So I've been getting progressively more and more foaming-at-the-mouth hooked on (which also means equally increasingly frustrated by my current level of suck at) NBA 2K8 for my 360. Before you start firing off game invites, let me just say that (as mentioned), I'm not good. At all. But did that stop me from getting totally mesmerized by this game? Nooooooo. And how come? Two reasons: I want to beat the pants of the computer more than I want my next meal, and the game so, so incredibly beautiful to watch. As in breathtaking - there's not much difference if you flip back and forth between the game and a NBA HD broadcast in 1080p.

I mean, look at that screenshot. Christ.

I remember popping in NHL 2K into my Dreamcast years ago and thinking "man, these guys have motion capture dialed..." and while obviously the hardware has come a long way since then, the motion capture and facial mapping is utterly, truly both unprecedented and peerless in this release. The movement of the characters is fluid, natural, and most importantly the movements and animations flow together in a way that makes you really squint to find the polygons or jerky movements that remind you this is a sim.

But it is a simulation, and a damn good one at that. The controls are totally intuitive, not overly complex, and you get into the action fast. That's not to say the learning curve isn't steep, but for once, rather than it being a controller learning curve, it's a game learning curve, as in I'm not a baller (soccer is my sport), and so I don't run my team well. The controls will let you work the team, but with the usual barrier of the controls out of the way, the challenge becomes, as it should be, to beat the other team by being a better bball player, not a better gamer. In short, 2K studios tweaked the shooting, passing, play calling and every other aspect of the game to put all the tools you'd need to run your team seamlessly any way you want - all that's left for you to provide is a solid understanding of how to play an unbeatable game of team ball.

(Which I'm still working on - it's been a while since I rode the pine in HS)

There are oodles of other modes to keep you coming back: seasons, a super fun (and hard) slam-dunk challenge mini-game, online play, street ball 1-on-1, 3 point shootouts... you get a LOT for the money. It's like the Orange Box, for hoops. Plus the soundtrack is pretty badass to boot.

Overall, this title has surpassed 2K's NHL series and every other sporting title I own aside from my beloved soccer sims (2K? Wanna pick up another sport?) in terms of play rotation on my rig. It's amazing to watch, and if I ever somehow morph into a sick court-dominating virtuoso, it'll be even more fun to play the better I get. Slick work, 2K - way to keep the goods coming for almost a decade.