Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360

Still The Best…Despite EA Gimmicks!,

By Neal Robinson (McChord AFB, Wa.) - See all my reviews

  

Fun:

What did I do yesterday? I played 2k9 all night! Okay, I stopped for dinner, but that’s about it. Remember loading up 2K8 and going “Hmmm…not sure I like it.”? Well this is the same way. In 2K8 I initially thought that the animations were too much. That you go to do something and you’re out of control while he finishes the animation. This is the same way. There are new animations to get used to. But by the end of the night I was having a ball! You have to get used to the animations.
So, first I’ll start with my only downer…Clark Kellogg! I really miss Kenny “The Jet” Smith. Clark is just boring. He says all of the lines that Kenny used to say (I guess he didn’t have much original material), but without the flare. He would have made a better commentator and they should have brought someone else in to add the color. But Kevin Harland is still good and Cheryl Miller is neither here nor there.
Game-play’s a bit more realistic. There aren’t nearly as many slams, and so far the alley-oops seem realistic. And the computer plays much better defense now. You’re going to have to rely on a cross-over if you want to get to the hole. I have a tough time getting Iverson’s cross-over, but Melo’s is sick! It’s just a really quick cross-over and as you look up there’s a lane to the hole. It looks exactly like Melo’s cross, and then his slam looks like his slam…but you better hurry because the lane closes in a hurry as the defense recovers so you’ve gotta hit it!
The computer controlled players move more realistically this year. They cut and come off screens and set picks on their own instead of just standing around. And if you want to run a play you can turn on “play view”, which draws the play on the court for you. Oh, and the defense is smarter this year. If you get too hot with someone the computer will start bringing the double team. Didn’t stop me from going for 34 with Melo though!
Also, instead of assigning certain coverages to certain positions, you actually assign a coverage to a player. So when you go to the coverage screen you scroll through all 12 of your opponents players. That way if you had the double team on the power forward because KG is playing, you’re not stuck still double-teaming when his scrub back-up comes in. There’s also been another coverage setting added, “deny ball”. I like to use that on the post players to try and stop the entry pass. I’m not really seeing much of a difference in it so far though.
The graphics and animations are pure! Everyone’s shots look like their shots. Melo’s free-throw looks correct this year. Oh, and I’m playing from the “Broadcast” view. I tried to play from the 2K view I normally play but they seemed to have flattened it out (the camera’s not as high). And then for some reason the transition when you get the rebound and head the other way is kind of stuttery. Basically, if you’ve seen what they did to the view in Madden this is the same thing. I guess they’re trying to show the whole court. I’m actually enjoying being on the side again though. I haven’t played like that in years.
When you start playing don’t be immediately disappointed. Think back to 2K8 and know that it’s going to get better. The graphics/animations are amazing!! Oh, and if you play in Hi-Def make sure you take the time to look at the crowd. It’s not the blurry five generic people drawn 20,000 times. Oh, and there’s no “fatigue” slider. This year you adjust the “stamina” slider. I’m playing 8 minute quarters and have the stamina set at 44. 44 seems like they tire just a little slowly, but 43 makes them tire too quickly. I think 44 is about right. And I turned all of the fouls and stuff up to 60. So far nobody has fouled out but I do get people in foul trouble (playing 4 fouls per game).
Oh, and during timeouts you can boost one thing for your team (rebounds, defense, etc.). The book doesn’t tell you much, but there’s an in-game tutorial you’ll want to do. It’s under “practice”, and it lets you learn exactly how to do the everything from the basics to the advanced isometric moves.
So overall…one day in…color me impressed!
WTG 2K Sports!
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