Editorials August 29, 2010
NBA 2K11 vs NBA Elite
Written by: Bryant Crawley
Date: 08/27/2010
NBA 2K11 versus NBA Elite: A rivalry like any other
In a little over a month and a half, the NBA sports gaming season kicks off into high gear and this year looks to be better then ever. On one hand you have the King of the court, 2K series, and on the other you have the up and coming NBA Elite series. Just five years ago this wasn’t the biggest sports gaming rivalry, it was NFL 2K versus Madden 2004. My how times have changed! The NBA 2K series has usually dominated the sports gaming market (only game bigger is Madden) but the Live series has gotten closer in gamers minds over the last two years. Things took an interesting turn last year when EA hired away Mike Wang, the lead game play designer of the 2K series. This move was huge inside gaming circles because the man behind 2K was now in charge of the Live series. Would this mean that Live could finally surpass 2K in the terms overall game play? In a short simple word, no! 2K continued to dominate even with Live’s improvements. So what happened? Well after Live shipped EA let go of Wang and decided to go in a new direction, a completely new direction. NBA Live was no more, and in its wake comes NBA Elite. This brings us to now. Let’s check out some highlights of both games!
NBA 2K11:
NBA 2K11 made a huge splash and that was even before a second of game play was shown off. Michael Jeffrey Jordan has signed to the 2K series. Not just in name only but you’ll actually be able to control the Hall of Famer in what’s being called the “Jordan Challenge.” The “JC” mode lets players experience some of Jordan's most memorable moments in his career and defined him as a player.
There are ten moments that are outlined in this mode that players need to get thru to unlock the ultimate goal, being able to use Michael Jordan in My Player mode. Yes you’ll be able to play as a young, raw, talented rookie MJ and carry him thru his career on any team you desire. Want to relive his days with the Bulls? You can. Want to see what life would have been like if the Blazers originally drafted him instead of Sam Bowie? You can. Want to put him on the Heat with Bosh, James and Wade (Which would be unfair but doable)? You can!
NBA Elite:
With the name changes comes a complete change in direction for the series. Literally! This year everything will be controlled by the right analog stick. What makes this more interesting is the fact that Elite will add real time physics to its controls. Meaning nothing is going to be a robotic animation. Something that has plagued the NBA EA series for years!
Everything is improved whether it is simply rebounding, defense, shooting, dribbling, etc. Everything is improved with the new controls. Along with new controls, Elite has added legendary mode. This mode is in the vein of NHL or FIFA series and not Madden and NCAA (Thank goodness!). You’ll have to complete the 23 levels to attain ones career, also there are Jordan milestones (I’ll get into this later) throughout the game. Plus just like in NHL and FIFA there is the EASBA which lets you take your personal character online and put them in a team setting. Hopefully your team will be able to compete for championships but no one from EA is saying.
The other basketball game I left out of the conversation, NBA Jam, will be making an appearance with new copies of NBA Elite for the PS3 and the 360. Now you won’t be getting the whole game but you will be getting a pretty good size sample of the Wii version minus one mode (Remix Tour) but with the subtraction comes the addition of online mode for the PS3 and 360.
One common theme for both sports games (besides that they are basketball games) is that they use the “Jordan Brand.” Elite actually uses the brand with the shows, the logo, etc. while 2K actually uses the man. Neither one is bad thing; both use the brand in very different ways although as a gamer I have to say this is very confusing. It’s sort of like Jordan the man versus Jordan the Brand in some weird way. This was a great counter by Elite in regards to the Michael Jordan signing.
Back in the days there used to be competition for the sports gamer, whether it’s MVP Baseball versus Major League 2K, NFL 2K versus Madden NFL Football, or we could go way back in the day of Joe Montana Football versus Madden NFL Football. It seems like now a days there is no competition. None in football (thanks NFL), none in hockey (thanks 2K for a destroying a great series), and none in baseball (once again, thanks 2K for destroying a great series). The lone bright spot is basketball, where over the last two years both EA and 2K have been locked into a battle to see who can come out on top. 2K has won the overall sales battle but in my humble opinion EA has won in the terms of quality. This year is no different. We won’t know exactly who comes out on top until October 5th but until then, we as gamers should be thankful that unlike other “sports rivalries,” this one has no chance of letting up.