Looking the part this year, NBA Live 07 is a good-looking game indeed. Brilliant presentation from the starting lineup intros, to well placed replay cameras, to the kick ass menu mode that once again allows you to shoot around while you wait for the game to boot up. Impressively you will be able to recognize your favorite NBA stars right from the get go as the body language, facial structure and nuances are present for a great amount of players. They did not forget about the little things such as sweat, flowing jerseys, skin textures, tattoos, and even hair animation. Each arena is an accurate virtual blueprint of each NBA arena. From the scoreboards, to the lights, and even seat placement is a dead on replication of each specific NBA arena. So while it does seem like Live is flawless in the visuals, it is evident that there is bad news as well. While, overall, the animations are fantastic, some transitions and certain animations are a bit off sometimes. This makes the overall flow of action a bit clunky in spots. The ball physics are also not floaty enough which takes away the feeling of the sweat shot. The camera seems to bounce up and down too much giving a motion sickness feeling if you play too many games in a row, especially in the press box view. Toss in some clipping issues and you have a game that looks great, but still could use some tweaking to reach awe-inspiring visuals that EA is known for in games like Fight Night.

Audio is very impressive, from the reactive crowds, commentary, and even the ESPN radio that plays sporadically while you are connected online. The crowds really bring this game to life as not only will they cheer and jeer at the right times, but you’ll hear specific team chants, de-fence chants, and even the hold your breath while shouting three on one taken beyond the arc. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr give gamers the feeling of watching a television broadcast with informative, witty, and sometimes-comical commentary that not only is spot on, but also is varied keeping each game fresh and exciting. You will seldom hear repeated phrases from game to game, and sometimes it will take as much as 5-10 games before you hear something a second time. Those guys must have spent tons of hours in the sound booth-recording dialog for this game, and the effort pays off greatly. ESPN Integration is most notable during ESPN Radio shows that play every 5 minutes and are updated often giving gamers the latest in the “real” sports world. It is nice to know I can come home, jump onto a game straight from work without having to take time to watch Sportscenter before I can enjoy my video games. The ESPN ticker even keeps you informed up to the second.

In basketball, game play is key. If you are off the mark in too many categories, the game feels like a mess. While it is true that NBA Live 07 has its rough spots, you can hardly say the game will not appeal to some gamers out there. Granted these gamers are of the arcade fan variety due to the ease of scoring in the paint, dumb A.I. mistakes, and little challenge offered up by the CPU. This has been par for the course for the series for a few years now, and gamers, I am sure, were hoping that the next generation would bring a bit more sim to their games, but alas, due to some pacing issues this is not to be…at least not this year. Controls are tight, simplistic, and utilize every button on the controller without being overly complicated. The two shot button still exists, giving gamers the option to either post up or jam it home in the paint. This proves to be a great asset once you are familiar with it and a far better option than a “shot stick”. This leaves the right analog stick open to pull off sweet crossovers and fakes to freeze your man in their shoes. You can call defenses and change plays on the fly, which helps conquer the questionable A.I. The A.I. seems to be the biggest obstacle, not just as an opponent, but also as an ally. You will find soon enough that the awareness level is not close to where it needs to be, which will result in dumbfounded looks on loose balls, post ups, picks, and certain play calling mistakes that make this game frustrating at times. None of these issues keeps the game from being fun, mind you, but don’t expect too much realism in your stat sheets when the day is over.

Finally, the Xbox 360 gets a bit of love in the options department as NBA Live is chock full of goodies that should satisfy any rabid fan. You have single player games, a full fledged dynasty mode that includes GM decisions, aging, morale, etc. Additionally, online play, create a player, and even the All Star Weekend makes it’s next gen debut with the 3 point shootout, rookie game, and slam dunk contest. The only real gripe in these features is the lack of tourneys or season mode for online play. You only get to play single games, and while you can play co-op this year, the lack of depth and involvement online is a bit disappointing. While online, you can download podcasts and news updates from ESPN.com providing even more sports information.

Now while most gamers feel that this is the version we should have received at launch, you have to applaud them for meeting many of the demands set by gamers in only a year. While still not the king of the courts just yet, the future is looking bright for this series if they can make some key adjustments to the ball physics and A.I. At this point, this is a game that will appeal to fans of the high score and dunks as A.I. and defense did not really show up this year.