NBA2k11

[Rodster]

It's just as early as the death of the 360. Can't wait for the TRU B2G1 deal next week.

[Danimal]

You sure that deal is happening next week? I am holding off on buying some stuff in anticipation of it.

[MizzouRah]

I just haven't had the gaming time... too busy with NCAA, CivV, OOTP, NHL right now.. plus I'm waiting on a roster update.

[Rodster]

You sure that deal is happening next week? I am holding off on buying some stuff in anticipation of it.

Yepper http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/sho ... p?t=274495

[EZSnappin]

Still playing Fifa and waiting for the bugs to shake out. There seems to be one or two major issues with every year of this thing, so until I get an "all clear" or a patch I'll wait.

Season doesn't start for weeks anyways.

[Aristo]

I am going back and forth on whether to pick this up. Honestly, I don't need a another ports game right now. NHL 11 and NCAA 11 are both taking up plenty of time. MLB 2K10 will get some time during the playoffs.

I like everything I see, but not enough to add to the library, when I an not that big of an NBA fan to begin with. But I can't deny that it could end up as an impulse buy in a moment of weakness. It's on my mind. I love everything I have heard about it.

Best yet, when I last really enjoyed an NBA game, it was in the days of Jordan, Ewing, Malone, and Barkley. That makes it even harder to say no, as there is a ton of nostalgia built up around this game.

Jeezus, I have to take my daughter out to buy shoes tonight, and I'm coming close to talking myself into this again. I will be too close to a Gamestop, and I may just come home $60 lighter in the wallet. I really have to stop...

[Rodster]

I am going back and forth on whether to pick this up. Honestly, I don't need a another ports game right now. NHL 11 and NCAA 11 are both taking up plenty of time. MLB 2K10 will get some time during the playoffs.

I like everything I see, but not enough to add to the library, when I an not that big of an NBA fan to begin with. But I can't deny that it could end up as an impulse buy in a moment of weakness. It's on my mind. I love everything I have heard about it.

Best yet, when I last really enjoyed an NBA game, it was in the days of Jordan, Ewing, Malone, and Barkley. That makes it even harder to say no, as there is a ton of nostalgia built up around this game.

Jeezus, I have to take my daughter out to buy shoes tonight, and I'm coming close to talking myself into this again. I will be too close to a Gamestop, and I may just come home $60 lighter in the wallet. I really have to stop...

Sounds like you are 110% coming home with this game lol.

[MizzouRah]

HAHA.. shoe store is right next to our local Gamestop.

[snaz16]

Haven't played a hoops game in 2 years,but I'm loving this. Picked up the ps3 version while looking for the pc version at Wal Mart which I didn't find. Anyone pick up the pc version and have some thoughts?

[Aristo]

Jeezus, I have to take my daughter out to buy shoes tonight, and I'm coming close to talking myself into this again. I will be too close to a Gamestop, and I may just come home $60 lighter in the wallet. I really have to stop...

Sounds like you are 110% coming home with this game lol.

I made it back without buying the game! But I came close to hitting Blockbuster on the way back to at least give it a rent. I will probably just grab it at the first good sale.

[GTHobbes]

I still haven't had a chance to pick this up yet, but I saw this post in the impressions thread over at OS tonight and thought it was both a good read and informative (and better than most sports games "reviews" I've read over the years):

"First things first, there are a good amount of steals, but they can very easily be cleaned up not by sliders (which yes, does also work). But by improving your game. Especially if you're playing on sim. You need to play sim. That's it. Lead passing into the paint or throwing 80 foot bombs like we could do in years past is done and over with. People developed bad habits by taking advantage of faulty AI and dumb CPU defenses. I can't believe 2 days after release everyone is having a panic attack because there are a lot of turnovers. Check out some boxscores from real NBA games sometime. NO team goes for 30 assists and 1 turnover as we were all able to in years past. Bad passes, deflections, not being on the same page as a teammate, not to mention teams with stifling defenses...All lead to a much higher number of turnovers than people seem to think there are in an NBA game. This game rewards practicing and honing your skills whilst also giving you great opportunities and game modes with which to do just that. Scrimmaging, intra-squad scrimmaging, familiarizing yourself with your offense by running plays against no one, then adding a defense, and the list goes on. You'll get out if it what you put into it. Once you've figured it out, the game slows down for you and you'll wonder how you could've possibly thrown so many bad passes in the past.

