Review: NBA 2K7 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)

Basketball. Not the most popular sport in the UK, but when it comes to videogames, whether you're a fan of the sport or not you have to admit it does translate well to games. Personally, The Shed is a casual basketball fan. We've been to proper games and everything. Hell, we even played for our school team and well, like everything else, wasn't that good at it. Still, three consecutive local championships is not bad, and we have the medals to prove it. So, we're more than qualified to judge the latest update in the NBA 2K Sports series, alright?

Take a look at our pictures. Do we strike you as the sporty types? Skinny in frame, wan and anaemic in complexion, we're not fat, but then we'll not be running the London marathon any time soon. In short, we tend to avoid sports like cats avoid water. It's not that we don't like to play, in fact we love to participate in a casual game of football, squash, tennis or indeed basketball every now and again. It's just that we're pants at all of them, so it's only sensible to keep our sporting pursuits strictly digital.

A while back, EA used to rule the roost with their sports range, "if it's in the game, it's in the game" the man who voices Solid Snake would proclaim...he still does in fact. We're just not nearly as convinced anymore. NBA Live lost its way around 2003, FIFA is only beginning to find it's feet again after years stuck in a stodgy mire of piss-poor physics, far too easy scoring mechanics and player models that resemble their undead counterparts. With Konami's Pro Evolution series comfortably providing punters with sublime football heaven it's the 2K series that has demoted EA's NBA Live franchise to the bench.

NBA 2K7 cements the reputation that it has steadily built, standing head and shoulders above all other basketball titles. Boasting every team, arena, player and a raft of licences, modes and customisation options, 2K7 is the not just the most accomplished current-gen basketball game available, it's one of the most accomplished sports games available. It deserves a place in your collection alongside Virtua Tennis 3, NHL 2K7 and the forthcoming Pro Evo or FIFA (whichever one is your taste).

NBA 2K7 is a joy to play. It's fluid, intuitive, incredibly simple yet deceptively deep. Using the left analog stick to run coupled with the right analog 'shot stick' with moves mapped to the face buttons means you'll be picking and rolling, popping threes and dunking in minutes. Free throws make for arguably the first truly inventive and natural use of Sony's sixaxis controller yet with you mimicking the shooting action. It almost feels like you're silkily guiding the ball to the basket yourself; it's a clever use for the under-utilised motion sensing pad. Not only a brilliantly realised b-ball game, NBA 2K7 is beautifully presented to boot. The game looks outstanding, right down to the likenesses and the individual beads of sweat that glisten under the stadium lights, NBA 2K7 is one of the best looking games on current platforms. Additionally, the commentary is great and the replays, highlights et al, are all recreated in flawless detail.

With its host of customisation options, 2K7 throws yet another ball square into EA's face. NBA Live has taken a hell of a slide in terms of customisation options, with staple elements inexplicably diluted immensely or scandalously removed altogether. NBA 2K7 packs in every conceivable customisation option you can imagine. Career mode? Check. Roster management? Check. Street ball? Check. Ludicrously in-depth create-a-player mode? Check. Create-a-team? Check. Classic teams? Check. Check. Check. It's all here and it's all good.

Of particular note are the create-a-player options. We're always incredibly disappointed when presented with a basic, po-faced player editing facility where we can make a player just fine, but we can't give birth to a hideously deformed, gangly uber-freak. Thankfully, 2K7 lets you make pretty much anything and The Shed's horrendously mutated, crimson-faced, angry abomination is testament to the excellence of the player edit mode. Other sports titles should take note, this is how it's done.

And that just about sums it up. This is how it's done. NBA 2K7 is an essential sports game, whether you like the third or fourth (we're not too sure) most popular sport in America or not, as a gamer able to recognise quality, it's your duty to purchase this. Get some friends round too and it comes into its own in multi-player. Better than that, get mates round, invent teams of genetically modified monsters and let the laughter commence.

Look around online and you can nab a crisp, new copy for £17.99. There's really no excuse not to own this, especially on the cheap. Swish!

Buzzer beater: 9/10