NBA 2k13

[Diablo25]

360 demo available.

I downloaded it and played a few quick games. It's definitely fun. Seems crisper than last year's game. Animations look nice. The right stick, left trigger thing will take some getting used to but I think it's a positive. I'll need a lot more time with the full game to really get a feel on things. The Kinect voice commands are pretty cool also.

[fanatic]

Whoah....was not expecting such an upgrade! The visuals have definitely been improved greatly and the presentation is unbelievable. Off the ball movement is finally where I need it to be...great flow.

Of course, these are 12:30 am impressions - will play more today for sure

[Teal]

Makes me wish they'd revive college basketball. Not an NBA fan. Tried to play last year's version, and never touched the 'modern day' stuff. Fun basketball, but...not terribly interested.

[tjung0831]

I'm sure it's just me but when taking a shot, it feels like you are shooting a bowling ball. Game just moves to herky jerky for me...doesn't seem fluid. I'll stick with NBA JAM OFE!

[sportdan30]

Not sure how I like the new controls. Using L2 just seems awkward. Check out the following contols and the number of combinations! This is certainly not a pick up and play game!

http://www.pastapadre.com/2012/09/25/a- ... s-controls

[Diablo25]

Not sure how I like the new controls. Using L2 just seems awkward. Check out the following contols and the number of combinations! This is certainly not a pick up and play game!

http://www.pastapadre.com/2012/09/25/a- ... s-controls

I'm guessing there is an option to play with the 'old' controls in the game if the new right stick/left trigger thing is not to your liking.

[AJColossal]

Really blown away by what I'm seeing in the various gameplay videos. Looking forward to Tuesday.

[dbdynsty25]

It's awesome...went out of town last week and have no idea what the new version looks like. It's gonna be a nice surprise on Tuesday.

[Diablo25]

I'm really looking forward to it. I watched some guy's demo video on YouTube and the use of the Kinect controls is wild. Called for pick and rolls, clear outs, camera changes, post up plays for off ball teammates. Pretty cool stuff.

[Pete1210]

Looking forward to picking this up tomorrow!

[Diablo25]

Shipped! Loving Amazon.

[Wilk5280]

43.99 from amazon thanks to promotion when purchasing madden. Hoops start tomorrow!!!!

[sportdan30]

Game is flat out AWESOME.

- Love the new dribble stick. Playing as a PG is mega fun.
- Gameplay is smooth as butter
- Presentation is excellent as always, but could do without much of the Jay Z crap
- Game plays beautifully on Pro default, but will need some slight tweaks.
- CPU still has an advantage on the offensive boards. Hopefully sliders will help.
- I haven't had this much enjoyment out of a 2K Basketball game in years. It's has such a nice balance
- The CPU runs plays very well. They do tend to have knack for making the quick pass down low and laying it in.
- Fast breaks are great. Love the bounce passes on them especially.
- Were we able to save quick play games and play later? I don't recall. Played a half of the Bulls vs Hawks and will pick up the second half tomorrow.
- Really impressed with the overall package. My sports GOTY with The Show a close second.

[TCrouch]

This will have kind of a long intro so you guys know where I'm coming from. Most of you can skip this post and go about your lives

I don't watch/understand basketball nearly as well as I do football or hockey, and I've always had the same problems with the 2K games through the years. The more "sim" they get, the more I dislike them. I tried the demo for this and literally played about 3 minutes before shutting it off and deleting it. I almost always had the same play style with basketball games...wiggle the sticks and mash some buttons until I get charging fouls or dunks.

However, my wife had preordered this for me a while back, and she asked me if I wanted her to pick it up yesterday. I kind of shrugged but then thought as bad as the Raiders are in Madden, and as far the Ducks have fallen from their Stanley Cup run 5 years ago, it would be fun to take the chalk for once. I'm a Cali fan in all sports, and that's always been Raiders/Ducks/Dodgers (when I play a baseball game, which is actually lower on the totem pole than basketball)/Cal Golden Bears/Lakers. I knew the Lakers got Nash and Howard, so I figured it might help to play with a ridiculously good club.

I got the game last night and fired up the franchise thing, which I guess they've call Association the past few years. I turned all of the Front Office CPU aid "on" and went to a game against Dallas immediately. It took me probably a good 10 minutes to get used to the L trigger and the R stick to shoot. It's almost like rubbing your head and patting your tummy, it feels so weird at first. Pulling the R trigger to get a burst, using the R stick to break somebody down, and then suddenly switching to both triggers or LT only to shoot with the stick? Weird.

