colour commentator, and Craig Sager is the sideline reporter. Development Shaquille O'Neal is the cover athlete of the game. As well as being the cover athlete, O'Neal also helped with the development of the game's low post gameplay. O'Neal worked with the design teams to help create new animations, providing the motion capture for some of the pump-fakes, drop-steps, and blocks the players in the game perform. O'Neal was once again the cover athlete for NBA 2K7. Unlike the other games in the series, NBA 2K6s songs aren't licensed and are made exclusively for the game. NBA 2K6 was released on September 26, 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and November 16, 2005 for Xbox 360. This is the first game in the NBA 2K series to be released on the Xbox 360. It is also the first game in the series to be published by 2K Sports and not Sega. Reception NBA 2K6 received "favorable" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Matt Leone of 1UP.com complained of the Xbox 360 version's "biggest setback -- it doesn't have the instant visual appeal, next-gen look, or out-and-out raw emotion that gamers want to see in a next-gen sports game. The actual mechanics of the game are quite strong (the shot stick and free throw system are perhaps the best mechanics we've seen in a basketball game to date), and it has all the depth and options we've come to expect from a veteran basketball series. If you're an optimist, NBA 2K6.feels like a natural evolution of the franchise more than something that makes you want to rush out and buy it to show off your shiny new console. If you're a pessimist, well, the game isn't much more than a high-definition port of its excellent current-gen counterparts. Shouldn't we expect more out of a next-gen sports game?" Matt Martin of Eurogamer thought the PlayStation 2 version's soundtrack was "excellent", praised the gameplay for its refinements and additions, liked the Association for its depth, and said the designs of the players are "very realistic". He said that even though some visual aspects are "blocky and rough", such as the crowd, the motion capture and animation is "top notch", which in turn allows players to move like their real life counterpart. Martin did, however, dislike the introduction of a new control scheme, calling it "unnecessary", and said the