NBA 2K7 (Xbox 360, 2006)

Plus: Takes a little time to learn, but you can play a half-court or uptempo offense at a pretty decent level. Gameplay graphics are solid. Open shots are relevant. Knowing something about basketball helps you win games. When you get a shoulder ahead of somebody, it's realistically easy to take it to the rack. Players don't randomly adjust shots (aka some previous NBA Live games) if a defender is in their way. Random trick-stick mashers can be beaten by simply switching to an off-ball defender and providing help on the ball carrier.

Minus: Atrocious free throw system. With online play the lag requires you to release the trigger sooner, causing you to have two sets of free throw routines. If you're moving in a direction when you pass, the ball will automatically lead the receiver of the pass in the direction you're going (i.e. running passes are needlessly difficult). Menu graphics are mediocre. Can't easily configure online camera settings, requiring a 15 second delay before every online game starts. Opponents can abuse timeouts by pausing and quickly resuming the game. In practice, the game will tell you that you have a perfect release at any point near the top of your jump when your release was only close. The shot bricks off and you have to guess whether you held it for too much or too little time. This often flows into games (plus the lag to the jumpshot), causing you to brick a lot more open threes than you should. Playing defense as a human is near impossible when covering guards. Not enough attempts to draw charges are made when you do the cutoff move. Not enough charges are called. Sometimes guys like Allen Iverson will just slice through two guys and be ignored by the rest of your team and get an easy layup. Slashing point guards have way too much ability to make acrobatic layups in this game. The theoretical remedy of zone defense doesn't work. Zone defense is abysmal in this game. Your teammates will randomly leave their zones when the ball is nowhere near them and/or when there's no opponent trying to cut to get open. Defenders will just walk away from the guy who has the ball in his hands.

I bought the game because it got much better reviews than NBA Live did. I played Live 06, and it was a mediocre trick-stick mashfest. This game is much more realistic than Live, but it's still a ways away from being "NBA-Like."

This game has its ups and downs. I will start with the bad stuff first. During game play the game seems to tweak a little bit. For instance when you are shooting free throws and you sub a player in, the shooter from the other team can still shoot there free throw, all the while your players are still coming on the court, thus giving them the advantage of getting the rebound. Also sometimes it takes forever for the ref to give you the ball before you inbound the pass. Another bad thing is the B button does not work as a back button, you use the joy stick to go back, but it brings you all the way back to the title screen, very frustrating. Okay now with the good stuff. You can play online with 3 other buddies ( total of 4 ) on the same console, so no one feels left out and you can all play against real live opponents, very fun!!! Also the game play is excellent, better then NBA live, it is more realistic ( if you have it on the harder gameplay level ). If you are going to buy a basketball game for the 360, then you should definitely get NBA 2K7.

To sum this game up, if you have played NBA 2k6, it is basically the same game just with super enhanced visuals and better all around gameplay. 24/7 mode is a bit different- you now stand around a court and get "next" on the current games rather than playing organized events like last year. The graphics have improved dramatically. If you want a videogame where your friend will walk by and ask what game you are watching, this is definitely the one. Without a doubt this is THE closest a game has ever got to a basketball simulation. There are also nice touches such as individualized player moves: just about every NBA player from Kobe to Brevin Knight have their own real-life shot forms, and it just adds to the realistic feel of the game when you juke a man and pull up for a signature Kobe fadeaway. Seriously, the only downsides to this game are the high amount of in-game advertisements (I want to shoot myself everytime I see "Toyota - moving forward") and the stupid menu setup (instead of just pressing B to go back, you have to use the right thumbstick and go all the way back to main menu). The soundtrack is the same underground no-name artists like last year, but you will soon get addicted to "Heart Shaped Box" by the Crest, amazing song.

In a nutshell, NBA Live 07 doesn't hold a candle to NBA 2k7, and for the amount of play you will get out of this game, the $59.99 pricetag is, for once, actually worth the game.

NBA 2k7 is a must have sports game for the 360. The graphics on this game are incredible. The game modes it comes with are fun and never get old. If you like more of a story line in your basketball games you can play that or a franchise with your favorite team. Online gaming is especially fun on with this game. Challenge people to get higher rankings and get good/bad feedback from others. Although this is one of the most frustrating games it's a very good one (Anyone who's played a 2k bball game would know) . I highly recommend it if you're looking for a basketball game.

(Updated 12/4)
Without question the top basketball game for the 360. I loved the game back in the days of Dreamcast, but had abandoned it in favor of NBA Live on the PS2 in recent years. Getting a 360 gave me a chance to try each of them fresh and 2K blew EA out of the water with last year's version. Live has closed the gap a little this year, but 2K still excels in presentation (the only basketball sim I enjoy playing in side to side instead of north/south), gameplay (very intuitive), and nuances (pay attention to the player animations as the PG dribbles up the court after the inbound).

Another surprise for me was the fun of the new halftime show. It is the first halftime show that compels me to watch it rather than skipping straight to the 3rd quarter.

Lastly, and perhaps most exciting, is the online league option through XBOX LIVE. All formally organized leagues can be reviewed on 2ksports.com, where players can review standings, news, trades, complete stats, and complete box scores for EVERY GAME.