What defines a basketball experience? Well, that really depends on the player at hand. If you're one of those hardcore fans who really appreciates the depth of stat tracking, keeping an eye on your team and making sure their chemistry works, then you'd probably enjoy an EA Sports effort. If you're quick with the arcade skills, tip your hat to the likes of NBA Jam, or maybe even Midway's one-on-one opus NBA Ballers. But no matter what, there is one series that balances the simulation and arcade efforts hand in hand, and that's Sega's NBA 2K series.
Launched back on the Sega Dreamcast, the series has become the hottest thing in town for basketball action. It shifted over to multi-platform in 2001, and added ESPN to the festivities last year. ESPN NBA Basketball has become a must-have game for basketball fans. Now Visual Concepts, the development team behind the powerhouse game, is back again, and ESPN NBA 2K5 looks to be the most powerful basketball effort yet.
The thing that makes this series work is its dominant presentation, and with an early hands-on test with the game, I found that the presentation has been left completely intact. The dramatic replays (complete with slo-mo), the ESPN attitude, the beautiful graphic layout, the atmospheric sound and punctuality of the announcing team, and, yes, the gameplay, are all back for a second round, bringing the experience that we know and love back into play. Of course, some new features have been added as well, and you're bound to love the changes.
This will be the second Sega Sports title to be offered right out of the gate at $19.99. This price alone is significant, as it helped push big numbers for ESPN NFL 2K5 (800,000 copies sold thus far) and will probably do the same for the forthcoming ESPN NHL 2K5, also launching for $20. A game of this stature is certainly worth full price, but the bargain price makes it a steal (an even better steal than Iverson sneaking the ball away from Kobe on a fast break!)
IsoMotion and 24/7 are back, and have additions that are sure to please. IsoMotion2 offers more refined spin moves, crossovers, and fakes to help you get to the basket, and also helps out when it comes to forcing turnovers or keeping confident players from trying to score. It's almost the same as in previous games, but you can tell it's a bit more focused. As for 24/7, it has more items to unlock, a few new mini-games to play, multiplayer efforts, and a respect engine that allows you to build up your skills further and even build yourself a fan base. Online play is also making a return, with stat-tracking, buddy lists, updates, and so much more to make your challenges more exciting.
The ESPN experience promises to be much more focused. You'll still have access to all sorts of ESPN stats and presentation, and being added to the mix this time around are Hall of Fame legend Bill Walton, offering his two cents to each new challenge, and sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya, who offers updates on injuries, switch-outs, and possible problems during a game. Visual Concepts is also making sure that the visuals and audio are perfectly in check, and have introduced some slick new lighting effects, animations, and better player expressions to make the experience more genuine.
The real gem here is the gameplay, and the developers have added some nice touches. First off is Reactive Court Sense, which allows individual players to gain some level of intelligence during a game and actually determine what sort of moves they make. This means better computer-controlled player actions, so while you maintain your player, they'll actually react offensively and defensively to help key plays reach full effect. Each team plays differently as well- some may rely on close-up plays and defense, while others will look for three-point opportunities and shot-blocking options. The depth here is staggering- you won't see the Nuggets pull off something the Clippers might do, unless the situation calls for something similar to that nature.
Of course, I mentioned IsoMotion2 and how it will help affect key plays, but there's also something called The Next Movement, which will actually be based on physical attributes above anything else. This uses a player's physical stature and abilities, so that particular plays can change with individual players. For instance, Carmelo Anthony might be able to fast break better than Nene. And, of course, Shaq makes a better blocker for the Heat than any number of players. Of course, this is a given, but here it's been utilized to actually work better in the gameplay, making it more realistic.
The playtest time I had with this game was a lot of fun, like the previous Sega NBA efforts, and this year looks to be another win for them. ESPN NBA 2K5 looks like it will quite the steal at $20, offering the deepest gameplay elements around along with some extraordinary modes, online play, and the best presentation this side of television.
Look at the 5th paragraph people, about the ISOmotion. ITS BASICALLY THE SAME!? HAHAHA, so they are basically saying there is close to 0(zero) freedom on offense when you are trying to go past your defender 1on1.
In 2K4 you pressed a direction on the right analogue and the player did a whole offensive attack type move based on the direction, and thats how it will be for 2K5!? ...bad choice. Live's offense will be much better IMO, because you can link together a string of moves before going into the offensive attack type move.
I think the graphics might surpass EA again this year though. And I still hope they have the same blocks they had last year, except make sure the hand gets on the ball when you block.
But That "Next Movement" sounds pretty cool, if they can get it to work right.
...yeah sure..why not.