All that aside, this is a great, great game. It's the game many of us have been waiting for. I love baseball and MLB 10 the show is an incredible representation of the sport, as is FIFA with soccer. But my true passion is Basketball, i played up through college and it's always been a huge part of my life, whether it be playing, going to games, or watching on TV. I never felt as though I had a basketball game that truly represented the sport as the show and fifa do for their respective sports. This year all that has changed. I've never seen such a "sim" type game in my life. It's truly unbelievable how many things they nailed, spot on. As has been mentioned in reviews, there's no longer any excuse for "there's only so much you can do in one year". Because 2k and their team just went from a mediocre to good offering in 2k10, to easily the best basketball game of all time, and quite possibly the best sports game ever made.

There have been a ton of things already mentioned. So I'll try to only speak of those briefly and get to points that haven't been talked about as much.

The CPU AI is great, really incredible. Games ranging from Boxing to Football to MMA to NASCAR have all touted "adaptive AI". But it always fell flat, you could tell because more often than not, by the time the game had been out a week you'd already have found dozens of plays that worked every time. That stops in 2k11. The AI reads, reacts, and punishes mismatches. When I say that, what pops into your head? Probably a low post presence being defended by a point guard. Not only is that accurate in 2k11. But there's also speed mismatches that they exploit. If you're the Rockets, and Yao Ming ends up on the perimeter guarding Chris Paul, the cpu will see that, dish the rock to cp3 and get the heck out of his way as he breaks Yaos ankles and uses his speed to blow by Yao. They even exploit height mismatches of just a few inches. I had Josh Howard guarding Tayshaun and they kept going to him because his length enabled him to get his shot off without much interference from Josh.

I recommend everyone start on Pro difficulty, simulation setting. It's a great level to learn on, if it's your first game, unless you've got a near perfect team (98 bulls) against the Raptors, there's a great chance you're going to lose. The game is THAT different. The reason you will lose is because you will try everything that worked in 2k10, and unless you had great habits from 2k10, it's going to take a game or two to realize that this is not going to work and you need to step your game up. Running the same play over and over will not work, launching contested jumpers will not work, constantly trying to spin and get into the lane will not work, and so on.

The thing I have to stress is that there's a certain move or series of moves for every point in time in a game, space on the floor, or match up. A crossover for the sake of a crossover will not always be effective, but crossing over to the left when your defender is shading you right, now that's basketball. And that's only the surface of how deep this game gets.

Some of us love using guys like Chris Paul, Allen Iverson, or Aaron Brooks type players. Small, speedy, and great at getting to the rack. In years past, you would get blocked way too often because of nothing else aside from the size disadvantage and the fact you were going up against 7 footers with guys that were 6 feet tall. For those of you that haven't gotten the game yet and are like this. You will finally be able to take over a game as a guard of that type. That was one of my biggest gripes with any other 2k game. Chris Paul can take over a game in real life, and you could to an extent in past games. But not by playing the of ball that mimics how they play in real life. This year you can finally fake a pass on a break, euro step around a big man, drive and cut for a spin layup or spin jumper. And my personal favorite, floaters. Hitting floaters with CP3 after getting by your initial defender (guard), getting to the second layer of defense and throwing up a floater before the help defender can get to you is a thing of beauty. I scored 35 with CP3 in a game earlier tonight, and had 12 assists as well. I'd been waiting to do that with a smaller player for a long, long time.

Everything else is on point, I'd always wondered, for years now actually. Why on earth sports games wouldn't include a few different modes, simulation, casual, and arcade. Well 2k really knocks one out of the park both in originality and implementation. Playing the game on SIM setting as a die hard NBA fan is magnificent to watch. I've even loaded up a few CPU vs CPU games because this game is so good you don't even have to be playing to enjoy it. Which is both insane, and beautiful.

Last but not least, do yourself a favor and practice. The post game is a bit different (but much better and more fluid). The dribbling is the best I've ever seen in a basketball game. And the new layup, jump shot, and dunk options that you can make on the fly become seamless transitions after a few games but you'd be best suited to take it to the practice court and work on them. I've never played a game where I can just shoot around and have so much fun learning the ins and outs of the game. The new dribbling mechanics are incredibly useful, practical, and realistic. Chaining them together and making the D look foolish is something you'll never get tired of seeing. And since the triple threat stance works wonders this year, it pays dividends to learn that as well. Especially if you're playing as Kobe, Melo, or some other big names that do a lot of work in the triple threat position.

