NBA 07 – PSP – Review

It’s that time
of year again basketball fans when a new season has arrived and with it games on
all consoles including our beloved PSP. While we enjoy going to the same dance
each year, we expect the song list to change. We expect a roster change but we
also want new features and improvements on things that didn’t work last time
around. For the most part, Sony NBA series was off to a good start on the PSP as
well as the PS2 but there were some little things that needed improvement. I am
happy to say that NBA ‘07 does fix a few of last year’s small flaws and
added a list of other things that make this a very good year, indeed.

While the
console version focuses on a rising star in a story mode, the PSP version of
NBA ‘07 just adds a slew of game modes including a strategy/simulator called
Conquest Mode. Think of Conquest Mode as a basketball fanatic’s version of
Risk where you take your favorite team and attempt to dominate a playing map
separated by territories owned by various teams that belong to the region (the
Los Angeles Lakers dominate the west while the Boston Celtics dominate the east,
for example). It’s basically a turn-based game where you can move into enemy
territory and challenge that region’s dominating team or defend your region in a
game that takes places in a neighborhood street court. Instead of playing for
points, the game uses a sort of health bar that diminishes each time a rival
team scores. Win a match and you have the choice to replace your team’s weakest
player with your rival’s biggest star so go ahead and trade your weakling for a
powerhouse like Ming or Shaq. Working your way through the territories is what
makes Conquest Mode such a major treat and it is, by far, one of the most
challenging and addictively enjoyable game modes.

Speaking of new
modes, the game also includes a Carnival mini-games mode that includes some fun
distractions you might expect at a fair or carnival (hence the name) only you‘re
playing as the NBA‘s biggest stars. You can shoot some baskets in a simple
Pop-A-Shot as Allen Iverson or you can play a round of skee-ball with Kobe
Bryant. Pinball fans will like the Pinball mini-game that’s actually pretty fun.
The best thing about these mini-games is the fact that the more you play and
earn points the more tickets you earn. Just like in a carnival you can take your
tickets and trade them in for prizes (in this case you can unlock retro jerseys
for your favorite team or videos).

Then there are
the other mini-games. There’s some extra games like the great 3 Point Contest,
Own The Court, a Skills Challenge mode, a Tony Hawk-inspired HORSE mode
and Dodgeball (you know, the game you played in grade school during rainy days).
There’s even a Parappa the Rapper-styled Dunk Contest. In a way, these
extras serve as training tools to help you develop your skills and familiarizing
yourself with the controls as well as shooting. Playing them won’t upgrade your
favorite team’s skills but they will give you the advantage when you decide to
play the game’s deep Season, Playoffs and All-Star Game modes. Again, modes like
Season Mode have all the familiar features seen in last year’s game and that’s
not bad at all since last year’s basic game modes were just plain hot. Even the
game’s multiplayer mode (NBA ‘07 supports wireless Ad Hoc and an online
Infrastructure mode) is good.

The controls are
still the type you can simply just pick up and start playing without much
trouble but they are still plagued by the same issues. Shooting, for example, is
still done by keeping a close eye on the halo around the ball. Green means you
have a good shoot at making the basket while yellow means it’s a 50-50 chance
and red means you will definitely miss. It’s not a bad feature at all, except
that sometimes you will make a basket even with a red ring around the wall and
you will, once in awhile, completely miss on green. Mind you, this doesn’t hurt
the game severely as it could have seeing as the rest of the game runs smoothly.
The opponent AI has been improved and you will find it hard to breeze through a
game without thinking of any strategy. You will definitely have to make changes
to the playbook during the game and find ways to adjust your defense. Yep, the
AI is strong this year and this is a challenge you will like if you’re looking
for computer-controlled opponents that will keep you on your toes.

Visually
speaking, NBA ‘07 has received a nice makeover, giving the players and
arenas a more realistic look. They also fill the screen nicely and animate more
naturally as you’ll see by the enjoyable replays and highlight reels. You won’t
see the same players dunk the same way and many of the star players are starting
to look like the real thing (except for Shaq). The arenas look sharper and the
fans are a slight improvement so expect a really pretty PSP game.

As for the
game’s sound, the play-by-play and color commentary are handled beautifully. The
team of Ian Eagle and Mark Jackson are excellent and give the game its
much-deserved televised feel. They are also able to call the plays perfectly and
are never too repetitive. The game features some tunes as well and hip-hop fans
will enjoy what is here but it’s all overshadowed by the solid sound arena sound
with their rowdy fans that chant and applaud their team.

By far one of
the most delightfully engaging and deep basketball games on the PSP so far,
NBA ‘07 is not only an improvement over last year’s fun offering but it’s
also a game that is good enough to give the other NBA b-ball games a run for
their money. While the controls still need some tightening, this is still the
type of pick-up-and-play sports game that will have you playing this game well
into next year. If you like NBA basketball, you will really like NBA ‘07.

Gameplay: 8.5
Sure, the
controls could have been just a wee bit tighter but then again that’s just me
being nitpicky since everything from dunks to steals can be pulled off rather
easily. The plentiful game modes are enough to make a basketball fan’s head
explode and Conquest Mode will, no doubt about it, be a fan favorite. The
collection of mini-games is just downright addictive.

Graphics: 9.0
This year’s
game just adds more detail to the arenas as well as the players that look
wonderfully big on the PSP screen and this makes watching the Highlight Reels
all the more satisfying. The fans look a lot better as well and star players are
now starting to resemble the real deal.

Sound: 8.5
The hip-hop is
not bad at all if you like your hip-hop thumping but the real star of the game’s
sound is definitely the commentary team that calls the plays brilliantly and
won’t fail to point out interesting plays on your part. Even the sounds and
arenas sound like they’re alive.

Difficulty:
Medium
The opponent
AI will now run circles around your defense if you let them so this year you
have to be on your toes and consider a strategy that works to your advantage on
the court. That means you won’t be breezing through the seasons that easily.

Concept: 9.0

Once you start
up Conquest Mode, you’ll see that you’ll be coming back to this game long after
you’re through entire seasons. The fun mini-games are small distractions that
will hook you, especially if you’ve always dreamed of hitting Kobe Bryant on the
head in a game of Dodgeball. Oh yeah, there’s online multiplayer and it’s really
good.

Multiplayer:
8.0
At the time of
this writing, there weren’t many players to challenge online but when I did get
to challenge another player, the game ran just as smoothly as the single-player
game through Infrastructure Mode. I was even lucky to play an Ad Hoc game with a
fellow reviewer and that worked perfectly as well so expect a great multiplayer
mode.

Overall: 8.9
If you missed
last year’s game, NBA ‘07 for the PSP is the game that will make a fan
out of you if you’re looking for a basketball game with enough visual sex appeal
and gaming goodness. If you did buy last year’s game, the extras alone are worth
the season ticket so do pick this game up.