Things that are not yet fixed for LIVE06...

These are the things that are not yet fixed or tweaked so far:

1. Net animations
2. Referee's whistle sound
3. Player models
4. Ice skating movements

Based on the latest vids from IGN, I am really not impressed except for the new superstar mode but the rest still looks like NBA LIVE 2005..

NBA 2k6 of Visual Concepts is more impressive especially the revamped Association mode, new control system, new commentaries, the Crib, VIP system and new animations plus the much alive CROWD reactions...

But in fairness, LIVE06 is better than 2005.. Just an opinion and correct me if i'm wrong!

hmm who let all the pinoys out?

Yeah, where do these guys pop-up from... Is basketball so huge among pinoys???

I reckon I can live with the animations I've seen in the videos, though I won't be able to say for sure until I get a feel for the game by actually playing it. And for me, the net animations and the sound effect of the referees whistle are very minor issues that won't stand in the way of my enjoyment of the game.

all those 4 points from the original post combined don't worry me half as much as the ability to throw 80 behind the back / 100 no-look / 200 over the shoulder passes per game :S

the moment i see a cpu controlled point guard throw a third no look pass in the same quarter i'm gonna throw the game into the bin.

Yes, that is another factor about Freestyle I didn't think about: How the CPU uses it ? I hope that when we have the game we can say : Buff, at least CPU doesn't make games unreal. At least It could be a slider for that, max to a funny game and min to a serious game.

There probably is a slider for that like "Freestyle effectivness" or "CPU Freestyle frequence"

Well from the video, the computer didn't do anything crazy, it was only the person playing who was doing fancy passes for no reason. I mean it does add control, in real life if you wanted to do a behind the head pass on easy passes you could, you just look stupid doing it .

There probably is a slider for that like "Freestyle effectivness" or "CPU Freestyle frequence"

Yeah they do. I recommend that you put that slider pretty low to have a realistic game. (if you want one)