NBA 2K9 (PS3)

NBA 2K9 takes a few steps forward and a few steps back. In the end ... try the demo.
10/16/2008 6:42 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 3

Online mode on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 introduces full five-on-five play, allowing you to join up with friends across the globe and take the AI completely out of the equation. It's something that hoop fans have dreamed about for a long time. Sadly, they're still dreaming, because the lag in these 10-player games is unbearable at the moment, both via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. In the 20-some games I tried to play, only four worked from start to finish.

The games that did work featured people playing a hybrid brand of basketball. Players cherry-pick, refuse to play defense, hog the ball like sixth-graders on the schoolyard, and generally have no idea what they're doing. This isn't necessarily the game's fault -- you can "rate" online players all you want -- but people are still going to act like fools when given the chance. Playing with friends remains the best option, and if you can get just a few buddies together the lag isn't a problem -- but the full five-on-five feature is currently a total bust.

What's not a bust is the new presentation and overall atmosphere. The player models and animation are second to none -- much better than EA's NBA Live 09, for instance. Not only is everything silky smooth, but players move and shoot just like their real-life counterparts. When Kobe takes his patented jumper, the resemblance is uncanny. The graphics on the Xbox 360 look slightly better -- they're a bit shiny on the PS3 -- but both versions look incredible. If you're stuck deciding which game to get, keep in mind that the PS3 version lacks Trophies, whereas the Xbox 360 version is loaded with Achievements for Gamerscore addicts.

The crowd gets into the game this year like never before, booing when the home team gets down big and going certifiably crazy during a tight game in the fourth quarter. A new wrinkle is the "Intermission" cut scene, which gives a true-to-life television presentation feel to the game. During timeouts, you are greeted with specific highlights from the previous few minutes of action -- not just the dunks, but also the plays that mattered -- like a key 3-pointer or a timely steal or blocked shot.

The game certainly looks and sounds picture-perfect; the only major issue is collision detection. It's way too common a sight to see the ball "phase" through a defender, or an arm go through another player's chest.

Franchise mode, dubbed Associated 2.0, remains a strong point. The stat model and player progression are much better this year (although players are still too slow to retire), and the player roles and personalities (a feature carried over from NBA 2K8) keep you on your toes. A new Ambition model is added to the mix this year, showing whether a player worries about money or playing for a winning team, or is loyal to his current club. The Association mode is deep, littered with stats, and allows more than one person to play so that roomies can battle it out against one another. It would be even better if the core game weren't as schizophrenic.

It's easy to pick apart NBA 2K9's problems, but despite its frustrating controls and AI issues, the core foundation is still in place. It takes time and a lot of tweaking, but you can get this game to play a moderately realistic brand of basketball by fixing some (although not all) of the AI's issues via in-game sliders. When it clicks, it's as fun as it has ever been. But sports gamers are getting sick and tired of being forced to do that. If 2K Sports truly wants to make an "authentic" game of basketball, then the default player settings should reflect that. If gamers want to play a 2K Sports version of NBA Jam -- let them tweak the settings day after day instead of punishing the core fan base.