NBA Live 06

While we have already seen an NBA game for the PSP, NBA Live 06 marks the PSP debut of what many consider to the premiere basketball game. This installment includes online multiplayer, an exclusive PSP-only Superstar Challenge mode, and full-season mode. Since it is the first portable appearance of this title since NBA Live 96 for Game Boy, we were excited to see how it would perform in its return appearance.

Gameplay is very similar to the console versions despite the lack of a second analog stick. Controls are solid, and as with seemingly every basketball game, you will get the occasional lay-up attempt when you meant for your player to dunk. Although the PSP version missed out on Franchise mode, we get the excellent Superstar Challenge mode. It recreates key plays from last year’s NBA season, and is really a lot of fun. The graphics on the game are also very well done, and the overall presentation from menus to the game’s EA Pocket Trax soundtrack is solid as well.

Multiplayer is supported with both ad-hoc and infrastructure modes, however players expecting SOCOM-like levels of online traffic be warned — we didn’t find many people to play against, and these attempts were made at differing intervals throughout the day. Also, before playing online, you are forced to signup for an EA Nation account, which you can get by either paying EA a one-time $2 fee or submitting an email address to what will no doubt be spam from your “sponsor” ESPN.

Overall, Live 06 is a pretty decent basketball game. It has the random quirks now and then, and EA would really do well to revisit their collision detection models — it’s way too easy to back defenders in when controlling an offensive player. Still, this is the best portable basketball game yet, and shouldn’t disappoint fans of the game.

Review Round-Up

IGN: 7.8
“NBA Live 06 still retains the excitement of arcade-style hoops that it’s more complete console brother.”

GameSpot: 7.6
“For better or for worse, NBA Live 06 looks and plays remarkably similar to its home-console cousins, even going so far as to include the new freestyle superstar control features.”

GameSpy: 8.0
“By moving the game to the PSP, EA managed to keep most of the console experience intact and give gamers a robust basketball experience that fits nicely in the palm of their hands. If you’re a fan of the game, this is by far the best portable experience you’ll find to date.”

GamePro: 9.0
“In NBA Live 06, EA once again strikes sports gaming gold with another solid installment in their powerhouse franchise.”

Aggregate Rating: 8.2