Pros: Signature shooting, solid gameplay, a true b-ball sim
Cons: being a slave to the animation will cause many expletives
The bottom line: This is by far still the best bball game on the market and the signature shooting is an excellent new addition to the franchise.
The fall comes around and the new basketball season is about to begin. In preparation for that, the video game sports title wars begin anew. Only this year, EA Sports has a monopoly over the NFL license. Thankfully for hardcore basketball fans, that is not the case for the NBA license. Once again, 2k Sports, Sony, and EA Sports duke it out for the ring. And unquestionably, 2k Sports is looking to defend their title as the best basketball sim on the market.

The thing that has made 2k Sports the leader in the NBA market has returned in a big way in the 2k7 version of this franchise and that is their commitment to realism. Instead of trying to create arcade-like imbalances in the player gameplay, 2k Sports stuck to the formula that brought them such praise in last year’s effort. By keeping the game engine they had last year, they spent much of their time tweaking certain aspects of last year’s engine and AI to make the game more realistic. For instance, it is a lot harder for players get to the hook and dunk. Collision detection has been stepped up and cutting off driving lanes a tad bit easier. There were also a few other tweaks in the way the right analog stick is used to position the defender and steal the ball. Though these changes make it slightly harder to defend jump shooters, it is definitely easier to cut off the driving lanes. Of course these changes are minor in the grand scheme of making a new title.

As you play the game, the one change that makes the most difference in this game is the signature shooting for EACH INDIVIDUAL PLAYER. The developers went to great lengths to emulate the shooting style of as many players as they can. You will watch and see the subtle differences in shooting styles between Kobe, Ray Allen, Adam Morrison, Shaun Marion, and Kyle Korver. Flip shots, leaners, two handed hikes, awkward extensions and re-extensions are beautifully animated and learning the release timing for each player will become a skill set and strategy in and of itself. True basketball sim fans will salivate over the added dimension this gives to the game. More respect will be given to gamers that can master the jump shot timing of Donyell Marshall, Gilbert Arenas, or rookie Rudy Gay. This signature shooting is also featured at the foul line as well. Cringe as you try to figure out the long drawn out timing of Shaq’s shot or the awkward touch of Jamaal Tinsley. This addition to the franchise alone puts 2k7 at the top of the pack for basketball sims.

Now there are still those fans out there that have a love/hate relationship with 2k7 and may even prefer the previous release over the new signature shooting of 2k7. As with any other sports game nowadays, new player animations have been added to diversify the gameplay in different situations and positions. Unfortunately, the gamer will find themselves often cursing out the animation for making a player receive an inbounds pass and unavoidably end up with a backcourt violation or putting up a fade-away shot off of the back of the backboard when too close to the basket. Also, casual gamers will have to learn passing lanes better and figure out when to use a regular pass and when to use the lead pass because getting steals in this game is just as easy if not easier than last year’s version when it comes to passing lanes. Learning when and when not to pull off 1 on 1 moves will be key as excessive crossovers and such will cause most players to fumble the ball or bobble the dribble allowing the defense to recover.

To assist in this learning process, the 24/7 mode has returned where you get to create your own baller and work your way through the ranks of street competition in different cities. This time the mode is a bit more story driven than last year’s version and a tad less gimmicky in terms of game rules as well. You won’t be as focused on doing drills and such as you are just performing well in the pickup game (win or lose). Here, every game will provide you rep points that will allow you to work your way to specific player challenges designed to showcase or teach you certain moves in the game. For instance, the first specific challenge your baller faces is a 1 on 1 game versus Steve Nash and KG. To say the least, this tag team match up teaches you how to either defend or get torn apart by the alley oop play. If you whether the storm, the game supposedly unlocks or teaches you how to perform the play. In the end, it is an interesting way to teach you how to use and defends the special plays, features, and controls of the game. This is ever so important as post moves are also quite effective and an often unused portion of the game.

Once again the multitude of game modes return with all of the depth expected of a basketball sim. The Association (or dynasty mode) returns with the same depth as last season with a slight change. As the season progresses, there is a cumulative stamina bar that will affect each player's performance as the season goes along forcing you to occasionally juggle the starting line up to keep your stars or role players fresh when the post season comes along. Also the team chemistry dynamic returns as well which is affected by coaching changes, player trades, and free agent signings. Thankfully, the robust line modes return just as deep and plentiful as the year before as well with leagues, tourneys, and the ability to customize who can challenge you and who can't.

Graphically, the superb character models return…..kind of. Players like Kobe, T-Mac, and such get great models while most of the Caucasian players are still plagued with the helmet hair and zombie syndrome. To say the least, a lot of the white players in this game are modeled horribly. If you are able to laugh that off, you’ll notice the great animations in both the dribbling, dunking, and other situations. Of course, once your player starts these animations, don’t look to interrupt them anytime soon for the most part. Once you start down the path of the dark side…um…sorry.

In the sound department, 2k follows up last year's excellent effort by recruiting the talents of Dan the Automator, Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, Lupe Fiasco, E40, Ghostface Killah, and more. Also returning in the vocal department is Kenny Smith on the audio commentary during the game. As colorful as ever you'll find his in game commentary one of the best in the industry (which isn't hard to do ever since Madden dumped ...well, Madden himself in that department).

Anyways, probably the one thing that will make 2k sports fanatics slightly perturbed is the decision to emulate EA Sports ‘dynamic’ menu presentation. You cycle through most of the out-of-game menus with the right analog stick. Pressing left or right will enter or cancel out of most menus. In my opinion this is totally confusing and annoying but apparently someone in the sports gaming industry thought it to be revolutionary. To make things worse, the color palette chosen with the smaller fonts make stats and menus quite hard to read unless you have a +30” sized screen.


Still in the end, these minor gripes do not steal from the fact that 2k Sports have taken a great gameplay model and improved on it in a revolutionary way. NBA2k7 takes a step forward above the competition and solidifies its stand as the premier basketball sim on the market with this effort.