Dynastic Fantastic

(NOTE: This article covers the original Xbox version of NBA Live 06.)

NBA Live 06 is all about the new: new Superstar Freestyle moves, now rosters, new Xbox Live® options for the popular All-Star Weekend mode, and, for those who want to get the experience of running your own pro team, all-new options for the wicked-cool Dynasty mode. We've got a rundown on all the new features and how they'll change the way you will manage your team to greatness over twenty NBA seasons. Hungry for power? This is power, baby.

Take it to the rim with NBA Live 06 Dynasty mode.

Memoir of a Dynasty
When you first go into NBA Live 06 Dynasty mode, you'll find yourself faced with a wealth of choices. Even if you're not an NBA expert, EA has provided more than enough information to get you started.

• Choose Your Team. You can choose to play as the owner of any team in the NBA. If you're like me, you'll jump right in with your favorite, since that's the team you know best, right? And since NBA Live 06 is an NBA simulation, it stands to reason that you're better off with the players you know, and building from there.
• Check the Stats. Even if you're an NBA newbie, EA makes it easy to go for a team that best reflects your own playing style. You can go for a team with strong offense, stronger defense, and find out what style of game that particular team excels at. You can also check out the offensive and defensive capabilities of your individual players, including those all-important Superstars.
• Set Your Boundaries. From the very beginning NBA Live 06 puts you in control of the game specifics. You can set your difficulty here, as well as the other details like quarter length, whether you want to sim all of your games or use the Intervention feature (and I certainly recommend it) which lets you jump in and take control on the court in the middle of any simmed game.

"NBA Live 06 offers the biggest and best Dynasty mode yet."

• Hire Your Staff. The most noteworthy new feature in NBA Live 06 that isn't called "Superstar Freestyle" has to be the ability to hire a support staff that lets you hone your team's skills just the way you like and find the best players to build your dynasty. You can hire a scout, a trainer, and an assistant coach; each one will have a listed salary that he expects to get and you've only got so much money. Don't go cheap—go for the staff that costs a little more, and it will pay off in the long run.
• Train Up.Before your season begins, you need to hit training camp. Here you can allocate points based on offense, defense, and athletics. This lets you further sharpen your team around the abilities you want to focus on, as well as bringing you up to speed on how to play the game.

Your PDA keeps you in control.

• Manage for Success. One you begin the first of twenty 82-game seasons, things really get rolling. It takes time to build a great basketball dynasty, but with the right support staff you can be taking championships from the word go. By keeping an eye on all of your players, you can assign coaches to specific individuals and pump up the skills you want to see on the court. Assigning a trainer to work on a player's offensive skills can give that player all-new Superstar Moves, or simply increase their general stats on offense. Same goes for defense and athleticism. Is your team short a Stopper? Before you spend money on that hot new kid your scout has found, consider assigning a trainer to one of the defenders you already have.
• Know When to Intervene. Here's why earlier I said to choose Intervention mode. Sure, you could go through your entire 20-year dynasty without once taking control of your team, but if you do that you're cutting them off from the most skilled player in the game—you. Instead, keep an eye on games as they're being simmed, and if your guys run into trouble, take charge and show them who's really boss.

Build your team and your players over 20 seasons.

NBA Live 06 offers the biggest and best Dynasty mode yet. Take control of the money, the management, and the most realistic b-ball yet on Xbox®, and take your game on Xbox Live for even more competition.

Article by Danny Chihdo