Overall this game is a masterpiece. This is the game true basketball fans have always been waiting for. My only hope now is not a patch, or a fix here and there, or even any improvements. It's that 2k's sales and feedback keep them on this path and finally proves to the gaming world that a die-hard simulation sports game can sell just as many copies, if not more, than one that's intended for casual audiences. Better yet, sports games should take a page out of 2k's book and put 3 different modes in their games so that everyone is happy.

As for a score, I give this game a 9.8. I would give it a 10 but if they improve NBA 2k12 at all I'd have to give that an 11.

P.S. If you haven't bought this game yet and you're reading this, I hope it helps. If you want the short version of what I just wrote, go out and buy the game. The only thing you'll regret is that you didn't pick it up on release day."

[sportdan30]

I am in love. Tonight it clicked for me. At the end of last night, I was luke warm about the game. Today, I tinkered with some display settings on my hdtv, as well as some game play settings, and I found the perfect fit.

First off, I changed from "sim" to "default". Basically, that puts all the shooting percentages at 50. Now, you might think both teams would shoot a high percentage, but that's completely not the case. I played an "NBA Today" game as the Knicks (me) vs. the Timberwolves. In Paris! Pretty cool. What playing on default does is open up the game. You're not covered like a blanket on sim, but you still have to run plays and use your iso motion to create space and get to the basket. You'll still see turnovers, steals, mismatches, fast breaks, etc. Stars will still lead the team in points, but they will also miss shots too obviously. I played a quick 6 minute quarter game, and both teams shot around 45%. But it just felt completely right, and most of all enjoyable. Last night was a fit of major frustration. I admit it at this time. Sim is not for me, but default is and it's pretty darn perfect if you ask me.

I'm writing this post late in large part because I played one of the Jordan challenges. Oooooh my goodness is this an awesome feature! I played a challenge against the Bad Boys of Detroit. I had to score 47 points, dish out 4 assists, and of course win the game. First off, it's neat to see a young Dennis Rodman when he was normal. Also, I. Thomas who scored a double double could penetrate like no other. And Dumars killed me for most of the game hitting big shot after big shot. Lambeer that bastard! He was a force to be reckoned with and every time he scored, the Bulls fan would boo him! It's just so amazing to control Jordan, Pippen, Grant, Kerr, Armstrong, etc. What a fun bunch to play with. What's also cool is how the court looks depending on the year in which you are playing. Plus the shorts are shorter in length. There are just so many little details that 2K nailed. In any case, I won the game by 8. Jordan finished with 51 points and 5 assists. It was a joy to be able to dominate with a player as special as Jordan.

By the way, before I took on this challenge, I played a half with the Bulls of the early 90s against the 85-86 Celtics. Rodman has his hair looking all funky, and Bird and Parish look so darn lifelike. Same with McHale (sp?).

There's no doubt in my mind that this game as a total package is the best sports game I think I've ever played. The Show is a distant second, but it really doesn't hold a candle to this game when you think about all that's included, along with the incredible presentation.

[Rodster]

It's nice to see the talent level of those who do the presentation stuff at Visual Concepts. They reinvented themselves after they lost the ESPN license and they are better for it. Because of that I have played more of MLB 2K10 than I have the Show by about 90% this year because of it. MLB and NBA Today are great ideas because it adds dynamic commentary and it's a hook that gets you to buy the following years game.

On that note i'm a little pissed because I broke out NBA2K10 and it crashed trying to load NBA Today. Not that I was expecting anything new but it got stuck figuring the version I was trying to play was incompatible. Anyways as soon as Sunday or Monday rolls around i'm off to TRU for the B2G1.

[TrojanMan]

The IGN video reviewer refers to this game as a love letter to basketball fans. I totally agree.

I played the introductory game of the '91 Bulls versus Lakers last night. It was unreal. The presentation was amazing. And, playing with those classic teams reminded me of the old days of playing Lakers v Celtics/Bulls. There were a couple of missing players (AC Green comes to mind). But, all the major guys are there. And, they're rendered very nicely. The presentation is off the charts. And the gameplay is stellar. I lost. But, it was only because I tried to force the ball to Jordan in crunch time and turned the ball over too much down the stretch. In other words, I paid the proper price for playing stupid. I cannot WAIT to fire this thing up again. I haven't felt this way about a game in years.

[TCrouch]

I think what gets me is very simple:

I'm not a big NBA fan.

