He shoots! He scores! In the dying seconds of the game, Shaquille O’Neil launches a long shot from outside the three point zone and nets his team to victory!
How many times have you heard those words bellowed via your TV set as Miami Heat take on Orlando Magic? Well in all honesty, I’ve never heard it. Mind you — I’m from the UK and basketball isn’t as big as it is in the USA. However, a game that has really caught the eye of the 360 community is NBA 2K6.
We got a first glimpse look at this next-gen title back at E3, and it impressed. If you remember, we were treated to a video of Shaq dribbling down the court in slow motion, with his clothes material acting like you would expect in a real life game – swaying this way and that way, producing a near real visual experience. Since then, we’ve been blessed with more and more fine-tuned videos and images showing IN-GAME footage that looked pretty much identical to the E3 first look.
The focus for the moment is totally on the looks, as there isn’t much to say about the gameplay. 2K games, the master-minds behind 2K6, have taken full advantage of the 360’s immense power, and have shown just how good a game can look. Gone are the days when you’ll start a game up, watch a pre-rendered intro and wish that the graphics and physics were that good! Now they are! As the videos started to fly out of 2K Games’ hands, we saw cloth, hard-wood courts, immense crowds and even perspiration recreated, in real-time, with gorgeous detail! There is so much attention to detail it made us dribble with excitement. Player’s shorts darkened in patches to represent sweat from underneath the clothes. The lights from above the court were clearly reflected on the hard-wood flooring and the background crowds seemed to react as individuals. We couldn’t find a single animation that was identical to another in the crowd!
A clever blurring effect is also in-place for objects that are close to the camera, reflecting camera focus. We’re promised that the game plays almost exactly like NBA 2K6 on current-gen consoles, so if you’re a fan of that game, you will love the advanced graphics and animation that will be added on the 360 version.
So what game-modes can we actually expect? If you have played the current-gen 2K6, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I mention; 24/7 Road to the EBC, The Crib and Street modes. In fact, every mode in 2K6 current-gen will be available in the next-gen. Sadly though, no new modes will be added, so we’ll have to stick to the ones we’ve all come to know and love.
NBA 2K6 is looking immense in terms of graphics, and hopefully it will deliver to the huge market who want a perfect basketball game. With all the licences, all the gameplay, and now all the graphics, 2K6 is going to be a definite for any sports fan.
