It’s refreshing to have a choice for NBA basketball, unlike pro football, where Electronic Arts holds the monopoly on real-life teams and players with the "Madden" franchise. Both EA and 2K Games have published solid titles for basketball gamers, who need their yearly fix of hoops. "NBA 2K6" is the better game for pure basketball simulation lovers.

Some definite advantages that "2K6" has over "Live" this year are the graphics, gameplay and presentation. The graphics on "Live" are at best muddy, and they’re not consistent. In contrast, "2K6" models are dead-on even in the details, which give it the edge.

Gameplay counts in any game, and especially in sports. Both are solid in that area, but the new freestyle superstar mode in "Live" will be annoying to any basketball purist. You buy "NBA Street" for the trick moves, not one of these sims. The mode tries to create a hierarchy from superstars to scrubs, but the game’s ratings system already establishes that. It felt weird in "Live" trying to push combos to do special moves with certain players. These moves should happen naturally inside the flow of the game, and "2K6" had a more natural feel with pacing and flow. The players move gracefully inside a game with much improved artificial intelligence. "2K6" has added the right analog control as a shot stick and strip and rip button, which gives you four directions to shoot the ball and four new ways to steal the rock.

The presentation in "2K6" fares much better this year. They offer views from outside arenas in hallways and other interesting pre-game views, compared to "Live," which shows you a demo of the superstar player of the game. Commentary is right down the middle, giving the slight nod to "Live," as it follows the game a little better. Online play for both is flawless.

Each game hardly has any glitches and they are enjoyable and worth the buy or a long-term rent.

© 2005, Detroit Free Press.

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