NBA 2K12
Preview
Vying for the throne of best sports game
by Quinn Levandoski
previewed on PS3
Helping out the casual visitors
With all of these options, some of you may be thinking that this game sounds way too complicated for someone who has never really played a basketball game before. Fret not, as there is a new mode created just for you this year. “NBA on the Move” is a new feature that allows casual or new players to pick up the game with the Playstation Move and have fun immediately without the steep and intimidating learning curve often associated with most sports titles. This feature trims the game down to two buttons, pass and shoot. Beyond that, the player can use the move to point to a specific player to pass to, and the computer will take care of most of the movement, play calling, and choosing the individual player’s best offensive move when the shot button is pressed. Defense works similarly, with players able to target their desired defender with the move, and hit a button to either block or steal. This isn’t necessarily meant to be a mode that players will stay in for the long run, but it will allow them to observe different viable strategies and the overall flow of the game until they understand it enough to give it a try themselves.
Visit the high moments of NBA’s history
Lastly is the evolution of last year’s unique and awesome Jordan Challenge. Last year this was a mode that allowed players to play through key events in Jordan’s career, trying to reach certain milestones or goals in each instance. How can Visual Concepts evolve this into their next title without making it feel like a re-hash? Well, it appears the answer is to not only focus on Michael, but on fifteen of basketball’s all-time greatest players in the new “NBA’s Greatest” mode. According to 2K Sports’ Senior Director of Marketing Chris Snyder, the dev team spends a lot of time reading forums and message boards to really nail down what the fans want. What they found was that while people loved the Jordan Challenge, they thought it would be awesome to be able to control the likes of players like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem, and others.
“NBA’s Greatest” isn't exactly the same as last year’s mode, though. Gone are the specific challenges associated with each game, replaced instead with just winning the games themselves. This may seem like a downgrade, but in my opinion it’s actually a good call. Last year I found accomplishing a lot of the challenges to be frustrating instead of fun. There’s a reason MJ is considered the best of all time. The things he did were absolutely insane; so insane, that re-creating these feats is incredibly hard even for a gamer. I think taking these often extremely lofty goals out will allow the player to focus on enjoying the game the way it was designed to be enjoyed instead of always having ulterior motives in the back of your head.
When playing through the various games that each player can play in, gamers will be treated to more than a new roster. Each era of basketball is re-created in as much detail as possible. For instance, Bill Russell’s games on the 1965 Celtics will be in black and white, players will have tight jerseys and short shorts, and the three point line will even be removed to reflect the rules of the time. These changes are big enough to change the entire way you play. Without a three point line, you’ll want to work the ball inside as much as possible, and your AI opponents will change their style of play as well, resulting in a completely unique experience. After using each superstar for a certain period of time, that player’s team will be unlocked for use against other classic or current teams.
Breathtaking gameplay
With NBA 2k12 we have a game build on the foundations of one of (if not the) best sports games ever made, featuring a number of great improvements, being made by a team that really cares about what their fans want. This sounds like a winning combination to me, and when I’m flying to the rim with Magic Johnson, looking down at LeBron’s terrified face, I’m sure I’ll be nothing but smiles. It’s possible there may not be any NBA this year due to the lockout, but come October, it’s looking like we’ll be getting one heck of a substitute.
