Let's just get this out of the way: Sony doesn't make good basketball games. In fact, the last hoops title that I actually enjoyed was the very first NBA Shootout for the PSOne, so I wasn't drooling over NBA 06, Sony Computer Entertainment's latest attempt at convincing the world that it can still hang with the competition. Unfortunately, and true to form, the company has slipped and sprained its wrist. However, it's not exactly out for the season. Don't let other sites fool you. This isn't worth buying, but it is worth a play through, if for nothing else than to catch a glimpse at what EA will likely steal within the next few years.

In NBA 06, it's all about The Life: Volume One, a basketball simulation that allows you to sort of get an idea of what growing up in the NBA is like. Featuring a solid customization system, you create a guy, then thrust him into the spotlight, but the road to glory isn't paved in bling. Before you enter the NBA; hell, before you're even drafted, you'll have to prove yourself to a bunch of scouts by completing numerous challenges, events where you'll have to shoot, dunk, spin, post up, steal, block, juke, and crossover your way to victory. If you can get past that, you'll enter the NBA draft, and with some luck a team will pick you up. From there it's all about bonding with your teammates and blossoming into the superstar you were meant to be, whether that means an all around player who shares the rock, or a ball hogging monster that takes what's his and throws his compatriots to the wolves.

Since it's entitled Volume One, it's a safe assumption that Sony will further expand on this concept and that would be fantastic, because truth be told, I like it. It's not that I'm rushing home to continue my game, but when I had to mess around with it I enjoyed myself most of the time. The challenges can be quite difficult, but I experienced a genuine sense of accomplishment for doing things such as completing an obstacle course in less than 45 seconds or crushing a couple of dudes in a friendly game of two on two.

Of course, and being that this is a Sony sports title, all is not golden in this mode. The computer can really be a pain in the butt sometimes and over the most unimportant things. For example, at one point I had to satisfy a group of challenges and one of them was to steal the ball with my point guard and score. What wound up happening is this became next to impossible. The AI just wouldn't cough it up, and when I did manage to strip the ball it was either with another teammate, or the ball bounced off my player and into someone else's hands, thus not counting.

That's really the only negative about The Life: Volume One. Sure, some of the characters in the cut scenes animate weird and there's just too much loading to really become immersed in it, but by and large it's a good idea that another publisher will likely rip off, and if you're plunking down the cash for this game, you're doing it because of this mode. Unfortunately, there's an issue with NBA 06 that steals most of The Life's proverbial thunder, that issue being the rest of the game, which is average at best.