Reviews October 10, 2011
NBA 2K12
Reviewed by: Bryant Crawley
System: Xbox 360 (Also on PS3, PC)
Genre: Sports
Rated: E
Players: 1-4 (2-10 online)
Cost: $59.99
Release Date: 10/04/2011
Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Visual Concepts
Let me get this out of the way so you won't dismiss this review as ignorant gushing. NBA 2K11 was the best sports game of all time. Period! End of story. The inclusion of classic teams ranging from the Seattle Sonics to the rugged Detroit Pistons, the improved graphics engine, and the few core gameplay tweaks all made 2K11 a real treat for both new and old NBA fans alike. I honestly thought NBA 2K12 had no chance to match what NBA 2K11 accomplished, but I was wrong. In some ways it improved on the near perfect 2K11. But in others…well, let’s just say some elements would have more sense showing up in the failed experiment known as NBA Elite 11.
One of the things that fans of the series are going to notice right away is that the gameplay now runs at a more fluid, organic pace. In previous versions, player movements were often seamless, but were sometimes buckled by awkward animations. It could ruin the experience and make you realize that you were playing a game. Now, the player movements are seamless and the animations have never been better. All the animations in NBA 2K12 have all been tuned to look identical to how the real players move on the court.
A big focus for this year's game is the re-design of the post game. All you have to do is press ‘Y’ to get into post. Hop step is now a part of the shot stick, which gives the player more options to easily dominate the court. It felt weird at first, but as time went on, I enjoyed this year's controller set-up more than last year's setting. Much like the post game, the overall defense has been improved. No longer will AI run out of position, giving up an easy bucket. Now players will deflect and steal passes if you're not paying attention to who you're passing the ball to.
Michael Jordan returns to be the cover athlete (well it depends on what COVER you receive since Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are on the covers as well) for NBA 2K12, but the story is really about who’s playing with him this year. One of the things I loved about the Jordan Challenge last year was the fact that it allowed you to relive some of the greatest moments in Jordan’s career. Whether it be the Finals Game against the Blazers where he was on fire in first half or his last game in a Bulls uniform which led to the “push off”, it was great to relive that history. Now with the Greatest mode, I felt that 2K really dropped the ball in regards to letting fans recreate history. All the mode is now is just simply win the game and move on. That’s it. No milestones. No fanfare. Just boring to me! There are 15 total legends you can play with, ranging from favorites like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaq and Michael Jordan, to old superstars like Jerry West and Bill Russell. After you win a match, you are awarded with the ability to let NBA’s Greatest players face off against today’s superstars.
The Highlight and main attraction for me in NBA 2K12 is the presentation. It’s simply staggering how they captured and recreated the best sports broadcasts in a game. In the commentators' booth, for the first time we have three play-by-play commentators, with Steve Kerr joining an already stellar cast alongside Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg. Steve Kerr gives real incite about your favorite player with a dose of humor and brief Basketball trivia. 2K Sports has gone to great lengths to present basketball games as they were presented during their era. I found it odd to play Bill Russell's Celtics in the mid ‘60’s and have it presented in black and white, but it grew on me and I found myself having a better appreciation for the NBA and how it has changed over time.
My Player Mode, one of the most popular modes in NBA 2K11, has received the most changes this year. If you thought My Player was impressive before, then you're going to be blown away by how much has changed. The gameplay has been vastly improved, more accurately reflecting real-world gameplay. I was drafted as a point guard for the Indiana Pacers. This time I was not automatically given an important role like last year. I had to work my way into the starting role, but because it’s more streamlined, the mode is incredibly rewarding. New to the mode is “player contracts”. You can now bargain and control where you want to take your talents during the off-season. Besides rookie contacts, you automatically have the power to change a team into playoff contenders or be the missing piece to the triangle offense. This plays into post-game interviews, something that has been greatly expanded. One of the few problems that still remains with My Player Mode is the cheesy AI. Far too often, the AI would storm back while my teammates acted like Lebron James in the 4th quarter. Overall, My Player is a sweet gateway that NBA fans can spend endless hours in.
Association Mode returns, but it’s mostly the same, which is a good thing (more on this shortly). Association Mode puts you in control of your favorite team. Thanks to a bump in presentation values, Association Mode truly jumps off the screen. Trade AI is smarter than ever offline and it won’t be fooled again (YEAAA). Commentating makes playoff games seem important, as you eventually win an NBA championship. The newest addition to Association Mode is the new online feature. This is where I found NBA 2K12 the most troubling. The Online aspect (not just Association mode but all of online) seemed broken and watered down. The first problem that I ran into was the simple fact that nothing really was explained when it came to Online Association. Not in the booklet, not in the online manual. The online association is broken down into segments; you can advance the start of the season 3 ways: Slow (24 Hours), Normal (16 Hours), and Fast (6 Hours). The time goes alone with the day, so if you set the time for Normal, you would have 16 hours to play a game on that exact date. Get comfortable with those times, because those cannot be changed after they have been set. Yep, locked in stone! The actual commissioner of said league or association really has no power. The only power they have is to pick another administer for the league or boot people, that’s it!
Another problem that we ran into, it’s a set clock before you can actually start the season, meaning once you entered in all of your stuff and got your friends and family ready to join the league you still have to wait an additional time period before you can actually start. The only real workaround to this would be to do a fantasy league. When you actually go to start the season, you’ll notice you are given error messages when you try to invite players to a game. You heard me; the only way to actually play games is to play the computer, not a real player in the league. The trade logic seems to be a lot dumber then the logic in the offline association mode. I’m not exactly sure how this happened at all. Hopefully a lot of stuff can be fixed down the road but for right now it’s broken and for a game that is relying on this feature to help sell the product its really a lose-lose situation.
NBA 2K12 is a great game. If you only play the game offline then you’re going to be in for a real treat. However, once you play this title online, you’ll see the weakness of 2K. My player mode, and the Greatest Mode are both hits and small misses in some aspects (still wish there were milestones in The Greatest mode but that’s just me) but when you try Online Association, you’ll wonder what exactly happened to the greatness that is 2K12. The online seems broken and if we go by 2K’s track record it will not be fixed. I can’t say this is the best sports game of 2011; heck, I can’t even say this is title is better then last year. What I can say is that this will be the only game of Pro Basketball you’ll be seeing for quite some time. Thanks NBA Lockout!
Game Play: 10
The game play is still is as perfect as ever, but this year its more fluid and less herky jerky type animations.
Graphics: 9
Still some weird looking player faces to be found but over the years, that’s getting less and less! Good job 2K!
Sound: 10
The crowd sounds great, the announcing teams are always and the on the court sound effects and the best ever!
What’s New: 2
The Greatest mode would have been great if it was combined with last years Jordan Challenge in regards to meeting milestones to advance but we don’t get that option. Add to that the touted feature of Online Association being broken, making you wish 2K left this feature on the shelf for another year.
Replay Value: 7
It has a ton of replay value except if you decide to take this title online, then it doesn’t have much value to it.
Final Score:
7.6