The Official PC/PS360 NBA 2K14 Impressions Thread

[Jackal]

Jeez, work the fucking sliders and settings and stop whining about how your gaming experience has been ruined.

[Patr1ck]

Jeez, work the fucking sliders and settings and stop whining about how your gaming experience has been ruined.

[nextnba]

Jeez, work the fucking sliders and settings and stop whining about how your gaming experience has been ruined.

There is something wrong with the slider! LOL

[iforgotmypassword]

here's a very small issue that i have, almost insignificant.......but, why is Manu Ginobili a starter for the Spurs. He's been a bench guy most of his career can't they stick him as the 6th man with his minutes cranked up to 30? Every year in every game it's the same.

[Andrew]

Well, he did start the final couple of games of the Finals.

Perhaps they figure he's the one people want to play with alongside the Spurs' starters out of the box, particularly online.

[deluxxe]

Jeez, work the fucking sliders and settings and stop whining about how your gaming experience has been ruined.

I would if there was a slider for "turnovers caused by glitchy animations".

[Jackal]

Then quit playing. Curse you 2K for ruining a handful of players gameplay.

Now how about the thread go back to impressions instead of constant whining about how terribly broke the game is and that you just can't play it if it remains this way.

[fjccommish]

Pssst, you're complaining about people giving their impressions of the game in an impressions of the game thread.

[Andrew]

Well, it is getting to the point where there's a separate discussion taking place on how to tweak and improve the game. It might be for the best if new threads are created for that, so that useful tips and information doesn't get lost in a catch-all thread for quick impressions/mini-reviews.

[Jackal]

Exactly, I'm all for bettering the game with tweaks here & there and visit this part to do just that, gather information from fellow gamers..

But I like this thread because I wanna see what people who just got the game think of the game, all the whining & subsequent "omg lets find a fix or else this game is ruined foreva!1one!!" can be separate from this one.

Anyways;

I'm about 30 games in to an association and I'm still loving it. I'm yet to take some time & re-do all the coach profiles though. In previous games I would play on HoF and still manage to go 70-12 or something (or just quit because it got boring) but this year I'm around 20-11 and it's a challenge every time. Really like the post game this year & I've gotten fairly used to the B button for the pick, I'd prefer it be the bumper though. Not using the new controls...miss alley-oops.

[mortiis]

plese name me one real basketball game where they leave you open non stop through 48min and you can score 50 threes in one game?
if that isnt worth mentioning constantly and if it isnt worth fixing i really don't fucking now what is it then!?
whats the point of making offensive plays,put ball down to the post players etc etc when u can just walk to do three point line and hit it wide open...so basically this game is just,get to three point line and shoot shoot shoot and some more shoot...

[deluxxe]

plese name me one real basketball game where they leave you open non stop through 48min and you can score 50 threes in one game?
if that isnt worth mentioning constantly and if it isnt worth fixing i really don't fucking now what is it then!?
whats the point of making offensive plays,put ball down to the post players etc etc when u can just walk to do three point line and hit it wide open...so basically this game is just,get to three point line and shoot shoot shoot and some more shoot...

Game 6 Lakers/Celtics 2008

[Andrew]

plese name me one real basketball game where they leave you open non stop through 48min and you can score 50 threes in one game?
if that isnt worth mentioning constantly and if it isnt worth fixing i really don't fucking now what is it then!?
whats the point of making offensive plays,put ball down to the post players etc etc when u can just walk to do three point line and hit it wide open...so basically this game is just,get to three point line and shoot shoot shoot and some more shoot...

No one is saying that it isn't worth talking about, though it runs the risk of being a repetitive discussion when the same things are said over and over again. However, it's at the point where it's starting to dominate a thread that isn't specifically about that topic; what we have here is a more in-depth issue that's at a point where it can be spun off into its own thread, where the problem and possible solutions can be talked about at length.

Here, I'll get you started:
viewtopic.php?f=151&t=93205

[DamirNYK]

Think I'll skip playing 2k14. Unless next gen is released for PC.

My 2k13 is so pimped up it looks far better than the current 2k14, has a lot more player, draft classes, and I can use 2k14 CF's in 2k13.

Hopefully 2k15 will be a lot better with the next gen having a year under the belt, maybe losing some of the baby bugs it surely will have!

[Andrew]

Next gen isn't coming to PC this year. It remains to be seen what will happen with it in the future.

[Spree#8]

OK, I got the game and played around with it for a bit, I can offer some in-depth impressions now.

