A mediocre sports game with a fun multiplayer mode
Gameplay: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
Challenge: 6/10
Overall: 6.5/10
+ Multiplayer mode, duh
+ Simple yet fun basketball gameplay that is neatly executed and feels right
+ Shooting and alley-oop mechanics are well implemented and satisfying to use
+ A nice assortment of mini-games, which are especially fun in multiplayer mode
+ Decent hip-hop soundtrack
- Story mode is pretty short, ten hours at most for the average gamer
- The story mode allows you to play only as point guard, yet player customization is still limited
- The story mode consists of only one, rather short, story
- Voiceovers and graphics, particularly during cut-scenes, are quite unimpressive
Conclusion
NBA 06 was my first ever basketball game on the PS2, and although it wasn't exactly bad, it's not quite memorable either. The game implements a new timing-based shooting system which is admittedly a lot better than just pressing a button, but unless you have a group of friends to play with, there's not much to do that is interesting and everything gets pretty repetitive after a while. The story mode is short and rather uninteresting, and there's not much to say about NBA 06 aside from that. If one's really into basketball games or needs a good sports multiplayer game (I'm sure you can find better), then NBA 06 might be a passable checkout, but otherwise I don't think there's much here.