Not because I don't like the game, but because I don't understand the game. It's kind of a shame, because after using the Raiders and Ducks so much, I thought it would be fun to use a power team (my favorite NBA team is the Lakers). But throughout the years playing NBA games--especially during the last decade with Kobe--my basketball repertoire has involved throwing it to Kobe, jiggling the iso stick (or whatever it's been from year to year) and going and dunking on somebody. I'm the epitome of an ignorant cheeser because I don't know how to manufacture points other than the obvious. When somebody doubles Kobe, I'd kick it out to Fisher or Vujacic or whoever for an open look. But I just don't understand the sport at all.

Enter NBA 2K11.

I know other games in the past had done this, but having the play diagrams on the floor as you call plays on the fly REALLY helps out. I had some buddies tell me to get the game because I could actually learn about hoops, and I trusted their opinions and got it. I think last year I played 3 games of 2K10 before shelving it and eventually trading it in.

I played 8 games of 2K11 last night alone. Funny part is, Lakers dominance or not, I still managed to lose to the Hornets in my Association. I got in a groove, started running plays efficiently and hitting open looks. Then I decided to get other people involved--Odom, Fisher, Bynum, etc. Started calling plays for them and suddenly I was bricking shots and went from leading by 10 to trailing by 9. I struggled through the last quarter playing catch-up and eventually missed a potential game-tying three pointer at the buzzer.

But I UNDERSTOOD why I was losing, what I was doing wrong, and what steps I could take to correct it. That, by itself, makes NBA 2K11 the greatest hoops game I've ever played. The great sports games teach you about the sport, whether you want them to or not. 2K11 is doing just that for me with basketball.

[GTHobbes]

I'm really enjoying reading the impressions, fellas. Thanks for posting 'em.

[jLp vAkEr0]

Ugh.... got to get my PS3 fixed... I'm missing all the fun...

[Danimal]

I've given in to the hype, I'll regret it in about a week.

[sportdan30]

I've given in to the hype, I'll regret it in about a week.

If you're a Bulls fan, the Jordan teams are worth the purchase alone. Same can be said if you appreciate the classic teams from the 80s and 90s. I've only played one Jordan challenge, but I imagine some of them will be downright frustrating considering quarters are only 8 minutes. Other than that, be sure to experiment with the play types....sim, default, and casual. You should be able to find the right fit.

[ScoopBrady]

I've given in to the hype, I'll regret it in about a week.

If you're a Bulls fan, the Jordan teams are worth the purchase alone. Same can be said if you appreciate the classic teams from the 80s and 90s. I've only played one Jordan challenge, but I imagine some of them will be downright frustrating considering quarters are only 8 minutes. Other than that, be sure to experiment with the play types....sim, default, and casual. You should be able to find the right fit.

As a Bulls fan I could not pass up on this one. I traded some stuff in today and picked it up. The guy at Gamestop was cool and even gave me the code for the Jordan avatar jersey even though I hadn't preordered it. Can't wait to play as the classic Bulls teams. I can't believe after all these years I'll finally be able to do that.

[Rodster]

Ugh.... got to get my PS3 fixed... I'm missing all the fun...

What PS3's don't break.

[Teal]

I'm really enjoying reading the impressions, fellas. Thanks for posting 'em.

I'm HATING reading the impressions, fellas...because I can't even THINK of buying a game right now. Screw you all for posting 'em...

[Danimal]

Well I said it would take a week for me to regret this purchase I was wrong... it took one night.

This game is a masterpiece in terms of package and presentation but I haven't played a 2K basketball game in several years and I have no idea what I am doing. Why are there no tutorials with this thing? I can't do anything with the dribble, my guys miss layups and I figured out there was a dunk trigger but man can we make this more complicated? I need to RT-LT-Shot stick to dunk...really?

I set play calling to manual but for some reason I need to call my D each time, why won't they stay in a 2-3 zone? For that matter why aren't the defensive plays you called shown on the screen (not play art) but play names.

Why when I set play calling to auto, but play display on All do I not see the names of the offensive plays? the play art is great but I want to know what effin play I am running.

I know all my frustration comes from not knowing how to play this game, but I finally have an appreciation for people who say sports games aren't pick up and play anymore.

[Rodster]

My knowledge of BB is limited as well but I know that 2K10 has a practice mode for FT, Plays, Scrimmage etc. I would practice there at least that's what I do to familiarize myself with the game.

[GTHobbes]

I've read others saying they used Practice mode to improve. You can practice without a defense or with a defense all you want until you get the hang of the controls. Not sure if there are any tutorials in the game, but there are a lot of video tutorials on the net.