I'll start with what's been improved the most - defense. While perimeter defense controls are still slippery and imprecise, it's now possible to create contact with the offensive player, possible to block shots or force more difficult shots and it's great. Most noticeably, blocking is back in the game which is awesome. There are some people saying it's overpowered and there's like 10 blocks a quarter in 2K14, but I haven't seen anything like that. I'm usually getting about 6-7 blocks per game as a team. People who are complaining about too many blocks should take into account that a vast majority of blocked shots are close shots and layups and the CPU goes inside every single time, which artificially increases the block count. Besides, if you don't like the blocking, just decrease the blocking slider - I don't see what your problem is. Like I said, I'm seeing pretty realistic block numbers, but even if I wasn't, I'd take 15 blocks per game over 2K13's 1-2 blocks per game any day of the week. Defending the perimeter and drives is also a bit better with the contact animations, so all the defensive upgrades alone are reason enough for me to call the game much better than 2K13.

Other than the new exciting feature that is defense, the gameplay is mostly unchanged. CPU still wants to force their way into the paint on every single possession. Most of the time, it seems they're trying to run a play and if that play doesn't get them a wide open shot, they pass it back to the play initiator who then goes into "bulldoze my way to the paint" mode, doesn't care about getting bumped 5 times on his way and finishes a layup or gets it blocked... over and over and over and fucking over again. Most games, CPU's point guard ends up with 20+ FGA while a non-PG star only takes 5-7 shots. It just reminds me of the "PG domination" problem from old Live games - except you can actually defend those point guards in 2K14. While it only happened once thus far, I had the CPU team not make a single jumpshot until the 3rd quarter - they only took like 3 or 4 jumpshots in the first half and missed them all. And then, of course, there's the rebounding. It still sucks ass. It looks as if they just lowered some hidden sliders/attributes/whatever, because all the bullshit from 2K13 is still in the game, but it happens a bit less often, so it's not as agonizing, still incredibly annoying though. Also, the "slow motion contest" animation is still there and it sometimes causes you to miss a nicely timed block attempt.

Another thing I want to talk about is the AI teammates' defense. It's clearly improved - they now attempt to rotate when they think somebody's getting open, they're more active (I even had a teammate tip a pass and force a turnover before I could switch to him - wow, pretty sure I haven't seen that in the game since 2K11) and aware of what's going on. It needs to be tuned a bit, because sometimes they make a really dumb rotation - on one possession a teammate left a great shooter open in the corner to stop a point guard's drive, but the PG wasn't even in the free throw line area yet and there were teammates closer to the play who just stood and watched. They also tend to be extremely passive to help on drives, but overeager to help on the perimeter. I see major progress though - even if they sometimes do something stupid, my teammates are now interested in playing defense and everything they try to do has a purpose, it's not pointless wandering around 2K12 style. Besides, setting "deny ball" defense on a player you don't want left open usually does the trick. It has to be deny though - "play tight" doesn't do anything for some reason.

New controls? Don't like them one bit. If you want to have dribbling and shooting on the same stick, modifier is the way to go. It really gives you full, precise control: no modifier=dribble, hold modifier=shoot. The new stick keeps you guessing - even if just for a split second - what you're about to do, if you held it for the proper amount of time. I was taking many unwanted shots in my first two games, as well as dribbling when I wanted to shoot, so after that I found myself focusing way too much on releasing my stick buttons quickly or else I'll just shoot it. I was able to get competent with it, but I'm not comfortable. I know I can switch to 2K13 controls - and I've done just that - but, as probably everyone knows by now, it makes alley-oops and flashy passes impossible. That's just glorious. "Please give the new controls a chance" is not the fix I was hoping for, 2K. I guess it remains to be seen whether they can be bothered patching that or if we - especially PC players - should be glad that the 2K13 controls option at least doesn't break shooting or basic passing. By the way, I see quite a few people disliking the new controls, so perhaps 2K's stats of doom will tell them they should keep the option in the game.

Let me vent a little bit now, because 2K and their controls philosophy is another issue. I'm getting kinda tired of them constantly changing the controls. In 2K13, they really got them right (except I still wish I could get 2K11 post controls back), so of course we see another overhaul. When was the last time we didn't see a controls overhaul? 2K10? What's worse is that most of these changes are completely unnecessary. Like many people have already said, flashy passes are a gimmick. Getting rid of the shot/dribble modifier for that is just dumb. Don't know about others, but I was perfectly fine with flashy passes being contextual. If you really have to make them manual, find another way. Lack of a manual bounce pass was a real problem, but this? Come on. Making changes for the sake of making changes is not smart game design. Changing controls every year for little to no reason is a great way of making your fanbase believe you have no idea what you're doing. Look how the alley-oop combo inexplicably changes pretty much every year. If there's actually deep reasoning and a sophisticated thought process behind that, feel free to let me know.

