If there is one blanket statement that can be said regarding the Xbox 360 edition of NBA 2K7, it’s that this is easily the best basketball game on the market today. Is that lofty praise for a series that has traditionally trailed behind NBA Live? For two reasons, no. Not only is 2K7 just a phenomenal game in nearly every aspect of its execution, but NBA Live 07 just flat out sucks in my opinion.

Gameplay

Mandatory shot at EA’s incompetence aside, NBA 2K7 really cranks itself up after its showing on the Xbox. Without a doubt, the first area where this will be noticeable is the presentation. Right off the bat (after choosing your favorite NBA team) NBA 2K7 throws you into an exhibition game menu where you can easily choose your team and opponent and get started. While the menu loads you’re treated to a fast trip through a downtown cityscape, and this initial load is the only time you have to wait. Regardless of which teams you end up choosing, the game launches without a hitch and really minimizes the time you spend outside of gameplay. I wouldn’t mind having an optional feature that would showcase player introductions and have some real-life team introductions (Detroit, for example, has an amazing team intro with some impressive pyrotechnics and player introductions) but they unfortunately aren’t to be found.

Enough of the aesthetics, though. Let’s get down to the meat and potatoes of NBA 2K7 - the gameplay. As soon as you run down the floor for the first possession you play you’ll notice that this is easily one of the smoothest moving basketball games on the market, and much more so than any of the 2K predecessors. Players flow like their real life counterparts, and it isn’t a chore to try to position a player where you need them to be on the court. Offense and defense both have seen some amazing improvements that really add to the overall quality of gameplay. For starters, low post offense is absolutely amazing now. Distance sensitive post moves are now in order, with closer shots beginning with spins and leading to lay-up and drunk attempts. A shot that’s farther away will be a jump shot or hook. And speaking of hooks, you can now control what type of shot you attempt - not just shooting and hoping that the shot attempted ends up being the one you wanted. Driving to the basket and using spins, stutter steps and crossovers is still intuitive and smooth, but not ridiculously easy. Defenders will, for the most part, come and stop penetration and protect the basket. The only real exception to this is the occasional mental lapse of your own team if you play the game player locked (a feature that is long overdue and that yours truly is quite grateful for) and an opponent drives. Occasionally your fellow defenders just forget that there’s someone trying to dunk on you.

Graphics

The overall look, however, is vastly improved. The camera provides a nice blur effect on distant objects and the background, and the overall behavior of players is a lot more natural looking. Each player specific animation, shooting animation, and reaction is absolutely magnificent. Steve Nash licks his fingers, Shaq hops to start running back down the floor, and I could watch Dwyane Wade’s wrist snap a jump shot for hours it looks so good. The halftime show is also a pleasant addition, with “Kenny’s Stamp of Approval” mirroring Smith’s real-life halftime piece that appears on TNT, “Kenny’s Pictures.” Visually speaking, NBA 2K7 is gorgeous - especially when you consider how much is going on at once. The floor has a shiny, reflective sheen to it that will make you swear it was waxed before the game started. As I touched on above, the player’s facial animations are also amazing, with the Xbox 360 doing a great job of showcasing sweat, brow scrunching, eyebrow and mouth movement, and even emotions like surprise, anger, and excitement. The only areas that need tweaking are the player pelvises and the jerseys. The players don’t even have pelvises underneath their basketball shorts, and on the odd angle that occasionally comes up it ends up just looking damned odd.

Sound

As far as sound goes, the commentary is essentially the same as it was on the Xbox - old and repetitive. The commentary desperately needs an update, and 2K needs to find a way to say the same thing differently. There are more ways to describe any given situation than the one recorded line used in game. Seriously guys, come on. As far as the music goes, it’s about what you’d expect. I don’t even think there are any additional tracks added between the Xbox and 360’s individual playlists, so if you’ve heard generic rap album A, you’ve heard generic rap album B (with the exception of “Heart Shaped Box.” That has got to be one of the strangest songs I’ve ever heard…). The sound effects and player chatter are both pretty good, though, and for whatever reason I get a real kick out of the “bong” sound from a badly missed shot.

Longevity

NBA 2K7 is loaded with features, so you can play however you want. Between exhibitions, The Association, Street games and of course, the mandatory inclusion of Xbox Live, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to just how you want to play basketball. The only big problem with NBA 2K7 is the accuracy of shooting. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that, shooting uncontested “perfect” shots in practice mode, I hit fewer jump shots that I traditionally would have in NBA 2K6 and 2K7 on the Xbox. Whether this is a discrepancy from the 360 trying to sport a more “realistic” style of play than the Xbox, shooting a lower percentage in practice than the players real life counterpart shoot in a game seemed a little ridiculous. The good news is that thanks to NBA 2K7’s My NBA sliders, you can adjust the shooting (and nearly every other aspect of the gameplay) to suit your personal tastes, and with a little trial and error I managed to get my shooting to resemble the consistency I was accustomed to.

Overall

To surmise, NBA 2K7 is an excellent game, and 2K Sports looks to be on the right track improving and adding to the franchise each year. A great example of this can be seen every time you go to the hoop - chances are you won’t see the same dunk twice. Oh, and if you dunk with someone like Vince Carter or LeBron James, you’d better get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor. Some of the new dunks are just spectacular and live up to the superstars in every way you’d expect. This year it’s not even a contest as NBA 2K7 blows out the competition. Their record? A solid 9 out of 10.