NY Post "Hands-On" with NBA2k12

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Call me a pessimist but I believe NBA 2K12 will likely be the only taste of basketball fans will be able to enjoy this season. That is not necessarily a bad thing.After spending some time hands-on with NBA 2K12, I can definitely say it is my frontrunner for Sports Game of the Year and will certainly be considered for Game of the Year.

NBA 2K12 does not stray very far from its roots by keeping the same core gameplay that made NBA 2K11 one of 2010’s best games. Rather than blow up a system that has proven to be successful, the team at 2K tweaked and tinkered with the gameplay, presentation and overall feel to improve this year’s installment.

The first thing that is immediately noticed is the presentation and graphical upgrades in 2K12. In the exhibition matchup I played (Heat vs. Mavericks) the opening sequence made it feel as if I was about to enter a big game and it truly felt like a televised broadcast. I was told the sequence would change every time and there would be different highlights and introductions shown based on the game.

In addition to the visual presentation upgrades, there was also a noticeable improvement in the commentary. Hundreds of new lines of commentary have been added, in addition to bringing former NBA player Steve Kerr into the fold. The commentary team now talks about things that happened last season in the NBA and not just basketball-related. In one sequence there was a discussion about LeBron James and his purchase of the Liverpool football club.

Graphically, the game has improved. The faces of players are more recognizable and every single one of the player’s tattoos are authentic and accurate. (How long do you think 2K spent on the Denver Nuggets’ players?). Coaches have also been revamped to look more authentic.

The gameplay mechanics remain largely unchanged but there have been some tweaks made in order to simplify the controls. Posting up in the paint is now triggered by pressing the Y button (or triangle on PS3), and calling plays can now be done with the press of a button.

The depth of the game has also been increased as players can now assign specific plays to each individual player on the roster and create their own personal playbook.

Players will also notice a different “weight” associated with each NBA player. To explain this simply, it will be easier to make cuts and crossovers with Rajon Rondo as opposed to Dwight Howard. This is a welcome addition that adds a certain level of realism to the game. Also, passing has been tweaked so that if you do not execute a smart pass, it will almost definitely be intercepted and start a fast-break for the opponent.

The real fun part for me was to have a chance to play the NBA’s Greatest mode. Playing as Bill Russell and the 1960’s era Celtics was absolutely incredible. The presentation was very simple, in black and white, with the sound coming in a little grainy, in essence it was how someone would have watched the game in the 1960’s. In addition to that, the game’s rules and regulations were accurate with no three-point line and different rules regarding the shot clock. The announcers were just as vibrant and accurate as they were for a current generation NBA game, rattling off stats and color commentary regarding not only your team’s superstar, but the other players as well. The players look, feel, playing style and mechanics were also incredibly accurate (I couldn’t really score with Bill Russell unless I was under the basket). During my demo I noted that NBA’s Greatest could have been a game unto itself.

All-in-all, NBA 2K12 is shaping up to be a slam-dunk and one of the best titles this year.

NBA 2K12 hits stores October 4.

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Last edited by iPrototype on Sun Aug 28, 2011 1:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Link doesn't work

Sorry about that, copied from my forum. Don't know why the ellipsis on NLSC doesn't work

*Updated

The depth of the game has also been increased as players can now assign specific plays to each individual player on the roster and create their own personal playbook.

I am pumped I know shadow I am easily entertained

Heck yeah.

The depth of the game has also been increased as players can now assign specific plays to each individual player on the roster and create their own personal playbook.

What? They were assigned to positions, not players, last year. I still need to fix mine up, actually, since I replaced Fish in the starting lineup with Brown. Which wouldn't happen if they were assigned to those players.

The idea that risky passes are now picked off, however, is silly.

So long as they've adjusted what the game considers a risky pass. A few too many sensible passes or not-too-risky passes got picked off in NBA 2K11. Another preview mentioned that psychic steals have been removed, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

Which basically means it's the opposite of what the preview said.

Personally, I'm sick of skip passes that get picked off because they don't get above head height, and having passes into the post picked off by the guy defending the passer because it went 20 feet into the air and gave him time to back up and get under it.

The depth of the game has also been increased as players can now assign specific plays to each individual player on the roster and create their own personal playbook.

What? They were assigned to positions, not players, last year. I still need to fix mine up, actually, since I replaced Fish in the starting lineup with Brown. Which wouldn't happen if they were assigned to those players.

You beat me to it, koberulz.

The depth of the game has also been increased as players can now assign specific plays to each individual player on the roster and create their own personal playbook.

What? They were assigned to positions, not players, last year. I still need to fix mine up, actually, since I replaced Fish in the starting lineup with Brown. Which wouldn't happen if they were assigned to those players.

The deal is that was supposed to be implemented last year for 2K11. iirc it was in a Developer Insight but somehow they didn't get to fully implement it (or I misunderstood the Insight). Though assigning plays in 2K11 is better than the previous versions imo (EA, Wang?). I'm just hoping that they get it in the game for real now and not some PR BS for the game reviewers.

There's also the issue of the defensive shading in the post which took them 2 years to fix. iirc again, they said (in a Developer Insight) that they fixed it for 2K11. Still flawed. And now I read a review that says it's now a thing of the past for 2K12 (something about drop step not being a cheese move anymore unlike in 2K11, which was also the case for 2K10). I'll believe it when I see/play it.