ic-games Review - NBA 2K7 (Xbox 360) - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

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NBA 2K7 (Xbox 360)

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K Games
Reviewed: Xbox 360
Genre: Sports Simulation
UK Release: 25th Sep 2006
Article Date: 01st Nov 2006
Difficulty: Medium
Retail Price: 49.99
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 89%

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Pros

Highly Polished

Multiple options

Looks fantastic

Cons

Free throws

Some graphical problems

Screenshots

4 of 7

With Chicago Bulls decimation of last years worthy winners Miami Heat in the opening game this Tuesday, everything seems to be in place for another fascinating year, even if there are doubts about the new ball. If all of this means nothing to you, chances are you’ve also never watched the game or picked up any from the NBA2K series – and either way, that really is a shame.

For the initiated, of course its basketball we are talking about here, and as the season begin in earnest in America, 2K Games have come up trumps with the latest in their yearly franchise, NBA2K7.

Presentation wise NBA 2K7 really is the business. As each game begins the camera sweeps around the court and you begin to appreciate the work that has gone into rendering each stadium. The player models are also superlative with player likeness satisfyingly realistic. The showboat is pushed out during breaks as well with neat little touches like staff sweeping the court, mascots bouncing around with gay abandon and cute chicks strutting their stuff in time with the music. The developers Visual Concepts have taken no prisoners in terms of the animations either with player movement looking equally impressive with most star players having their signature moves included into the game for you to replicate.

The only area of concern we had was during the free-throws in a match. As was the case last year you take the throw by pushing down and then up on the right analogue stick and if your timing is correct you make the point. However this has slightly changed this year with each player acting differently during the throw. In essence this means you’ll have to learn how to control each player during the free throws as their particular style slightly alters how long you hold down and push up on the stick.

The 2K sports series usually comes bolted with a pretty impressive array of game modes and NBA2K7 continues this fine policy. New to NBA 2K7 this year is the slightly altered story mode 24:7 NEXT where you take control of a customizable character in the hope of getting him into a pretty important legend match. You do this by creating a rep for yourself by beating occasional NBA players and your die hard rival ‘Bernard’. You'll be joined by two well meaning but equally annoying friends who’ll offer up the occasional words of wisdom. Defeat the challenges and you’ll get to play in the important matches, fail, you’ll have to repeat the challenge – its all pretty simply stuff but does offer up a break from all that NBA glitz.

Furthermore you have modes like situation, where you can control all aspects of a game including a start score, handicap and other alterations to suit any situation you could imagine. You can also alter the situation during a match so just about every eventuality can be programmed – this mode also doubles up as an excellent training simulator to try fancy moves out without taking a risk in a high profile match. It’s these little extras that propel the 2K sports franchise from the chasing pack.

In the Extras section you can purchase access to the 2K games ReelMaker for NBA 2K7 for an additional 400 Microsoft Points (around 4.50GBP). With this editor you can customize replays that you have saved in NBA and street matches and even add special effects and music clips. Once you have created a clip you can then upload the movie to the 2K servers where others can review your clip and mark it accordingly. It’s an excellent idea but a shame that it wasn’t incorporated free from the outset.

The crib also returns with the usual annoying mini-games that can be unlocked or purchased with points earned on the road. This is also where you can display all your prized trophy’s and navigate the mansion. It’s a good idea but doesn’t seem to contain all the polish of other areas of the game.

The 2K beats playlist it also pretty comprehensive featuring artists from A Tribe called Quest to Wax Tailor. All in all there are over 35 tracks to select from although the main emphasis as you would expect is hip-hop and dance. As is normally the case you can also deselect least favorite tracks and create playlists so any annoying track can be taken care of easily enough.

It’s a two horse race as to which publisher has released the finest basketball game this season. Both EA and 2KGames have produced fine simulators but in terms or sheer gameplay and polish we think the crown this year firmly belongs to NBA2K7.

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