Best Basketball Games

[Nova]

Every year, I buy NBA Live 2006 for PS2 - it's probably my favorite game/series of all video games.

Staining my head for games to ask for on my Christmas list, while I've already got Madden 06, SDVR 06, etc, I'm trying to come up with some things to ask for.

I put Blitz: The League on the list and now I'm looking for a good basketball game to ask for.

For those of you who have played any of the alternatives to NBA Live ... What game series are best?

ESPN Basketball I've heard good reviews about and the 24/7 mode really interests me. Can someone go in depth about explaining this feature to me?

What about NBA 2k6? What features does it have? Which game has better gameplay?

How about NCAA Basketball? I don't know too much about college basketball, so it might take away from my experience that I know nothing about the college players, but what kind of features/game play does it have?

What do you think are the best basketball games for Playstation 2, bar NBA Live?

[thuganomic]

Have you tried searching for this at all?

You can basically find ton of info about 24-7 on any gaming website (IGN, gamefaqs, whatever)

But yeah, I'd definitely recommend ESPN 2k6.

[Guest Kou]

I'd have second thoughts about Blitz. If you haven't played it yet I find it gets old quickly. Division One football is impossible as there's a pick on almost eveyr throw you attempt and the only redeeming quality is that the multiplayer is fun.

[Guest ClearTheBong]

I have Blitz : The League, and I got bored of it very quick. I have ESPN NBA 2K6 and I love it. The game plays so fluid and the animations look really good. You don't see players slide in position to dunk, or have an invisible wall hit you when trying to go around a player like on NBA Live. The best buy basketball wise this year is ESPN hands down.

[Nova]

I've done some research but there is one thing I'm confused about. When searching for ESPN Basketball, the sites come up with the one from 2003, where 24/7 mode was introduced. Is NBA 2k6, for playstation 2 - the one with shaq on the cover - a continuation of the espn series? If not, what's the exact title for the newest playstation 2 nba basketball game, the one referred to in this thread with 24/7 mode and all.

[thuganomic]

It's NBA 2k6 with Shaq on the cover. They lost the rights to ESPN, hence the new name.

[Tarheels.]

I loved NCAA March Madness 06, I like College Ball better than NBA since the games are more challenging because one year of bad recruits could mess you up depending on who leaves and who doesn't.

[Nova]

How does the recruiting process work in the March Madness games, and does March Madness have any other game modes besides dynasty/exhibition?

[Tarheels.]

I rented Madness and will be getting it for Christmas. Recruiting is basically like it was in NCAA Football 06 (if you've played that it might help). You pitch the guy something and if he likes what he sees his intrest will go up more. And its got Dynasty, Exhibition, I think rivalry, but I'm not sure on those since I've only played it for like 5 days and was mainly doing a dynasty to see how it worked.