I agree with drss and even said earlier in the impressions that I'm not getting 2K11 day 1 like I originally thought. I will only get Elite 11 because it's more fun than 2K11. The initial hyped feeling I had playing the 2K11 demo went away the more I played. It didn't feel fun but more of a chore. I just kept trying to play it to figure out the controls and get used to the wonky movement, again. With 2K11, it's basically more of the same. Isomotion is just not the move for me and to be quite honest, I usually stop playing console b-ball games not that far into my season, to begin with so, all that extra stuff that NBA2K may have, at the end of the day, for me, becomes moot. I get bored and...or aggravated like with Live 10's annoying little things. Lol. Live 10 would have kept me playing through out the season if not for those ludicrous canned two player foul animations and "cheating". Loved the controls then and love it even more, now, although everything else seemed to get stripped down. Eh.

Whatever the case, I like the foundation of Elite 11 although it was a bad risk, imo. They could have skipped this year to get ish tight. What did they have to lose? I think, though, just like I was sucked into the controls of things to the point that all my other complaints went away and I see the demo completely differently than I initially did, I think EA was so deep into their game that they couldn't see outside of it and maybe didn't realize how gamers first playing it would be taken aback and even turned completely off without giving it a serious chance.

At any rate, Elite 11 only for me for a while then 2K11 will come later to get my old Jordan and Bulls fix.

Regardless of if you play 2k11 or not.. there is nothing you can say to the immense amount of work they put into the game trying to improve everything, shots, dribbling, movement, association, new modes, you name it

All I hear on this side is excuses about time again and how they enjoy it and how fun it is in the office. Really?

DJ, I wish half of these guys wouldve took out the time to edit Live 10 all the way through then look at this and say its okay.

Live 10 = death patch, ncaa bball 10 = no patch, and E. Lite is severely lacking as an nba sim

I feel more rewarded by 2k's controls then lives honestly because when I make my movements it actually looks like the person I'm playing with actual likeness. I have issues with isomotion to a degree but its much more rewarding than elites because whats played out is realistic. Controls aren't elites problem either, its what happens on the court, how it happens and how it looks. I personally would not Pay 65$ for a sub par game where the commentary seems more polished than the actual gameplay mechanics. Especially when they have a commercial showing Tyreke Evans doing moves but when you play the game that move isn't even there and if it is, it's generic and no where near what you see in the commercial. I'm not trying to bash the game i'm just pointing out facts that elite doesn't capture NBA ball at all outside of the skins that they put over the generic players running up and down the court. The moment to moment action is terrible as well.

23 - People like me don't have the time or, even, desire to get that deep into playing games like they used to. If u have the time, desire, and dedication to edit Live 10 like u did, that's u.
For me, it's a somewhat quick gaming fix. I tweak some sliders to my liking, if needed, but that's about it. I'm looking for fun, mostly, at the end of the day, but I get you're p.o.v. however, not everyone is going to share what you think. Everybody games for different reasons. Yes, Elite 11 is a big let down from Live 10, I believe, but I can't deny how I feel about Elite's controls making the game very fun for me.
What 2K does is status quo. It's really not impressive anymore to a person like me yet I fully respect and adore the immense efforts to replicate the look and "feel" of the NBA but the achilles heel to me with that series has been that iso-motion and the movement. For me, the fun level is not that high when I feel like the controls don't give me immersion. Visuals wear off after a while to a person like me but if a game can marry controls AND visuals, wooo, I fall into the gap, so to speak.
If you think people are making excuses for EA, that's fine. It's your opinion but other people have opinions, bottom line, and if someone enjoys particular things than what "the masses" do, hey, allow them that.
I do believe that EA's sports game engines are the issues. I've said it time and time again. Look at how stripped down Elite is to try to fit in new controls and RTP, even down to the menu screens and fonts. They are far limited than to what 2K's sports game engines can do and I really don't think EA would take such butt whoopings in reviews by "professional" reviewers and "the commoners", alike, if it was that easy for them to completely swap out engines without losing out on their bottom lines. I'd be pretty sure that they've hashed out all this, trying to figure out the best route for the company and gamers. It still comes down to "dollars and sense".

*Not to mention, the butt whoopin' in sales.

Trey man come on, I dont have time to edit ratings, I just did it to try to make the game more enjoyable before I traded it in because of that broken patch then the worthless one that came thereafter.

Everyone doesnt have to share my view, but im sorry man... what the status quo is, is EA releasing another generic game, taking short cuts and making excuses yet charging full price anyway.

That has been their status quo all this gen. Im sorry but thats not something people will be drawn to. 2k has definitely had its low points, but because they listen to their fans, they'll always have a great base of fans to garner their needs and implement it which will keep them strong.

