Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Keith Schleicher

Not long ago the NFL signed an exclusivity contract so that only Electronic Arts would be able to create football games with the NFL logos and teams.  At one time the NBA was considering signing a similar situation with one of the publishers.  In their great wisdom, competition prevailed and the NBA has agreements with EA, Sega, and Sony to create games with the NBA logo.

With multiple basketball games on the market, each title needs something to differentiate it from the competition.  Last year NBA 06 did that with “The Life,” a portion of the game where you create a character and complete challenges to progress a storyline.  NBA 07 continues the story with “The Life Vol 2.”  Is this enough to differentiate the game, or will the game just shoot airballs?

While some developers are seemingly able to squeeze more and more from the aging PS2, others haven’t been able to squeeze much more out of the system graphically.  While Sony has made some strides, NBA 07 doesn’t bring anything new graphically to the table.

The players in the game look fine, but they don’t move as smoothly as they should.  Some of the animations look natural, while others are stiff.  The ice skating effect is here as well, with some players sliding on the court while moving.  This is especially odd when the game when the player is in a guard position spread eagle and the player moves without his feet moving.  There are also some bad clipping issues with the game as well, with arms going through bodies and other arms.

The stadiums look like they are recreated accurately to their real-life counterparts.  The courts are so shiny that you might think that they polished the floor all day before the game.  However, the crowds are surprisingly static.  In fact, you really don’t see the crowd that often because it’s dark outside the court.

I personally can’t stand the soundtrack for NBA 07.  It grated on my nerves, because the music is nothing but deep bass rap.  While I can appreciate the style of music, it all started to sound the same to me.  They didn’t even try to include different styles within the genre, such as R&P and hip-hop.  If you are a fan of the genre, you might like the soundtrack.  Say what you will about EA Trax, even that music system has more variety than this soundtrack.

The announcer does an adequate job.  His statements are accurate to what is happening on the court.  Still, it’s not the announcer you might expect, but the court announcer.  There isn’t any type of commentary at all, making the game feel less like a broadcast.  At least the crowd reacts realistically to the action, but the crowd is rather muted, even after big dunks.  The squeaks of the shoes let you know you are playing on a basketball court and not pavement.

During The Life, you do have cutscenes that progress the story forward.  All of the characters are voiced professionally, but the voice acting sounds a bit over the top at times.  This is especially the case during the NBA Sportscenter-like newscast.

The PS2 handles most of the controls well.  On offense, movement is handled with the left analog stick while special moves are handled with the right analog stick.  Hitting X passes the ball while Triangle performs a no look pass.  Circle shoots or performs a pump fake while Square does a dunk, layup, or jumpstop.  Using the D-pad calls for assistance, whether to send someone to the basket or to call for a pick.  L1 does a Post Up while the R1 gives an extra speed boost for the player.  L2 brings up icon passing for more options for passing, while R2 plus Triangle or X calls up an Alley-Oop.

Defense controls similarly to the offense.  Movement and switching players is handled the same.  The right stick attempts to steal a pass.  Circle takes charge while Square attempts to steal the ball.  Triangle jumps, blocks, or rebounds depending on the situation.  Using the D-pad enables you to call players to double team the ball or call an intentional foul.

Shooting the ball consists of hitting the shot button.  During this time a visual indicator shows up.  When it is green at the top of the shot, you need to release the button.  While the indicator is helpful, it isn't always accurate.  Sometimes you hit the green and the shot bounces off the rim, while other times the shot hits the red and it swishes through the basket.

The offensive side of the ball plays alright, but it has issues.  Generally it’s better to go for the lay up instead of trying to shoot the ball.  Shooting the ball requires a completely clear shot.  The defense doesn’t do a much better job.  Several times my character stole the ball and then attempted to shoot the ball all the way across the court because I couldn’t tell that the ball was stolen.  You also can’t square up properly against the ball carrier, making any attempt at defense difficult.  Also, your stance seems to be incorrect most of the time, which is a major part of basketball.

NBA 07 features the same three modes as NBA 06: NBA, Online, and The Life.  NBA is the meat of the game where you get to play real NBA games.  You can play single player games, go through a season, play mini-games, and practice your skills.  If you are starting out with the NBA series, you can probably skip ahead to the mini-games, but if you need to practice, the drills are a good place to start.

Just like last year’s version, you can play through a season.  However, those looking forward to a franchise mode are going to be sorely disappointed, as you can’t play more than one season.  This is a serious omission, especially with the other basketball games out there.

A momentum meter has been implemented into the game again.  The Showtime meter rises and falls depending on your performance.  Big dunks and extraordinary defensive plays move the Showtime meter toward your team.  Getting shots blocked or the ball stolen moves the Showtime meter towards the opposing team.  While this is nice, if you concentrate on only making big plays, you end up forgetting about the core gameplay in the basketball game.  It doesn’t have a huge impact on gameplay, but it is there.

One new feature of the game this year is that free players on the court have a halo around them.  Pass the ball to that player and time the shot correctly and a basket is almost assured.  On defense, if the opposing team misses a basket then a glowing ring appears on the court.  If you position yourself in that spot, it’s likely you’ll come up with the rebound.

The Life Vol 2 is a bit different from last year’s version in that you take the role of two different players who are rivals for their team.  While The Kid returns from last year’s Life storyline, this year you also play as The Kid’s rival Big W.  Each has a different path to take.  The Kid is trying to mount a comeback after a knee injury during an exhibition one-on-one game with Big W, while the Big W’s kid is having medical issues.  Each segment of the game has different goals to accomplish.  There are team goals and Showtime goals.  The Showtime goals take the focus off of the game since you need to make particular shots, but they aren’t required as they unlock player cards and jerseys.  The team goals have to be completed to progress to the next challenge. While this system isn’t as frustrating as last year’s version of The Life, it can still be pretty annoying.  The challenges are still pass/fail, so if you don’t accomplish a goal you have to attempt the challenge again.  The Life Vol 2 is much easier than last’s years go at it.

The online mode allows you to create or enter a game room, view leaderboards, and enter tournaments.  Updated rosters can be downloaded, and you can keep in touch with other people through the online service.  Updated rosters can be used for the single-player game, as well as multiplayer.  Still, the options for the online mode are rather weak compared to other offerings.

The mini-games are alright, but you probably won’t play most of them more than once.  It’s nice to have them available, but they don’t add much to the game.

While you can play an entire season, and you can choose between a 29, 58, or 82 game schedule, you can’t play an entire franchise.  This falls short of most games out there.

It’s nice to see that NBA Live and the NBA 2K series have competition on the PS2, but Sony’s shortcomings from last year’s game are almost as prominent this year.  While some improvements have been made, the improvements are so minute that it’s hard to recommend this game to anyone.  Unless you really want to get behind the hard-knock life of an NBA star, your money would best be spent elsewhere.

Gaming Trend Score

60

1. Graphics: 68
2. Audio: 54
3. Controls: 62
4. Gameplay: 58
5. Value/Replay: 60
6. OVERALL:60