I’m not professional or even particularly experienced as a game journalist quite yet, but I do have a set of ideals that I think my reviews should adhere to. One such idea is my theory that, when applicable, the reviewer should try every part of a game they might expect a reader to experience. NBA 2K11 does not give a damn about my review-writing ideals.
As a long time fan of the franchise (wow, I’ve been playing this series for literally half my life) I knew there would be something for me in this year’s entry. Last year, it was My Player mode. This year, I expected to spend all of my time playing online because Visual Concepts has stated their emphasis on a smoother online experience. Then, they played their hand with all of this Michael Jordan nonsense. There’s a Jordan Challenge mode which has the player re-live some of MJ’s major career moments. The developers even went as far as bringing back all the teams and players from that era of the NBA, so when you play Bulls v. Jazz in the NBA Finals, John Stockton is still a beast. After that piece of information, 2K Sports released footage of the re-vamped Association mode and all of that looked amazing. Soon after that, the game was announced to have PlayStation Move support.
Now, just over one month after NBA 2K11 has hit shelves, I’ve played 100+ hours of it…and I have barely scratched the surface. You see, the problem is 2K11 feels way too good. Often times in the older 2K basketball games animations were prioritized over actual gameplay. It was commonplace to drive the lane planning to put down a reverse only to have your character hop step and finger roll leading to an embarrassing rejection. 2K11 gives the player so much more control over everything that you’ll very rarely perform the wrong move, provided you take the time—and you really should—to learn the advanced moves. The game also has a mind-blowing number of animations which can be canceled or altered, furthering the Ben and Jerry’s-esque decadence that is controlling NBA 2K11.
With this in mind, I jumped online as soon as I got the disc out of its case. That smoothness transfers perfectly to the online game. For the first time ever in the series, the first time in eleven years, 2K Sports has found a way to make the online gameplay identical to the offline game. Obviously a poor internet connection sullies this, but more often that not, it’s perfect. If you remember releasing your shot on free throw attempts a second too early to accommodate lag, you’ll be cheesing like Kobe after game seven upon your first trip to the line this year.
From there, I was somehow tempted into My Player mode, again. The short of it is My Player is better now than it was before. It’s very similar to last year’s mode but 2K has refined and tweaked it into a much more user-friendly, entertaining way to play. If it could smell better, it does. Unfortunately, this mode is plagued by one of the many reported glitches in 2K11 as of this writing. More than 80% of the players I’ve encountered have suffered a glitch that essentially prevents your character’s progression in My Player. 2K Sports have very recently announced an upcoming patch to fix this but it is a very real problem right now. Given the nature of the mode, players will inevitably form a very strong bond with their virtual rookie and having the developer tell you to wait a few weeks to continue his career hurts way more than my self-perceived coolness will allow me to admit.
I’ve spent more than 60 hours playing My Player and countless hours competing online. Just those two sections alone have me convinced NBA 2K11 is the greatest sports game I’ve ever played. I have barely begun the Jordan Challenge. I have never even accidentally started up Association mode. I’ve used the previously awesome, no doubt improved, NBA Today feature maybe once. These are major parts of the 2K basketball games that I’ve essentially ignored in 2K11, because the small section I have experienced has me hooked. Realistically, I’ll probably never have the time to delve into all of those other modes.
Not since last year’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves have I seen a sequel this much better than its predecessor. Considering this game was made in less than one year, NBA 2K11 is arguably more impressive than the title most people consider to be this generation’s crowning achievement. Having played maybe 20% of the game, a proper in-depth review is beyond my capabilities, but I can definitely say this: if you care about professional basketball games, you are guaranteed to get more than your money’s worth here. NBA 2K11 is the pinnacle of the genre.
Edit: Less than 48 hours after I posted this, a patch was released fixing the glitches mentioned above and further improving the game in a number of ways.
Hubert Davis