Stunning is the only word I can think of when I see the digital likenesses of stars like Kobe, Shaq, A.I., and Yao Ming on the court via Xbox 360. Okay, maybe stunning isn’t the only word. I can think of a few others as well... like incredible, unbelievable, and flat-out jaw-dropping. Games have come a long way in the past 25 years, but seeing a near-perfect Allen Iverson -- tattoos and all -- on screen in real-time is amazing. The sweat beading down players’ heads, the stadiums so full of life, and the real-time cloth simulation that accompanies their jerseys... all simply mind-boggling. (The only downfall is that when close-ups are shown, the game actually loses framerate and lags a bit during these dead-ball cut-scenes.)

Xbox 360 is sure to get rave reviews for the graphics in the coming months, but I can honestly say that no other basketball game that I’ve played sounds like EA’s NBA Live 06 as well. Aside from the great anthems that play as you do, and the on-the-court sounds that accompany the round ball, the commentators have finally made the leap from annoying to colorful. While they do still suffer from repetition, the announcers do a bang-up job of giving extra tidbits of information about star players, and seem to remember a comment they just made and actually ADD to the comment on an upcoming play. Kudos to the developers for finally getting it started in the right direction!

So here it is, the next next-generation of video game consoles. The graphics and sound are tight, but what about the gameplay? Well, NBA Live 06 does a lot of things right, but also suffers from a lot of wrong. On the plus side, the animations and smoothness of player movement is incredible. It’s not just about shooting the rock and playing ‘D’ anymore, but you can now save the ball from going out of bounds or position yourself to make a move with or without the ball quite easily.

I absolutely love how Live handles free throws now. You may see other reviews that hate the new system, but I’m here to tell you that just like the real thing, practicing your free throws can be the deciding factor in close games. There are no more gimmies. Instead of the standard button press for accuracy and power, you now use the right analog stick Tiger Woods-style and must time the shot with utter smoothness. It may take a few tries to get used to it (I think I went about 2 ½ games before making a single free throw), but once you do, you are sure to make the majority of your attempts.

Unfortunately, NBA Live 06 has a lot of negatives associated with it as well. First and foremost is the camera. By default, it offers a Broadcast style. Actually, this is pretty tight when players shoot and the camera cuts to a closer shot of them, but in its default state, it really doesn’t make you feel like you’re in the action as much as a traditional side view seems to. So we switch to another camera, the Press Box, and see how it holds up. This is much better camera angle for controlling the action (in my opinion), but the Press Box suffers from severely being behind the play. The ball will be up-court for 2-3 seconds sometimes before the camera catches up, which makes it almost impossible to fast break. Also, none of the cameras let you get close enough to the action, so it almost keeps you disconnected from the game.

NBA Live 06 also got rid of the Freestyle moves for the Xbox 360 release. While there are still plenty of moves to be had manually, this was a big shock. You can, however, throw up some great alley-oops with the quick touch of a button, and the post and ball moves seems improved. My biggest disappointment, however, lies within contested shots. It seems that rarely, if ever, will even star players be able to finish when being contested near the hoop. This results in a lot of missed bunnies and a lot of added frustration to the game.

NBA Live 06 offers just about the perfect difficulty toward players, especially since it has four settings to choose from. Going up against star players makes for a good challenge, and taking on weaker players and teams offers little challenge at all. The biggest thing to remember is clock management and not trying to force shots. If you remember these two things, playing Live will be a blast without some of the frustration described above.

The controller layout is perfect, from the common shoot and post up buttons, to the one-touch lob for a chance at a crowd-pleasing and electrifying ally oop. The downfall (and it’s a big one) lies in the camera. None of the camera settings really pleased me, especially due to their far distance from the players. Sure, you can zoom in a bit, but it’s not enough to really get into the action. And the best gameplay cameras (the cams near the sidelines) turn into a horrible 6th-man on the court for human players because it doesn’t catch up to the action fast enough. On defense, the computer can actually score well before you see how they did it, and on offense, your fast break opportunities are disrupted due to the camera’s slow speed in panning to the action. So even if it’s not your favorite camera, you’ll almost be forced to us a Baseline or Press Box cam.

My only other real (and legit) complaint is that the text on the screen is WAY too small to read. Just because we’re in the HD-era of video games doesn’t mean that everyone has an HDTV yet. If your set is not all that big, prepare to get your magnifying glass out just to read the box scores. Even with all of the discrepancies aside, if you own a 360 and are into basketball or any sports title, NBA Live 06 is a must-have addition to your collection. The incredible graphics and the smooth gameplay make for a very entertaining venture onto the court. Just make sure you also juice up the game’s speed because this one is slow otherwise. Add in Xbox Live and you have yourself a game with serious replay value as well.