-- Hotel Georges, Washington DC.

This is where I got my first look at the Xbox 360.

A week ago, Operation Sports was invited to a 2K Sports "event", I was excited about it, of course, but thought the event would simply be a big PR session where they would show the games - but I wouldn’t get the chance to ask any real questions.
Boy, was I surprised.

I was shown into a meeting room and saw only an Xbox 360, an HDTV and Matt Atwood, director of PR for 2K Sports. I would have an hour with Matt and the Xbox 360 to see how good 2K’s launch lineup looks for myself - and even ask a few questions.

First up was NBA 2K6, and it was about what I expected it to be.
See, I imagined the first year of next generation consoles to be about small changes.
I never expected game developers to be able to make huge changes in their games during what amounted to a 6-7 month development period. So when I was told that the biggest change in this title from Xbox to Xbox 360 was the player models - and that the features were pretty much the same as the Xbox version - I wasn’t surprised. What I was surprised about, however, was just how great the player models looked. The faces are all spot on, but it’s the smaller things that stand out. Players sweat more as the game goes on, and it shows on their skin and jerseys. It’s not like current-gen games, where the sweat just appears after a certain amount of time on the court and it’s the same for every person. Each individual player perspires differently.

As many of you have seen from the videos, the jerseys move separately from the players. This looks great when you see it on the court, and it appears to be toned down a lot from the initial videos. The jersey movement is a lot more realistic. What also amazed me was the level of detail in the game with things as small as the shoes. If you zoom in on a player’s shoes, you can actually read the Nike on each shoe. The crowds have been re-done, and are now comprised of all 3D models. I wish more had been done with the arenas, though. The only major change that I saw was the electronic adboards around certain arenas now have messages that correspond with what is happening on the court.

Let's get to the gameplay. From what I saw, there aren’t a ton of major gameplay changes - and I think the reason for that is that 2K realized they had a pretty solid base from which to work from already. I did see a couple of new animations; particularly a new jump shot animation and a few more lay-up animations. The ugly back-to-the-basket lay-up from the current Xbox version didn’t occur in the game that I watched. I asked Matt if there were any franchise or feature changes; he said "no", but the development team planned to make a few additions next year. Since this interview, I have been assured by some of the NBA 2K6 developers that there are a few game play changes.

Still, this year is about making a better looking game, and since NBA 2K6 already had great game play and a solid Franchise mode base, it was probably a smart decision to focus their attention on upgrading the graphics using the power of the Xbox 360.

Next up was Amped 3 and NHL2K6. Amped 3 appeared to be the least graphically impressive, but perhaps the most enjoyable game of the bunch. Now, don't get me wrong - Amped still looks great - it just didn’t jump out at me like NBA 2K6 and NHL2K6 did. Amped 3 promises to be a very deep and fun snowboarding game. 

Let me correct that. It’s a deep and fun winter sports game. Why the change? Well, because now the snowboard isn’t the only equipment used in this game. They've added sledding, a snow mobile and several other kinds of snow equipment to the mix, all of which you can use to travel across the mountain. Speaking of the mountains, there are two mountains that are exact replicas of real mountains: one in the US and one in Peru. Out of the three games I saw, Amped 3 looks like the game that 2K Sports put the most design time into. From the cut-scenes to the challenges to the loading screen games (you read that correctly!), the game looks great and appears to be really deep. This is one of those rare titles that have so many enjoyable game types and challenges that you could be easily be playing it for months.

I’m not a big fan of hockey, so I was really surprised when NHL 2K6 was the game that most impressed me. The player models look just as good as the NBA 2K6 models, the ice degrades as time goes on, and there are skate tracks that show on the ice as you move around. The NHL 2K6 team also added a new feature to the Xbox 360 version called "Crease Control". This feature allows the gamer to take control and play as the goalie the entire game. When activatived, the camera shifts to an on-ice view right behind the goalie. The feature works similar to Madden’s "vision passing" system; each goalie has a highlighted vision area. In order to make a save, first the player must locate the puck in your goalie's vision area. Once a shot is taken, the game slows down slightly and you must press a face button to block the puck. The feature looks great, and fans who always wanted to see what it's like to be the goalie will finally get their wish. Due to time constraints, I didn’t get a chance to play or watch an entire game, so I was unable to see if there were any noticeable gameplay changes.

Finally, with a chance to talk to someone in the know at 2K Sports, I had to ask the question that every sports gamer is dying to know the answer to. Is 2K Sports coming out with a football game? His response? A very polite "no comment".

Along with the 2K Sports games, it's obvious that the Xbox 360 is an incredible machine. New features such as being able to play your custom soundtrack when playing any game and turning off the console from the controller are great additions. After spending an hour seeing what the Xbox 360 will offer, I'd have to say that we are in good hands for the next generation of consoles.

Thanks to Matt and Katie at 2K for inviting Operation Sports to attend this exciting event! November 22nd can't come fast enough!