But after about a quarter, I really started to see how it worked. And better yet, the R stick moves MADE SENSE. I can't tell you how many times I looked at one of those "cheat sheets" in a past version of what stick gymnastics you had to do to pull of simple dribble moves. This year the movements made more sense. If I wanted to head fake somebody I flicked the R stick up. If I wanted to head fake and jab step back, I faked up and back. By the end of the game I was actually breaking dudes' ankles with Kobe. One defender literally fell over on his ass when I gave him a shoulder wiggle, a half-spin to the left and then spun back to my right for a fadeaway that hit nothing but net. Stuff like that had me grinning and going "damn this is a good game" by the 3rd period. Realizing that I could use RT to get my burst, the R stick to make my moves, then pull the LT and pick a location with the R stick (left hand lay up, over the top, fadeaway, etc) really clicked.

Then I tried to figure out the low post game with Dwight Howard. I have a LOT of work to do there. I think I had 4 turnovers with Howard where I just lost the ball. Most of the time I couldn't even figure out how to back a dude down. I assumed it was LT, but then I'd take a shot. So when I DID manage to back somebody down once (again, I have no idea how I did it), and spun off with a low post hook shot, there was a sense of accomplishment there. But that's always been the issue for me with basketball games and the Lakers. At some point, it always boils down to "give it to Kobe, run around like an idiot, and score 80% of the team's points".

So this time, I consciously tried to spread the ball around and manufacture offense from somewhere else. I got the ball to Ron Artest (I refuse to call him that ridiculous name). I tried scoring with Gasol, but that was comical at best. But Nash on the perimeter was lethal once Kobe started drawing attention. Suddenly there would be sub ins and my offense would have to change. I found some dude completely by accident (named Hill I think with a little twisty fro?) who really started working over the Dallas D. Then Meeks started wrecking shop outside. Before I knew it, my bench had half of the points in my game, and Kobe finished with about 25 in a game where I scored 70.

But the CPU is what really got my attention. I can't tell you how many years I've played the CPU on default difficulty and ended up winning like 50-14 with 30 steals or something ridiculous. The CPU got into my zone and just broke me down time and time again. I got a little sick of having a guy locked down, only to watch him zip away and the CPU laser a perfect pass into the paint for an easy layup, but I could take it. In the 3rd period they managed to go on a 14-5 run to take a 4 point lead before I buckled down and went on a late run to win by 5. But I was sweating the entire time.

So...REALLY long story short, I don't have a clue what the plays are in basketball. But this year's game sure as hell made me FEEL like I knew what I was doing. I could find guys moving off the ball and get them involved. I could see that they were obviously trying to set up a situation where I could break somebody down with Kobe 1 on 1. I could see the screens and get off of them, and when they zipped to the bucket, I could get a quick pick and roll score on them. And that feels like the biggest compliment I can give it. I wanted to play more (I didn't stop until about midnight last night), which is the first time in history I think I've stayed up a little later than normal to play a basketball game.

[Pete1210]

Nice write up.
I don't know bb plays either, but I started using the play diagrams on full (turned off/on in the coaching options) to try and run plays. It highlights the player to start (usually PG) then gives you solid line to run or dotted line for pass. Many times resulting in a nice look and basket.

Once updated rosters come out (supposed to be this weekend), I will be starting an Online Association. Probably small, 6 or so members, so most games are v. CPU.

If anyone here is interested, let me know.

[icvu42]

I got this game yesterday through Amazon. I loved 2k11, didn't get last year's game. I only played about a quarter, but man is this game terrific!
I didn't use the shot stick, instead I used the X button to shoot. I was able to figure out some cross-over dribbles and spin moves using the isomotion. The one area I will have to figure out though is the low post moves. I got the ball down low regularly, but just turning and shooting did not work., so I will need to work on those moves.

One thing I didn't like though is when you do on the fly substitutuion, it doesn't show the energy level of your players on the court. They had this in 2k11. Anyone know to to view it without having to pause the game and go into coaching?

