NBA 2K12

With the first two weeks of the basketball season already kaput and the rest of the season in serious jeopardy because of the lockout, basketball fans don’t have a ton to be looking forward to right now. But if there is one thing that fans of the sport can be happy about, it’s the newest addition to the NBA 2K series. NBA 2K12 is probably the best basketball game I have ever played and might be up there with the greatest sports games of all time. Let’s see exactly why this game hits the mark on so many levels.

Gameplay

Let’s start with the one thing that really defines success or failure in any game; the gameplay. NBA 2K12 is really nothing new in terms of basketball gameplay, but there really was no need to change anything. The experience had already been so honed and perfected that adding in new controls would only mess up the already-perfect scheme.

The game does a good job of making it easy to make substitutions, call plays or tell the team what to do on the fly with menus that pop up when pressing the D-Pad in different directions. Plays are usually well executed by the AI players and the defense doesn’t just fold when you call a play, so the challenge is there. In fact, challenge is one of the things that this game does very well. Even on easier difficulty settings you will need to use every trick in your repertoire to take down the opposition.

The controls for the game are all very responsive and are pretty intuitive. I haven’t played a basketball game for a while (and never on the Playstation 3) yet I was able to jump right into the game and figure out the controls with ease. Shooting is probably the most fun aspect of the game and is done by pressing a button or holding down the right thumbstick then pushing it up when the player has reached the top of his jump. The mechanic is fluid but I prefer the classic “press X” kind of control. I am glad that 2K saw fit to put both controls in the game.

If I had to nitpick about the controls it would be the free throw mechanic. The problem is that timing the shooter’s release is unbelievably hard. A player like Patrick Ewing (yes, I know he doesn’t play anymore, it’s from the NBA’s Greatest mode) takes forever to reach the top of his shooting motion and it is unfair to expect a player to know how every basketball player shoots a free throw.

In addition to this nitpick; there are also some confusing times when your pass will go to a player that you seriously did not want to pass to. When I have Amar'e Stoudemire posting up, why would I want to pass across the court, through traffic, to Landry Fields? This doesn’t happen terribly often, but sometimes passes go where you did not intend them to go for no real reason.

However, nitpicks like these are few and far between. The game really hits the mark with gameplay and never gets dull. Once you pick up the controller and play a game, you will be hooked.

Graphics

NBA 2K12 looks really sharp, from the players to the hardwood court, the game hits the graphical mark and makes you feel like you are watching an actual broadcast of a game and not playing a video game. The fans are well-animated, the stadiums look impressive, the facial modeling on the players is top notch and the game just looks really great. I was surprised by how impressive the hardwood looked when I played my first game and that awe never really went away.

Running, jumping, passing, stealing and all of the little things that make the game of basketball so fun to watch are present and well animated in this game. Players run in different cadences, shoot the ball in unique ways and represent their real life counterparts in an authentic way. It is great to see each player’s shooting, passing, dribbling and running styles recreated in the game and it shows how dedicated 2K was to making this a great experience.

Presentation

If there is one place where NBA 2K12 shines above the crowd more so than in any other way, it is in presentation. This game makes you feel like you are not only playing a real basketball game, but like you are a part of basketball history. Every little detail in the game from the music video highlight reel before the game to the commercials for upcoming games in the “Association” mode make this game feel unbelievably polished and well presented.

The commentators are lively and do a fantastic job of putting together commentary that feels just like a real broadcast. The sideline reports are well done, the display images on the screen all feel like the real deal and the game just hits you with perfection all over the place.

One of the things that I always look at in a sports game is the crowd. With the rest of the game looking so polished, does the crowd live up to the rest of the game? In some games, the crowd is nothing more than a mangled mash-up of colors moving in unison (*cough* Madden 12 *cough*) but that is not the case here. The crowd looks very good and the people in the crowd move in their own patterns. You won’t see everyone moving in one coherent pattern; some fans will stand while others sit, some will clap while other don’t. When the situation gets critical in the game the fans will get to their feet and make noise like in a real game, chants of “defense” will reverberate from the rafters and the whole package just gets it right.

The NBA’s greatest mode of the game allows you to play as some of the best players in NBA history from Michael Jordan to Jerry West. The mode itself is fantastic (and I will get to it later) but the presentation is absolutely top notch. In the mode, gamers get the chance to step into the shoes of NBA legends and play a game that features a key matchup from the player’s career. For example, Larry Bird and his Celtics are matched up with Dominique Wilkins and the Hawks from the 1980s.

