VIDEO GAME REVIEW: NBA 2K9 was the best basketball simulation video game I've ever played hands down. So, it was natural to get hyped up for the 10th year anniversary installment expecting it to sharpen a few blurry corners of 2K9 and the new features I've been hearing about developed for 2K10.
NBA 2K10 has a ton of hits but also has a few disturbing misses that I thought they've already permanently erased from past versions.
The first noticeable improvement on 2K10 is the graphics. The faces and skin are extremely detailed. Every mole, every drop of sweat, and every skin flaw are on full display. Eye movements are more realistic. You can now "hear" what the players are shouting and saying whenever the camera takes a close-up during stoppage in action.
But, interestingly enough the jerseys and tattoos don't look as good as last year's game. I'd rather have the developers skim on background graphics than anything that matter most.
The controls on post-up plays have changed. The backdown button is gone. Instead, the left stick controls the player movements while the left stick controls the shot. It will take some getting used to, but fortunately there's now a post-up session in practice mode.
There are problems that go along with this new system. One is there are certain angles where even a great post player cannot back down a defender. You are then forced to drop-step pump fake or execute an up-and-under move to get a shot off.
The turbo feature has been dramatically redesigned. Depending on the player's stamina level, you have at least 3 to 4 seconds of turbo before you begin to slow down. But the weird thing is the players feel more sluggish even on turbo compared to 2K9 which will most likely make you even more depended on the turbo button.
It's no longer as easy to go around your defender even without "Intense-D" which adds a level of absurdness when you consider Kobe Bryant having trouble going around against anybody.
There is an annoying glitch of the new game design where your player will try to back down a defender when you get close enough trying to run pass him. This is part of the problem of removing the back down button. The game has a hard time identifying when you're trying to go around your defender or attempting to post-up.
Average-to-bad post players can sometimes make the most outrageous hook shots over good post defenders. A lot of times on shots to beat the 24-second clock! On that note, the game still hasn't corrected that annoying feature of anybody with a 70 or above 3-point field goal rating being automatic when beating the 24-second clock even with "clutch factor" turned off. What's up with that?!
A one man full-court pressure by any point guard ranking 70 and above is sometimes enough to keep your point guard from getting past the half court line before the 8-second count, especially when your point guard isn't a road runner. Ridiculous!
For some reason, the game also does not allow you to stand close to the player you're defending at all. Each time you try, the game automatically moves your player just outside an arm's length from your guy. So if you're guarding someone who has a quick release like a Ray Allen or a Rashard Lewis, a quick pass to that player will give him more than enough space to launch that three no matter how good of a defender your player is. That's pretty cheap!
Instead of concentrating on what new songs to add or what new features (which most are pretty useless...trust me!), why can't Visual Concepts just add to the game instead of constantly "revising" things that already works?
Visual Concepts also boasts about putting an easier dribbling system. Really? I could barely notice the difference.
On another good note, commentators Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg have a more believable back-and-forth talk and will now comment on your team's progression to better or worse during the game, your streak, your playoff chances, key games in your schedule, etc. However, the game still uses a lot of their 2K9 dialogue which sounds out of place no matter how they're mixed into the new ones.
But the best new feature of 2K10 is the ability to save your game at anytime! Yep, even in the middle of a game. When you load your saved game, it starts off exactly where you left off! Sweet!
Overall, NBA 2K10 is mainly an advertisement for those new to the franchise (or to those Lakers bandwagoners). While the new graphics, new roster, new commentaries, and new post play system are much needed improvements, the rest of the game are nothing more than disappointing "filler" features to an already great franchise.
NBA 2K10 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports). Platforms: Playstation 3/XBox 360/Playstation 2/PSP/Wii/PC. Genre: Sports. Player(s): 2. ESRB Rating: Everyone (E)
GAMEPLAY: B-
GAME DESIGN: B
STORY: N/A
GRAPHICS: A-
SOUND: A
MUSIC: B+
VOICE ACTING: B
REPLAY VALUE: A+
RENT OR BUY?: Buy it!
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