NBA Live '07 (Xbox 360, PSP, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

NBA LIVE '07 brings NBA action to your television with all the glitz and glory of televised basketball. Just move your players around with the right stick and use the buttons to switch players, pass, shoot, block, pick, dunk, and more (every button is used, some even have different uses for each action). What's new to the series is a focus on the big boys of basketball. Players can take control of a Kobe, Iverson, or some other high-topped phenomenon, and using their superior skills, they can dominate the court and run up the score.

Live '07 offers all the standard modes found in sports games: practice, exhibition, multiplayer options, season, and dynasty. It also provides the player with tools to let you draft players and scout prospects. It features all the NBA teams, stadiums, and uniforms.

Players experience that "me-first" attitude that tells these giants to take the glory themselves. Players will have better control, faster response, and much better accuracy while controlling superstars. Fortunately, the game reflects real life -- while Shaq is great at rebounding, he still can't make a free-throw to save his life. While superstar dominance is fun to watch and control (and the players' animations look terrific), it turns contests between teams that seem evenly matched into routs, simply because one team might have more stars than the other.

The only other problem with the game is the controls. There's a button to dunk, a button to make a jump shot, and another button to lay it up. Wouldn't a single button that reacts to how the character is moving make more sense? NBA Live '07 foregoes a bit of basketball fidelity in favor of glitz, glam, and slam-dunks; but again, it's a terrific way to simulate the highlight nature of the sport in your own living room.