Return To Home Page		June 23, 2007

NBA 2K7 is one of the best looking PS3 games.

Well, it’s been out for a while, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t have reviewed this one, but better late than never! For those of you who haven’t picked up this title yet, this review should help you decide if you do or not now. In short, even now this far after release, NBA 2K7 from 2K Sports stands up as a great game in its own right and is a must for any basketball fanatic. In our opinion this is the best basketball experience on console yet! I’ve stolen a fair chunk of Dave’s review on the PS2 version (which you can check out here), so if any of it looks familiar that might be why... I did it with his permission of course... maybe *looks around shiftily*.

Check out the sweat on players skin.

So basketball is basketball. We can't really offer you a storyline, and going through the rules would pretty much bore anyone reading this review so we'll head into the game modes in this title. Naturally the title includes a Quick Match so you can hop right into the action. A practice mode is also included so you can get used to the moves outside a main competition while Tournament allows you to select a number of teams and enter into a short tournament while a Situation mode allows you to relive some major moments in the sport. A street mode is also included which allows you to select from a variety of options including a full court of half court game, one-on-on or a game of 21. A season mode is also included of course which allows you to play through a complete season - an option which most gamers will want to take up of course.

After those modes you then get into the best feature of NBA 2K7 - the Association mode. In this mode you take the role of General Manager of an NBA team and take them though several seasons. This mode opens up by asking how many teams you want to manage, how long you want to make the seasons (29, 58 or 82 games), turning on or off trade deadlines or allow the CPU to control trades and so on. Then you get into the main game where you control the player practice, injury management and of course the team management before hitting the court. This is a brilliantly detailed game mode and a reason alone to own this title.

Player animation is super slick!

Of course these game modes don't mean squat if the game doesn't stack up on the court, but fortunately NBA 2K7 is among the most entertaining recreations of the sport in game form. While the PS2 version uses conventional controls (as one would expect), the PS3 version has made use of the consoles SIXAXIS controller's motion sensing features. In this year’s edition of the NBA series, only free throws have been made to make use of the motion sensors, from both the player taking the shot and the defenders. While there are a few issues with sensitivity and balance, it fits in nicely, rather than feeling tacked on - as many other motion sensor based controls thus far have felt.

Multi-player has also been well catered for. Up to 8-players can play on a single console and it must be said that this is great fun (although we couldn't muster 8 friends to play at the same time here sadly). Online though is where the title really impresses as you can play with between two and ten players - that’s two full teams. Fantastic effort Visual Concepts - and another area where you have Electronic Arts absolutely beat.

Stadiums also look wonderful.

There’s not much wrong with this game really. Everything works pretty much as you would expect and as intended with minimal problems. Sure, some players might get lost with all the difficulty sliders and options, but they are entirely optional. Outside of this everything is in its place nicely.

As far as the visuals go, NBA 2K7 doesn't disappoint on any front. Player models look great and are animated very nicely. On-court action is smooth and the entire game looks spectacular running in full-blown 1080p HD. Unfortunately there is the occasional slowdown which can be annoying, but overall this is a great-looking game.

Replays also looks fantastic.

Naturally the audio is highlighted by the commentary which, while it does get repetitive, does a decent job with enough variety to never become boring. The music is suitable while the crowd effects add plenty of atmosphere to the title. The game also supports Dolby Pro Logic II.

If you like basketball, or just having fun, do yourself a favour and get this game if you haven’t already. It’s a great title that won’t be out-done easily! Still here? What are you waiting for... go and purchase NBA 2K7 NOW!

Review By: Michael Hutchesson