Rick

[FifaInspected]

Nice write up.
I don't know bb plays either, but I started using the play diagrams on full (turned off/on in the coaching options) to try and run plays. It highlights the player to start (usually PG) then gives you solid line to run or dotted line for pass. Many times resulting in a nice look and basket.

Once updated rosters come out (supposed to be this weekend), I will be starting an Online Association. Probably small, 6 or so members, so most games are v. CPU.

If anyone here is interested, let me know.

Pete,
I know you've been doing your NBA leagues for a while now.. How many seasons you been running your league?

[Pete1210]

Nice write up.
I don't know bb plays either, but I started using the play diagrams on full (turned off/on in the coaching options) to try and run plays. It highlights the player to start (usually PG) then gives you solid line to run or dotted line for pass. Many times resulting in a nice look and basket.

Once updated rosters come out (supposed to be this weekend), I will be starting an Online Association. Probably small, 6 or so members, so most games are v. CPU.

If anyone here is interested, let me know.

Pete,
I know you've been doing your NBA leagues for a while now.. How many seasons you been running your league?

I've been running an NBA 2K league called oldskool pretty much non-stop since NBA 2K5. Usually 2-3 seasons per year, until 2K12 which by default had a quicker progression. The next league for 2K13 will be oldskool22.
After all that, I'm still an average player at best and the league is made up of casual, mature gamers.

[fsquid]

What is this about the scoreboard dissapearing?

[TCrouch]

Once updated rosters come out (supposed to be this weekend), I will be starting an Online Association. Probably small, 6 or so members, so most games are v. CPU.

If anyone here is interested, let me know.

I'd be interested in it if the games can be simulated if we can't get them in vs. CPU teams. I'm not sure I could play 82 games for several seasons, but I'd probably play the majority of them vs. CPU and all vs. humans.

However, if I'm "that guy" that chooses the Lakers, I don't want to do that I'd be curious to see the settings and difficulty you run on, too. If it's on Superstar or whatever it is, no way I could compete.

[Pete1210]

Once updated rosters come out (supposed to be this weekend), I will be starting an Online Association. Probably small, 6 or so members, so most games are v. CPU.

If anyone here is interested, let me know.

I'd be interested in it if the games can be simulated if we can't get them in vs. CPU teams. I'm not sure I could play 82 games for several seasons, but I'd probably play the majority of them vs. CPU and all vs. humans.

However, if I'm "that guy" that chooses the Lakers, I don't want to do that I'd be curious to see the settings and difficulty you run on, too. If it's on Superstar or whatever it is, no way I could compete.

Games v. CPU can be simmed. Last year for completing more games you got reward points which helped progress players in between seasons.
Last year we used Pro difficulty. Even at that level CPU games were tough unless you had a top team. And there were no sliders.
I read that this year sliders are added online. Also that 3rd quarter CPU catch up logic is toned down. So maybe All Star this year. (I think it goes Rookie, Pro, All Star, Superstar, Hall of Fame)
I would like a shorter schedule, maybe around a 50 game season (last year options were 29, 58 or 82), so we can run through multiple seasons and shape our teams with the rookie draft and free agency.

[Aristo]

Nice write up.
I don't know bb plays either, but I started using the play diagrams on full (turned off/on in the coaching options) to try and run plays. It highlights the player to start (usually PG) then gives you solid line to run or dotted line for pass. Many times resulting in a nice look and basket.

This is what really made 2K12 come alive for me. It really helped make sense of everything for a guy that never played BB.

[Diablo25]

TCrouch, the Y button lets you post up the defender. Hit it again and your guy backs out of the post up.

Nice write up by the way. The game is NHL like with the sticks....the more you play the better you will get and the more you will discover.

[greggsand]

Regarding TCrouch's review: for new-ish people to the nba games, I'd say taking your time on offense pays the rewards. 2k is designed to work the ball around & take advantage in holes in the D. It seems those who get frustrated with are try to make 2 passes & shoot with the "star". That will get boring & frustrating real quick. Most nba shots go off with 5 or less seconds on the play clock. Keep that in mind & you'll have a blast figuring out the fun of 2k.(win or lose)

[dbdynsty25]

I'm as big of a 2k fan as anyone and this years game seems a lot more sluggish and unresponsive compared to last year. I mean, I'm sure I'll get used to it, but after not playing any demos or watching any videos of actual gameplay, it was a bit jarring. Game is still badass, just different.