The NBA2K series is so good that EA Sports scrapped their NBA game a year ago and went back to the drawing board. NBA 2K11 was a huge success that built upon the amazing controls, realism, graphics, and presentation, plus added in the ability to play as Michael Jordan and his many different NBA Champion Chicago Bulls teams. NBA 2K12 take this ‘Jordan Mode’ concept one step further and introduce the ‘Greatest Mode’. Here, the challenges focus on 14 other NBA legends aside from Michael Jordan. For some people, the nostalgia involved in adding this mode alone is enough to warrant their purchase. But how is the rest of the game? Well, fellow Heeders, it is safe to say that 2K Sports and developer Visual Concepts have once again set the standard for great sports games.
Overall, NBA 2K12 is quite similar to the award winning blueprint that won over so many NBA fans in NBA 2K11. The excellent graphics and lifelike animations return with amazing in-game presentation. In game commentary is fluid, ever changing, and may be the best of any sports game. The control scheme is virtually identical and the animation is still fluid and life like. Playing this game felt very familiar which is great considering there was very little wrong with how the previous game controlled. Post maneuvers are a slight bit easier to do now that the Y button on the Xbox360 (or the Triangle button on PS3) can be pressed to enter or exit the post-up position on offense. The timing for certain players’ signature shots are adjusted as well to make players like Ray Allen or Dirk Nowitzki easier to shoot with. Also, the advanced shot stick manuever changes have made it easier to do shot fakes and misdirections both in the air and in the paint.
The point is that the core of NBA 2K11 is there, which is a positive and a negative in some ways. Since I’ve covered a bit of the positives, here are some of the negatives. The AI during gameplay, once again, is a bit all over the map. The default passing AI, association team trading AI, and CPU defense of the passing lanes are a bit unrealistic. The defensive recovery time on changing direction is also exaggerated making playing on ball defense a bit hard as well. One particular gripe though is the lack of ball handling awareness the players have. With a clear change in ‘ball physics’, there is an alarming increase in off leg dribbling. Players of all skill levels will inadvertently dribble off of nearby players’ legs as well as their own a bit too often for my taste. Lastly, the game seems to either run a bit slowly or it slows down at inopportune times with certain shooting or defensive animations. Thankfully, all of these gripes are points that 2k usually adjusts in time given community feedback with patches.
What makes this game great is the return of what made 2K11 great as well as the subtle changes and additions. The Greatest Mode is the without a doubt the most significant and desirable addition to the series. Here you play as the teams of 15 different NBA Legends and rather than meet statistical challenges (as was done on the Jordan Mode in NBA 2K11) you must simply win the game. The default setting for this mode is Pro difficulty with 5 minute quarters and at times the matchups feel as if the difficulty is much higher. Playing as the Lakers with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain for two of the matches are particularly difficult. In a sense, most of the difficulty for these games will be familiarity with the rosters since the older legends are probably beyond most player’s knowledge. This difficulty is enhanced when you take into the account that the opposing teams’ roster must be scouted to some degree as well. Kevin Duckworth can beat you just as soundly as Clyde Drexler if you let him!
I say all of this to emphasize that this mode has striking realism in AI tendencies as well as in presentation. Games from teams in the 70′s have a slightly grainy look to them with a muffled authentic commentary sound design that is enough to make retired sportscasters giggle. The game with Bill Russel is in age appropriate black and white complete with signal fuzz on the screen as you play. Also the commentary is done in a way where the sportscasters are ‘looking back’ in the videologues. They spend a majority of the match talking about the different superstars in the game and even compare some of them to current day stars. The way that each of these Legands play is strikingly similar to their archived footage as 2k Sports spent a bit of time capturing each player’s signature moves and shooting styles. Couple this with games that highlight intense rivalries of that Legend’s day and you have the key mode that most people are going to play once they first fire up the game. Completion of each game unlocks the two teams for use offline in the various modes. The easiest way to use them is in the Quick Play mode where you simply play an exhibition game. It takes a little bit to use the individual players or teams in the Association or My Player modes but with a bit of tinkering with the rosters you can make it happen. Just before the game’s release, an announcement was made that DLC would be available to unlock these teams for use in online play as well. The debates will surely continue as players all over will pit young MJ vs. old MJ or Magic vs. Penny or Hakeem vs. Wilt. I’m quite certain there will be a ton of MJ vs. Kobe or Lebron battles as well.
Once you get past all of that nostalgia, the game actually features a bit more improvements over last year. The My Player mode received a bit of well deserved attention as it was another popular mode that the Basketball Joneses of the world craved. From the jump, the character creation changed a bit to add stats called “abilities” as well as your player’s attributes. These abilities are VERY expensive but they dictate the range of moves you have in shooting, layups/dunks, dribbling, and post maneuvers.
Thankfully the road to the NBA draft was shortened to just one rookie challenge game. Once done with this game, you are rushed into a few team interviews and then off the draft. Once on a team you’ll notice that all that made My Player great in 2k11
has return plus a few bonuses. The My Purchases section allows you to actually use the contract value of your player from pay day to pay day to buy skill points and chemistry with your team, local, and league-wide fans. Given that the different legends and their signature moves were added, the pool of amazing looking shots, layups, passes, and post moves have been made available for purchase. Thankfully, to ease pulling these off, a training mode was added where the legends themselves teach you how to pull off their signature moves.
The drills have been altered a bit also. Probably the most notable is that you can speed up this whole career thing for your player by only playing the ‘key’ games of the season. These games are marquee matchups for your team or your player and earn double the typical amount of skill points. The games in between are all simulated as per your character’s stats. This is certainly a welcome addition that will make the improvement of your character a lot faster. You’ll also notice the addition of Dynamic Goals within the midst of games which grant additional chances for skill points. Lastly, the in teammate grading AI is much better as well. The bonuses and penalties of skill points for each action are clearly shown as they happen and they make a lot more sense. No longer are you penalized for your teammate missing a defensive adjustment on a switch. With the return of sponsors, post-game interviews, and shoe swapping, greatness returns to a truly exciting and fun mode. All in all, the attention given to this mode was needed and well executed making it the blueprint for all sports games.
If all of the character creation and such is a bit too much to tinker around with, you can even take on the role of ANY player in the NBA in the Create a Legend mode. Here you go through the paces just as in My Player only you don’t have to worry about getting drafted or building up your player initially. You start at the current level of skill and current team as your selected player and you simply take over. You can request trades and change the way the rest of their development in the NBA goes. Again, this mode is welcome mode to the series.
On the online side of things I am happy to say that 2k placed some well needed attention on the matchmaking quality as well as the lobbies. Instead of only having a friend lobby for your My Crew (which by the way has been removed), the lobby allows you and your friends to jump into team up or vs matches with varied options that can be customized for each match. Online features are also highlighted with the online association mode. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough playtime in this mode to add details to this review (look for those a bit later).
A generic skill level or experience level system was added for your gamertag also. Though there isn’t anything definite explained for the addition of this feature, one can only hope that it maybe provides unlockables or something more than just bragging rights.
NBA fans are now officially spoiled thanks to the clear love and devotion to basketball that 2k Sports have clearly poured into this game. This is without a doubt the newest must-have sports game of the season. There is no need for a debate, NBA2k12 is one of if not the best sports simulation on the market.
Final Score: 95 out of 100
Info:
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Available for: PS3, Xbox360, PC, Wii, PSP
Website: http://2ksports.com/games/nba2k12
