to diminish a bit.

For those of you who wish to just pick and play without the burdens of a full
season, you will be glad to know that there are a total of five mini-games to
choose from, which feature the likes of 3 Point Contest, Own the Court, Skills
Challenge, Dodgeball, and Horse. There’s also a shoot around mode which lets you
strap on the warm-ups and hit the courts with the other starters from your team.
This mode won’t particularly teach you how to play the game, but it’s good for
some quick fun, and will help you get comfortable with the controls. Dodgeball
just might be my favorite of the new modes, and yes I know it sounds silly, but
just watching the players go through the animations of a game of dodgeball is
pretty hilarious. Horse is also a nice diversion, and will ultimately help you
learn the finer points of shooting the ball, as most of the shots performed by
the computer really force you to know what you’re doing. Seeing your opponent
pull off a turn around fade away jumper is just as common as a free throw in
Horse, and really pushes the difficulty of this mode up a bit, but nonetheless
it’s very entertaining. That’s the great thing about the mini-games, they are
very accessible right form the start, and offer some quick fun on the go without
forcing you to sit through an entire game.
 

Visually you will notice a much improved version over last year’s game. Not only
do the animations look better, the actual player models have gone through some
renovation as well. Players now look more lifelike and mimic their console
counterparts more closely, and you can now start to tell the difference between
the NBA superstars, which really adds to the personality of the game. Stadiums
have also been reworked a bit, and feature some new lighting and crowd effects,
though it’s not as apparent as the player model upgrades, the improvements are
still a nice addition.

Notable advancements in nearly all aspects of the game really helps NBA separate
itself from its predecessor, though a few nagging control issues down low and
near the sidelines hamper the experience somewhat. While I’ll be the first to
admit that this game isn’t perfect, it is however fun, and that’s something that
the previous NBA wasn’t.

Gamplay: 8.1
Tons of new animations on offense, and some slight improvements with the A.I
really help get this series back on track. Throw in some very addicting
mini-games, season mode, and online play, and you’re left with an enjoyable
basketball game for on the go.