NBA 2K9 > Video Game News, Inc.

Monday, October 20, 2008

NBA 2K9
By kolop01 @ 9:48 AM :: 2392 Views ::

:: PS3

NBA 2k9 is the latest in a long line of sports titles from 2K and it has just about anything you could want from a basketball game; from the roar of crowd at opening tip off, to the sound of loud boos as you make the last shot on another team’s home court. You can manage your favorite team, play as your favorite players and try to see how well you match up against the world.

When you first start the game, you will be asked if you want to use the living rosters option. Living rosters updates players’ stats and injuries as the season goes on. If a player is in a slump, is hot, or gets traded it is supposed to reflect in game via a weekly update. Since the NBA season has not started yet I cannot give an opinion on this option, but if it works as intended, it can really add a whole new level to the game.

From there you go to the menu screen. The menu itself is difficult to navigate. Sometimes you use the left analog stick to bring up menus and other times you hit a button. It takes some getting used to. The lists of options from there are plenty. You can play the newly revamped association 2.0 mode which allows you to micro-manage your team over multiple years. You can negotiate contracts, assign player roles, make trades, and get scouting reports on upcoming teams you will be playing during the season and more. This mode is great for all the wannabe owners out there who want a taste of what it’s like to own a team. If micro-managing is not your thing, you can select season mode and play one season with your selected team, you can play a full season, or a partial season and not have to worry much about the small stuff, or if you want you can skip straight to the playoffs, because lets face it, you’re so good you playing a season is pointless.

Then there is NBA blacktop mode where you can take the game to the street. You can join a dunk contest, a pickup game, a 3 point shootout, a game of 21, or practice dunking using dunk school. A dunk contest lets you put your virtual dunking skills to the test against other NBA players. Unfortunately, 2K has made dunking so complicated it usually turns out being a trail of frustration. Pickup lets you play anywhere from a 1v1 game up to a 5v5 on the blacktop and it works pretty well. The 3 point shoot out would be better if it were not for the bad camera angles. It’s hard to shoot threes when you can’t see what you are doing and 21 is better if you are playing with friends.

2K has done a nice job of ramping up the A.I. and fixing some of the glaring bugs from last year. The computer learns your tendencies throughout a game and adjusts accordingly, so you have to switch it up once in awhile. You also don’t have to worry about missing easy dunks or lay ups this year. Unlike last year where you would miss easy shots all the time for no reason. If you get an easy shot now, it usually goes in. This was my biggest complaint last year.

If you think you are good, but want to see how you fair against some real competition, you can take the game online. Exhibition mode lets you play a standard game of basketball against an opponent. This works fairly well and if you play a ranked game and quit early, you get penalized. Team up mode is a new feature this year and is a great addition. It’s 5 on 5 basketball where you have ten online players each only having control of one player. This adds a very interesting dynamic to the game because you need to know the strengths and weaknesses of the player you control. You play from a third person view behind the player you are randomly assigned. It takes some getting used to but once you do it’s a very fun and addictive mode to play. You can also join a league. Leagues generally work best if you get friends you know to play. Trying to setup a league with random people never works because they usually never show up. You can also play a street game or dunk contest, which is not that much different from the offline modes.

The game looks and sounds awesome. The crowd reacts better than ever before and for once it actually sounds like a real crowd. The graphics are also improved from last year. The players look more life like, and are much more fluid in their movement then before. No more skipping or abrupt movement. The announcers are accurate and don’t repeat too often.

Overall this is the best basketball game I’ve played in a long time. With the addition of team up in online play and the fixed bugs, this is a vast improvement from last year’s game. The online does not work all the time, but 2K is aware of the issue and is currently trying to fix it. If you are a fan of basketball and looking for a video game to play, this is it.

9 out of 10.

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