The only thing changed in Association is that a lot more players opt for free agency in the offseason and generated rookies all have 25 layup attributes and 0 shot inside tendency (well, either that or all-50 coach profiles which apparently mess up the gameplay pretty good - I can't tell since I opted for screwed up rookies, 95% of them are worthless dipshits that can't do anything but dunk anyway). Haven't even tried My Career, but from what I've seen and heard the only new things are stricter attribute caps and twitter challenges from other players while teammates are still really stupid. I think I'll just keep my 2K13 one going, especially considering that developing your guy now takes for fucking ever with the genius SP system introduced last year.

Overall, a really good game. The defensive improvements are vast, regular 5v5 gameplay hasn't been this good since 2K11 and for that I can honestly say "good job, 2K" for the first time in three years - with one major gripe being the rebounding as the CPU's "get to the paint at all costs" mentality can be at least affected by some tendencies edits. This game doesn't require a major patch, but a few fixes and tweaks are needed and time will tell whether PC players are worthy enough to get them this year. If the lack of defense was pissing you off in 2K13, you need to get 2K14. If you don't care too much about that, stick with 2K13 because except for defense and new, wacky controls (and slightly broken old controls option), there's not much new stuff to see here. In many ways, this is just a patched 2K13 - it's what 2K13 should have been. For me though, the defense makes an enormous difference. If we get a patch, I really hope they don't listen to the block whiners and destroy the blocking right back. Don’t touch it, look at the rebounding and/or CPU offensive gameplan instead.

[Andrew]

Good write-up.

I'm still not minding the new Pro Stick that much. The times that I've taken a shot accidentally aren't nearly as numerous as I thought they might be when I heard about the change, though it certainly has happened. For what it's worth, supposedly this is the culmination of everything they've wanted to do with their tweaks to the controls every year. It'll definitely be interesting to see what they do moving forward.

[Patr1ck]

I'm actually having the opposite problem with the pro stick I can't seem to initiate layups fast enough and over dribble into the paint.

[fjccommish]

How does 2K claim improved playbooks as a feature, then ship with so many plays that don't work, then not fix it?

[bowdown]

Got to give credit where it is due. Lebron picked a great soundtrack. Only one song annoys me and I muted it (Started from the bottom) but the rest are very nice.

[fjccommish]

The soundtrack is awful. I turn the speakers down on the menus, because the message in many of the songs is very bad.

[JaoSming]

Oh please fjccommish, we all know you're the hottest bitch in this place

[bowdown]

fjccommish doesn't like to get lucky apparently.

[volsey]

Got to give credit where it is due. Lebron picked a great soundtrack. Only one song annoys me and I muted it (Started from the bottom) but the rest are very nice.

Agreed good mix of songs and genres. I don't mean to offend anyone but I think I may hate anyone who thinks started from the bottom is a good song. That song makes me more angry/dissapointed in humanity than aids.

Again I like jumping in here, posting thoughts, and seeing how my view of the game changes over time. Started an association (downloaded a decent looking highschool draft class off of 2k Share that seems pretty good, haven't checked potentials though), and am loving the game. The pace as I've said numerous times is awesome, inside game is pretty good. I just played the Pacers and wow, tonnes of Off. Rebounds, and quite a few blocks, just felt like a rugged griddy team to play against. LOVED IT <3

For those still up in air about buying current gen (probably not many at this point), I'd say it boils down to this. MyCareer or Association. MyCareer was dissapointing in that shot selection was whack, teammates seemed to play dumber overall (dribbling out of bounds, running out shot clock, passing to players out of bounds) than last year. That's having played quite a few games at 3 different positions.

5v5 Association gameplay is however greatly improved. Pacing, floor space, CPU AI, teammate defensive AI, inside shot success & frequency, run 2K smart play, improved UI, and then numerous little things that couldn't even really be called bugs, but have plagued the game in previous years, all lead to a much better experience, and easily the best basketball sim ever.

Some random things that gave me a broner
+other players and refs pass the ball across court to the inbounder instead of making him WALK all across the court
+free throw shooters won't take their second shot until AFTER you exit the quick sub menu, allowing you to take more time to make subs
+late game CPU AI seems to actually take quick 3's when appropriate
+more noticeable team and coach styles (Pacers will punish you, Knicks take a lot of 3's, Magic really suck at everything)
- don't know how to call for picks when controlling an off ball player (inbounds)

[shadowgrin]

5v5 Association gameplay is however greatly improved. Pacing, floor space, CPU AI, teammate defensive AI, inside shot success & frequency, run 2K smart play, improved UI, and then numerous little things that couldn't even really be called bugs, but have plagued the game in previous years, all lead to a much better experience, and easily the best basketball sim ever.

+late game CPU AI seems to actually take quick 3's when appropriate
+more noticeable team and coach styles (Pacers will punish you, Knicks take a lot of 3's, Magic really suck at everything)

volsey's post just half-way convinced me to buy 2K14 PC, the other half is if 2K stopped being an ass and releases a patch for the PC, unlike last year.