NBA 2K12 Review
Game: NBA 2K12
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K Sports
Available on: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, iOS, PC (Reviewed on Xbox 360)
Given the current lockout that threatens to cripple the forthcoming NBA season before it has started, there isn’t a great deal of stuff for basketball fans to get excited about right now. Pre-season games and training camps have been nixed, many of the regular season games have been cancelled or are under threat of being axed, and some players, unsure about when the stalemate, a ding-dong between the National Basketball Players Association and NBA owners over salary cap negotiations amongst other things, have decided to up sticks and sign contracts to play for top European sides.
Although there were some moans about suspect AI and dodgy graphics, in particular the animation of the players, NBA 2K11 was, up to now, the pinnacle of pure basketball simulation videogames. Being a thirty-something games reviewer, who is a long time fan of the sport, but an abomination of a player when I actually attempt to shoot some real-life hoops, 2K games gave me the opportunity to feel like a proper armchair basketball superstar, such is the high quality of their output. Last year I was, in the comfort of my own home, just a spectacular afro away from feeling like Dr J. With a bunch of new features, and promises of improvement in the visuals and AI department, does NBA 2K12 Rock The Baby and jam it home with authority?
As it stands, an accurate basketball simulation would involve the likes of Lebron James and Kobe Bryant knocking about at home, doing nothing. Given their off court indiscretions and “larger than life” personalities, a title following those two around does have the potential to be a decent GTA-style romp, but that’s not going to happen. Gamers expect a corking yearly hoops game to get stuck into. For arcade action, look no further than EA Canada and their excellent recent NBA Jam update. But that is a scaled down approximation of the sport – something which just isn’t fair given the very high standard of the other clutch of circa 2012 sports sims – take a bow Madden, NHL and FIFA – so praise be that using some excellent gimmicks and avoiding some of the issues of the lockout that even permeate videogame representation of the NBA players, 2K Games return with a 2012 sequel to their fantastic NBA 2K11.
GRAPHICS: Developer Visual Concepts promised improvements and I am pleased to say that they have delivered. There are still a few strange looking players on the rosters, but the more recognizable superstars are instantly identifiable as they prance about on the courts. The NBA Legends are rendered superbly, with a stunning attention to detail that stretches to the inclusion of old-school style kits with shorter shorts and the jerseys of each particular year. Certain players throughout the game even feature their real-life signature shoes.
The arenas are brilliantly presented, right down to varying sized crowds, that increase or decrease depending on how well your side is performing. The front end is just as slick, with pre-game introductory video, “commercials” before games, exciting and realistic team entrances really setting the scene. One of the best touches is the way that the retro matchups are presented through grainy, or sometimes black and white filters to make it seem as though you are watching classic stock footage and have been magically transported back in time.
SOUND: The sundry noises of a packed basketball arena are captured beautifully, with effective crowd noise, chants, the familiar squeak of expensive basketball shoe-on-hardwood, and all the other noises fans of the sport are going to expect. To proper fans though, and by that I am talking about sports nerds like me, it is all about the commentary. In this day and age there is no excuse for mundane, repetitive broadcasters, trotting out the same old phrases for every situation that might crop up, the technology and expertise is available to help make a sports sim seem just as credible as a televisual broadcast in the punditry chat stakes.
NBA 2K12 features what may just be the finest commentary of any sports game to date. Sure, there are some bits and bobs that get repeated from time to time, but the work put in here by TNT’s Kevin Harlan and former three-point shooting maestro and five-time NBA Champion Steve Kerr, is exceptional. It is all about the level of detail; the combo revel in furnishing us with all manner of information about the players, their collegiate backgrounds, a baffling array of stats, player nicknames, they even poke fun at some of the ballers, and each other. The historical matchups are enhanced twelvefold with the inclusion of genuinely interesting information about the legends on display
The excellent vocals also stretch to the inclusion of NBA Commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver, who read out the draft picks when you are playing through My Player mode. It is surprising they found the time to get involved, given all the other flak they must be dealing with right now.
Of course, being a sports title, there is also a fully licensed soundtrack to accompany the action and front end. Rather than being full of the commercial hip hop or angsty grunge so beloved of our American brethren, the 2K12 playlist throws up some surprisingly cool selections, with leftfield hip hop from the likes of Zion I and Dels, indie kids catered for by Friendly Fires and Aussie art-rockers The Death Set, and me personally sated with the inclusion of Hudson Mohawke’s “Thunder Bay” instrumental and hip hop legend Kurtis Blow chiming in with his very apt, very cheesy “Basketball”.
GAMEPLAY: With a superb “shot stick” mapped to one of your analogue sticks, that allows a complex array of shot types, it won’t be long before you are pulling off all manner of amazing tricks, ranging from punishing jams to subtle finger rolls into the basket. Such is the depth imbued by the shot stick, you can even select which hand to use when delivering the rock toward the net. The AI is unforgiving and at times the computer defenders can predict your plan of action with Mystic Meg-like foresight, but it is certainly not unfair, in a sport where maintaining possession and winning a chess-like duel with your opponents’ defence is hugely important, you will need to learn how to play to the strengths of your team and make intelligent approaches to scoring. There are no fifty foot high flaming somersault dunks or unpunished fouls here; it is as accurate a simulation of the game that you can find anywhere.
There are a wealth of cool game modes. The best is the NBA Greatest mode, which allows you to match bona fide legends of the game against the superstars of 2012. Ever wanted to see how His Airness would match up against King James? You can here. There is a veritable pantheon of NBA royalty, Larry Bird, Stockton and Malone, Scottie Pippen, Julius Erving, erstwhile Airplane co-pilot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson are all playable. It is awesome. The legends even feature their own signature moves, so you can pull off the likes of Michael’s iconic Air Jordan dunk, or Hakeem Olajuwon’s Dream Shake. How cool is that?
Returning from the last game is the exceptional My Player mode, where you can take on the role of a rookie and work your way through from the Draft all the way up to the Basketball Hall of Fame, should you wish. The overall experience, with the huge level of detail, incredible presentation and eerie realism, means that My Player equates to actually living, albeit vicariously, as an actual NBA player. Which is some achievement.
Association Mode allows you to take control of a franchise, even playing with up to 29 friends online, for a whole season. It includes all of the trades, negotiating and roster management you would expect, thankfully with the annoying lockout being ignored.
LONGEVITY: The single player experience on offer here is among the most rewarding and long lasting you will find in a sports game, period. With a raft of online modes, leaderboards and achievements to unlock, NBA 2K12 is going to last you a hell of a long time, and this coming from someone who was still engrossed in the 2K11 incarnation when this little beauty turned up on my doorstep. The new and improved inclusions in the Legends stakes add even more to an already cracking package. Sports fans love their heroes of yesteryear, and there are none bigger than the impressive array of Hall of Famers on display here.
VERDICT: The best just got bigger, and better. With the present lockout only slightly affecting their NBA package (there are no 2011-12 rookies, and 2K were unable to market player likenesses, hence Michael Jordan being used as the cover star), Visual Concepts have given us the most sophisticated, deep simulation of the sport yet seen. If you are a fan of the sport, or indeed a fan of sport in general, you owe yourself to pick up this magnificent effort.
Swish!