Each game is presented in the way that a broadcast from the time would be presented. Older player’s games are in black and white, games from the 70s and 80s are in not-so-sharp image quality and the rules of the time are implemented. Games before 1980 don’t include a three point line, defensive three seconds is not in the rule book and many more changes like that make you feel like you are watching an old broadcast.

In addition to all of that, the display on the screen is changed to look like the TV broadcast images from the past. Starting lineups, the clock and the scoreboard are all true to the time period that the game is from. The players wear the appropriate uniforms, the stadiums are either dressed up differently or are older stadiums depending on the teams and the whole mode is presented in a way that truly defines basketball history.

Game Modes

As I mentioned earlier in the review, there are a couple of different game modes that are available for gamers to jump into. Of course there are the exhibition matches where you can just pick a team and jump right into the action. But the real meat of the game lies in the other game modes, especially the Association mode and the NBA’s Greatest mode

The Association mode is NBA 2K12’s version of a season mode and it allows players to pick a team to control and take through the 82 game season, all the way to the playoffs. The game mode is easy to navigate, with the upcoming games at the bottom of the main screen. It is pretty cool to see a slider with “news” from around the league, like on NBA.com. You can see headlines about specific players wanting to make moves, coaches being fired or any kind of news that you would really see on a sports news site.

The actual gameplay is just like the exhibition matches but the broadcast adds in teaser commercials for upcoming games around the league, this is one of the best pieces of ambiance that the game has to offer. It really is just like a television broadcast. In addition to this, there are box scores and recaps of other games going on during the halftime report and a lot of great presentation.

The NBA’s Greatest mode allows gamers to jump into the shoes of 15 of the best players to ever touch a basketball. NBA 2K11 gave us a fantastic look back at Michael Jordan’s illustrious career, and now we get to play as some of the other greats in NBA history. Being able to take the court as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West or Patrick Ewing (among others) is one of the coolest things I have ever experienced in modern gaming. I was an enormous basketball nut when I was younger and all of the love of the game came flooding back to me once I stepped onto the court and took control of Patrick Ewing and my beloved Knicks from the 90s.

By playing and winning the game, you unlock the legendary teams and can play as them in exhibition matches. Not only do you get to play as the legend’s team, but also the opposing team. A lot of the time there will be a great team you play against in the mode and by beating them, you can play as them too. Legendary players like Clyde Drexler, Walt Frazier and Shaquille O’Neal might not be on the 15-man roster, but you can still play as them by beating their team in the mode.

Even the player select screen is awesome, giving a small bio on the player and playing a loop of some of their best plays. Seriously, watch Magic Johnson’s highlight reel and try not to smile as he whips the ball around to his teammates and leaves the defenders wondering what just happened.

Of course, the game also includes a few other modes and they are mostly hit-or-miss. The player creation mode is well-done and lets you live out your childhood fantasies of playing for a professional ball team. The street ball mode is ok, allowing you to pick some of the best players in the sport for your team, but it just seems a little lackluster. I think the real issue is that there is no presentation to a street game and because the rest of the game has such brilliant presentation, this mode seems to fall a little flat. It isn’t bad, but it’s not a mode that I will be replaying at all.

Final Thoughts

Basketball and I have a bit of a funny history. When I was a kid I was convinced that I would be a professional basketball player when I grew up. It consumed my life and watching the Knicks play was one of the great joys of my childhood. But when I went away to college the flame kind of flickered and I left the sport behind. I stopped playing, I stopped watching and I stopped caring.

But all of that went away as soon as I picked up this game and began playing. From Kurtis Blow’s awesome song “Basketball” playing at the beginning of the game, to the fantastic presentation and nostalgic moments, this game re-kindled my love for the sport. I am now actually upset that the NBA season is in jeopardy, and just a week ago I wouldn’t have even dreamed that I would be saying that.

The game hits the mark on the gameplay, graphics and presentation fronts but its uncanny ability to make me love basketball again is what makes it such a special game for me. It takes everything that is great about the game of basketball and distills it into a video game package. If you love basketball, like basketball or even moderately enjoy basketball, then this game is for you.