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EA Sports’ perennial basketball franchise makes its first appearance on PSP. NBA Live 06 moves the series into a more arcadelike direction while maintaining the necessary features to make it a basketball simulation. Despite being the first version of the game for PSP, NBA Live 06 culminates EA Sports’ efforts in the current generation. The game very accurately recreates the console experience on the PSP.
The game features the usual repertoire of single-player modes. Aside from the usual, you’ll find NBA All-Star Weekend which features the Slam Dunk contest, 3 Point Shootout and All Star Game. The game doesn’t include the involved Dynasty mode of the console versions but does include a season and playoff mode. They let you trade, sign agents, simulate or play the games and let you jump in a simulated game if things aren’t going your way. Instead of Dynasty mode, the game includes a new Superstar challenge mode. These are small minigames based on some real-life NBA game. They are always quick and fun, requiring you to play at your best to make sure history goes like it was supposed to.
The game’s gameplay remains all of its defining characteristics but wrapped in a slightly different package. Though you no longer have separate shoot and dunk buttons, you still have the crazy dunks and you still have the ability to tip in shots or dunks. You still have freestyle dribbling but these are tied to the square button since the PSP lacks a second analog stick. The biggest change to NBA Live 06’s gameplay is the addition of superstar moves. This lets you tell the big-name players from the not-so-big. Essentially, there are four types including highflyers, playmakers, scorers, or power players. The game doesn’t include the stopper and sharpshooter modes found in the console version of the game. You can’t pair two up these up. For instance, your superstar can’t be both a scorer and playmaker. However, some athletes have the skills necessary to fit into a number of superstar categories, so you’re able to change them into a different category.
The superstar moves essentially make the game a lighter fare and more arcadelike in nature. You’ll notice a scorer like Allen Iverson make a seemingly impossible shot, witness a power player like Shaq pull off an unbelievable dunk, and note the fancy maneuvering of playmakers like Nash. As I mentioned above, these moves aren’t typically found in a simulation and may be lamented if you are looking for solely a simulation. Arguably, the NBA Live series has always played with the NBA’s rules.
NBA Live 06 for PSP both offline and online multiplayer. The game isn’t quite as popular online as it is for consoles but it is pretty easy to find someone to play with. Sometimes, connection issues don’t let you play a game but once you do connect, you’ll notice that it is pretty smooth and lag free. As usual, you’ll need to pay $2 to play online or get a sponsored account meaning that EA will spam your email inbox.
The game’s visuals are pretty good. The character models are excellent though obviously not as detailed as they were on consoles. The characters animate very well and keep up the flow of the game well, since the animations were pulled directly from the console versions. The new animations for the superstar moves look great, often times worth pulling a move for just to watch them. As usual, the courts and fans look appropriate. The game can hardly compete with the next-generation version of NBA Live, but for PSP it looks quite good. This graphical detail taxes the PSP though and you’ll notice that the game has a few drops in frame rate here and there.
The game’s audio should be familiar to fans of the franchise. The soundtrack is once again provided by EA Pocket Trax and is largely compromised of hip-hop songs. The sound effects are pretty similar to last year’s but still sound great. The commentary is provided by Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, who replaces Mike Fratello since he is now coaching. They don’t have as many lines as they did on consoles but have enough to keep things interesting.
With NBA Live 06, EA Canada has defined the series as even more arcadelike than previous versions. While not a full five-on-five NBA Street, NBA Live 06 features just enough arcade elements to keep the game interesting while still remaining a full blown basketball simulator. The PSP version of the game is a pretty dead-on conversion of the console version which is awesome to see. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Oct 23, 2005
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