If you happen to be a certain player of a certain team who just got suspended for 15 games for a certain incident involving people fighting on the court and in the crowd then you have the time to possibly play an NBA game on the PSP. It is at this time, and this review, I am most thankful for one thing… I live far far away from the person above in question. Now I don’t have to worry about an angry NBA player at my doorstep looking to do something that was once only warranted when said player was hit in the head by an empty water cup.

But back to the things our certain somebody can do while he cools his NIKEs and waits to get back into the game. There are a few choices for NBA games out there, thankfully the NBA has not yet decided to go the Madden route ala the NFL and specifically license their franchise out to one person (which they probably now regret since only the Nintendo Wii carried a version of Madden ‘07 that rated a decent 4 out of 5 over the rest of the versions which got flat middle of the road 3 out of 5s), and this game is one of them… to avoid. Yeah. NBA ‘06 is about as uninteresting as a game could be, and that’s bad.

It’s bad enough that I am rather lukewarm to the concept of reviewing sports games to begin with, it gets worst when I have to do it and the game sucks as well! Starting with the bland menus, terrible rap music, and the bland presentation you do find that the game sports quite a few options here… if only the gameplay lived up to all the options.

But look at the options you can play with, oh the options!

You have quick play which puts you into either an Exhibition game (good just for getting all the kinks out of playing this game, and believe you me you’ll have kinks to work out of playing this game), or All-Star Game (online is also available here, if again you can find a hotspot to link up to).

Main Game Modes has three levels : Exhibition, Season and Playoffs. Each with both a regular and a ladder system of progression to choose from (ladder being like the NCAA Final Four where you have to beat each opponent in turn to progress up the ladder to the top). This mode also features the only “practice” modes where you can refine your game skills, Shoot Around and Free Throw. Sorry, no Tutorial mode, you’ll have to figure this game out entirely on your own. And mind you you’ll need to use the practice modes right off the bat because mastering this game is not going to be easy, playing it will be worst.

Shooting in this game is done through the circle button. As you hold down the button your player goes into the move, and the ball changes color from red to green to red. If you release too soon or too late (before it turns green) the shot will miss, but even if you hit it on green there is still no guarantee that you’ll nail your shot (getting a green and a “cha-ching” of money shot doesn’t always mean a sinker, especially if your opponent can block the shot). Running in this game is wobbly, as controlling your NBA player is more of a challenge in that they seem to move rather slowly for a game

that is supposed to be so fast paced. Also getting them to block and steal with percision is another iffy proposition as I often ended up flailing wildly to one side of the court as my better controlled AI opponents (even on Easy mode) seemed to just waltz arouind me. Basically for a game that should run smoother than this I found it to be clunky and wonky in areas which didn’t suit me at all. Also the AI seems to have an easier time running the ball than you do, though I suppose with practice all of these problems will disappear once you invest the hours and hours needed to make the players move with some semibalance of perfection.

But will you actually invest the time to do this? I am sure there has to be a better PSP Basketball game out there that isn’t this game. This is not the most fun I ever had playing B-ball, in fact I’m sure there’s better.

Wait. One thing I liked about a previous NHL Hockey game I reviewed (besides the game) was it’s mini games, maybe the mini-games here will suit me better than the real game. The game sports five mini games, and unfortunately if I was hoping for the same experience as I did with Hockey here I was soon disappointed as all let out because all of these mini-games are uninteresting to be kind to them.
Skills Challenge seemingly is the same as the challenge done during the NBA All-Star Game (I think they do it there) and it‘s wonky trying to get your man to take the precision turns as you‘ll often have to make him do it over and over again just to light up each of the little movement icons to get

to the next challenge (shooting) which also is abit wonky in it‘s own right. Own the Court is at least halfway passables, as you light up the most spaces with the highest point range on a field set across a basketball half court by making shots from certain points to win, 3 Point Contest is what it sounds like while Horse seems to be something where whoever can’t duplicate the same shots enough times spells the word HORSE and loses… I think. Finally, for a change of pace, how about Dodgeball. Yes, Dodgeball, instead of shoot hoops you hit each other in a game of Dodgeball. As I said, not interesting.

And finally as if this would add playability to the game there is also the Trading Cards option. At the end of each game (whether you win or lose) you‘ll get a card from that team. Work a team enough times and you‘ll get all their cards, work all the teams enough times (which you might not as this game is not interesting enough to hold your attention long enough) you‘ll get all the cards. Or you can just stick to a few teams, get extras, and trade those extras with other players… if you can find other players.

Again no need for breakdown here since I can tell you my thoughts right now.
I bought this at a lower price, though I wish it was lower still than the final price I paid.
This is most definitely bargain bin cannon fodder gaming here, folks. Don’t get this one unless it’s in a heavily discounted bargain bin because it’s not worth paying $20 or more on this one.
There’s gotta be a better NBA sim out there. If anyone knows of one do let me know, thanks.