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30 September 2010
Baskeball gaming - at least in 2010- became a one-horse race as of two days ago with the "delay" of EA Sports' NBA Elite 11 that is now pushed back to 2011. That leaves hoops gamers with just one option presently, and that is 2K Sports' NBA 2K11 featuring Michael Jordan.
2K Sports was kind enough to send me an early copy of the game yesterday, so I dove into it for this hands-on preview.
Judging by my several hours with the game last night, I think it is safe to say that 2K Sports has done it again, and even topped themselves in ways I never would have guessed. You see, not only is NBA 2K11 the deepest simulation of the game of basketball to date, but it is also a feature-rich product that delivers way more than the standard current-day NBA teams and rosters. By signing Michael Jordan, 2K Sports decided to use his likeness to its fullest. Of course you get the standard NBA 2K game modes, such as Season, Situation Mode, The Association, NBA Blacktop, Online Leagues, Playoffs, etc. However, this year, we also get Jordan specific modes, such as The Jordan Challenge and "Creating A Legend" mode.
The Jordan Challenge is a historical game mode where you take year-specific Chicago Bulls teams up against year-specific opposition from the past. Lets take "The Arrival" scenario, for example. You are tasked with taking Michael Jordan and the '86 Bulls into old Boston Garden to face the '86 Celtics and Larry Bird. Winning is only part of the goal, as you have to try to score at least 63 points, shoot 50% from the field, and record at least 6 assists.. just like MJ did back in 1986. Other challenges follow, like the "Double Nickel" challenge, where you are charged with controlling MJ and scoring 55+ points against Patrick Ewing and the Pat Riley coached Knicks at Madison Square Garden. There are 10 such scenarios, each using a different historical Chicago Bulls roster against classic team opposition. Each one challenging you to match (or better) Jordan's stats from the historical game.
Sure, this has been done before, but not with this level of depth. Last Gen Madden football had historical scenarios, but the teams you played against were no-name players with deliberately "wrong" jersey numbers and names due to licensing restrictions. 2K went way further than that, and actually got rights to many of the players on the classic rosters in their game, and replicated those players in great detail. Seeing Magic Johnson's long-striding gait up the court and Larry Bird's very unique shooting motion just shows the authenticity that 2K Sports has achieved with this title. I was even pleasantly surprised when using the 86 Celtics that 2K Sports even licensed former head coach K.C. Jones to have his likeness in the game. Yeah, 2K went that far. As a big fan of the NBA from the 80s and 90s, this product really interests me more than any hoops game before it. These are the players I grew up watching.
That's not to say that the current day NBA teams have any less detail. Nothing could be further from the truth. But Jordan is clearly the headliner in this game, and you "get that" from simply putting the disc in. Rather than a big intro, you are immediately thrusted into Game 1 of the 1991 NBA Finals as the '91 Bulls against the '91 Lakers. What is simply amazing is that during this "playable intro", commentators Clark Kellogg and Kevin Harlan give accounts of the Laker's last opponent in that playoff series (the '91 Portland Trailblazers). Yes, 2K Sports even has their commentators giving insight from other games from that year. That is how far they went to make this product "authentic" in terms of the whole classic Michael Jordan era production.
Which brings me to the bigger point. Many people, including myself, thought the signing of Michael Jordan was a bit odd for 2K Sports. Sometimes, when classic players are used to push a game, in terms of game-play, they are usually just an afterthought. It is usually more of a "marketing department PR move". (Example: Desmond Howard being the cover athlete on EA's NCAA Football 2006...long after he retired.) However, with NBA 2K11, Jordan is not just the cover athlete, he is essentially a "multiple game mode focus". Once you complete the 10 Jordan Challenges, you can go into MJ: Creating A Legend mode, where you get a rookie Michael Jordan (rated 79 out of 100 and sporting his fade haircut and first generation Air Jordan Nike shoes from '85) and can draft him onto whatever current NBA team you wish, and you can try to see how a young Michael Jordan would progress through today's NBA. While doing that and playing multiple seasons, Jordan ages accordingly. It is the ultimate "what if" scenario.
Even beyond that, you can also import any of the classic teams into the season modes of NBA 2K11. So you think the Miami Heat will be too dominant this year? Okay, why not replace the current Celtics with the '86 team, or put the "Bad Boys" of 1991 back in Detroit, featuring Rodman, Thomas, Dumars, Laimbeer, etc? Wanna see how Kobe and Magic would have gotten along? Go ahead an port over the 1991 Lakers and put Kobe Bryant on the team too. Sick of the laughing stock that is the New York Knicks? Okay, bring over Riley's 1995 squad with Oakley, Starks, and Ewing. It is all up to you.
The graphics and sounds are also top notch. I cannot say enough about the commentary work by Clark Kellogg and Kevin Harlen. These two must have spent weeks recording situational dialog that seemlessly integrates into the in game situations. They really set the standard for what in-game sports commentary should sound like. On the graphics front, all looks fantastic. The level of detail on most of the players is jaw dropping (see Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in-game photos above). The game looks as good as it sounds. The framerate is also very smooth. 2K Sports has really built this engine over the years into the deepest basketball experience around.
As far as how the game controls, that's where I do have some mild criticisms. There's no denying that this series is aimed at the hardcore crowd, but though I've played this series every year for the past 10 years, the controls can be a bit daunting in terms of special dribbles, drop step combos, pivot modifier button presses, context specific moves, etc. The controls are deep, and you don't have to "know" them all. The average player can get away with not having to perform such complex manuevers, but it sure helps to know some of the more advanced moves. Luckily, there is a practice mode with a tutorial to go through. (And once you check out all the new controls, including the new IsoMotion 2.0 dribbling controls, you'll probably want to re-start practice several times and go through everything again.) But the game is so darn good that I find myself practicing things like crossover dribbles and Euro-hop-step dunk manuevers just to add them to my in-game arsenal. Lots of depth here, but it might be intimidating to new players. This would be particularly true of players who haven't been exposed to 2K Sports basketball and are coming over from playing NBA Live 10 last year. Those gamers should definitely start on "Pro" difficulty (default difficulty) to get the hang of things before upping the difficulty. With some games with this almost daunting level of depth, this might be an issue, but NBA 2K11 is so darn good that I see most players WANTING to learn the controls instead of being put off by having to memorize some of the more advanced ones.
Aside from the complexity of the controls, my only other gripe is the fact that 2K Sports went through all of the trouble to include all these great classic teams and players, yet the game is not set up for you to be allowed to use classic teams online. To me, that's a pretty big headscratcher. Hopefully this gets rectified in NBA 2K12.
But as far as how everything feels in-game, the game simply feels like a basketball game should, and its a credit to 2K Sports that they've stuck with this gameplay engine and refined it over the years. It has really paid off for NBA 2K11, and I think 2K has a bonifide classic on its hands with this release. This is one game I highly recommend.
Scott Hemphill
Co-Founder, Senior Staff Writer
ConsoleSports.net
(Be sure to check out some Bird & Jordan in-game highlight videos I made with the 2K Reelmaker below)
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