NBA 07

Written by Matt Swider  on January 10, 2007

Review: This game has absolutely no next-generation Mongoose

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NBA 07 makes its debut on the next-generation basketball court against sophomore competitor NBA 2K7, which appeared as NBA 2K6 on Xbox 360 last year. Both games are PlayStation 3 launch titles and are in a head-to-head match up since EA benched NBA Live 07 for the system. As Sony's first-party game, NBA 07 boasts slightly more impressive visuals and contains the greatest replay value idea from any sports game this season. However, despite the first-party status, it still plays second string to 2K Sports' full-feature b-ball experience in almost every other way.

NBA 07 ramps up the graphics quality compared to its current generation basketball counterpart NBA 07: The Life. That's because PS3 is able to support 1080p, whereas the PS2 game is limited to 480p and even appears a couple of seasons behind its other last generation competitors on the same system. Compared to next-generation versions of NBA 2K7, which also features 1080p on PS3, NBA 07 wins by a basket because its character models are more accurate than those of the 2K Sports series. You can see it in the realistic faces of players, the precise shading on their jerseys or mesh shorts and the shiny reflective courts on which their sneakers squeak.

Even though NBA 07 boasts superior graphics compared to previous iterations and touts УFull HD 1080pФ as if its part of the full title on the box, a number of setbacks keep it from taking that giant next-generation leap we've been anxious to see in a b-ball game. Clipping remains a constant problem, as these well-designed characters can't keep from awkwardly running into each other while driving toward the basket. Super shiny skin on the bodies of these exerted athletes also makes the entire experience less realistic. Beads of sweat are a nice touch, but for some reason they still don't stop moving when you halt the camera in the manual replay mode.

Unfortunately, there's never enough going on in the arena to distract you from the clipping of players or the plastic look of their gleaming bodies. The crowds do their part in looking as if fully 3D fans paid their attendance to enter the arena, but aren't fully aware that they're at a professional basketball game. While a more realistic looking crowd look is appreciated, a livelier arena is needed beyond the introduction to make it feel like an actual NBA game from tip off to the final buzzer.

Behind the shiny and sometimes too shiny graphics, NBA 07 contains a weak amount of modes compared to its 2K Sports rival and lacks The Life from its PS2 counterpart. There's no franchise mode for managing multiple seasons, no 24/7 story mode and no way to live the life of one of two NBA players on a daily basis. Instead, the game has an exceptional NBA Replay mode and mini-games beyond a single season mode. NBA Replay is broken down into two segments: The Season and Games of the Week.

In NBA Replay: The Season, scenarios from the 2005-2006 acts as challenges which you must reenact. So if Kobe scores 81 points in the final seconds of a game without any being of them being three-pointers, then you have to do the same. In addition to Meet the Challenge requirements, there are also a couple of secondary objectives in The Extra Mile to make the scenarios even tougher. Taking advantage of the new PlayStation Network and the system's expansive hard drive, Games of the Week works the same way for the 2006-2007 season with five weekly scenarios that can be downloaded for free. In between waiting for new challenges, mini-games like Own the Court and a 3-Point Shootout really shine with multiple human players involved. None of this excuses the missing franchise mode or the dropped The Life mode, but NBA Replay is the most novel and effective idea for extending replay value from any game in the sports genre this season.

The controls of NBA 07 perform like previous years, so it's not too difficult to master jukes, crossovers and spin moves on the way to driving toward the basket. To better this season's scheme, motion sensing was added using the SixAxis analog. However, simply sticking with the analog stick to execute these same moves remains easier than constantly shaking the controller around. There are no defensive motion control moves, which goes along with the entire offensive-leaning gameplay and defenseless drives toward the basket on both sides. In addition to easy-to-pickup controls, the game employs a straightforward shot meter in which you press the circle button until the meter turns from red to green. If you're not shooting within a close range or are shooting with a lousy player, it's more difficult to successfully make the basket.

Although SCEA opted for the TNT license, NBA 07 doesn't make much use of the cable network besides flashing the logo every now and again. There's absolutely no commentary or play-by-play action from the booth. Instead, the P.A. announcer is the only voice you'll hear, which is very disappointing. Driving the audio presentation down even further is that his bombastic voice sounds the same in a lot of cases. Score a basket as Iverson and the announcer excitedly says his name. Commit a foul as Iverson and the announcer excitedly announces his name. Sounds kind of lame. At least the game puts together an appropriate soundtrack to score half of the points in the audio department. Love it or hate it, hip-hop is how this playlist rolls as rap artists dominate the game no better, no worse than other titles in the subgenre.