Here, not so much

2 touch upon 1 statement you made....i have some guys on my friends list who loved live...i used to always tell them that 2k was the better game as far as overall value. I used to say that live doesnt create a game for everyone. meaning, if you have no interest in online then its really not that great. but these guys latch on to 1 thing they find fun in a game and 4 them that justifies there purchase.

also i seen somewhere someone say that Elite is/was made for online 5 on 5...where no AI is involved at all. my question is thats cool, but why dont they just release an online game like Tekken Online.

now i dont know you or what type of influence you have..but im glad your speaking up. I dont understand the EA/2k loyalty. my loyalty is to my money that i work for and whoever produces the best overall game.

my question for you who whoever reads this is why do you think that ppl dont speak up with their money by not supporting the game..seems like ppl say " i know its not up to snuff but im still buying it anyway...

those guys i told you about none of them like the Elite demo...yet they're going to buy the game anyway...i try to explain to them that thats the exact reason why these games hardly ever be up to snuff. all it would take is 1 yr of not buying Elite or Madden and im pretty sure the next yrs game would be a significant improvement.....

on top of that video games are like one of non food things you cant take back if it doesnt live up to your expectations....

so why do you think that ppl continue to support these games...sorry if its incoherent as it got pretty long

You said it like a true fan of a basketball simulation should have 23. It's shameful people protect arcadey garbage like ELITE.

basketball fans and gamers everywhere should applaud this write up!! this reflects the sentiments of many

great write up. couldnt have said it better myself, Elite is absolute trash (yes i learned the controls). 2K i think had the perfect balance of control and animations, its a thing of beauty. and for people saying they couldnt learn 2Ks controls.. how in the world did you learn Elites? 2K has an insight showing all you need to know about controls and theyre incredibly easy to learn.

Please don't defend this game (still not calling someones hard work trash) because this is unacceptable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTTKa...layer_embedded

They will definitely have to patch this but what will the patch do to an already buggy game. SMH.... I can't believe that the people on the dev team envisioned this when they said hey lets revamp.I'm sorry EA has lost a basketball consumer until they do something revolutionary. The sad part is everything that was in live 10 will be in elite 12 and people will eat it up like its brand new. You know what no more political correctness, "This Game is Toilet Waste". Nobody asked for these changes in the NBA LIVE forums, So why should anybody invest time and money into it. I mean seriously, to the people that are buying this game, Does NBA Elite 11 look like a NBA Game that you would see on TV. Do Human beings move like Fluttering 2 legged bugs with rubber boundaries on the sides of them that make their movement seem somewhat restricted? Control right, you can keep your control because 2K has control too and it obviously is more rewarding. Lmao the slogan for elite should be "Wanna play NBA ball, well don't buy this game". Sorry for the rant but that vid that I just saw broke the camels back. I asked a 60 year old who cares nothing about games, which one she would buy for her kid after showing both ( I didn't say anything that would sway decision) and of course she said NBA 2k. Her reason had nothing to do with playing like NBA players, she said "The Models and the way they move look more realistic. And the other game the players are to small and they move funny". Hmm if 60 y/o can see it how come these diehards can't. Yes I know everybody is entitled to his or her opinion but come on, controls are what sells you? so a game can have minimal amount of movement, but as long as it controls okay you'll pay 65 bucks for it when you have another offering that has both at the same price? I'm done ...smh

IV THA UNITY - Again, respect someone else's opinion if it differs from yours, and 2K's controls aren't "obviously rewarding". Maybe to u but not to me or, even, some other people and do YOU really care about what some 60yo thinks about a video game? I know I don't...

TreyIM2 I am respecting other peoples opinion, Thats why I was asking questions. I have NEVER missed buying a EA version of BBall. This to me is very disturbing. And when I say rewarding, let me explain what I mean, Elite will get stale very quick due to the lack of aesthetics ( Visuals ) put in the game. You can tell me the kinesthetics ( overall feel ) are very rewarding all day but when the controls outweigh the amount of polish the game has it's not as rewarding and it will become stale very quickly because even if you have so many ways you can manipulate the controls you don't have many ways that animations will play out. This was a golden opportunity for EA to capitalize on something special.

For example, lets take 2K animations and pin them on NBA Elite, but have them play out in ways that create signature with every controller movement. So give players like Derek Rose his basic crossover. Then his Sig Exaggerated crossover, His Hesitation Move, His Go moves meaning the moves he does when he drives off of the dribble. Don't put shooting on the stick. Then Imagine what coupling those animations and Dribble drives while controlling your player off the dribble would look and feel like. So you would be able to Mimic Derek Rose on the fly controlling every move.

Regardless of what people may think, Not much went into the design of this game. It seems as if they said okay lets break every move into segments and let the player control these segments. Dude thats not much of a Design Plan at all, Especially when the moves are generic. You can like the game but why would you support it and hold the Basketball Genre back. NBA Street ( Every version ) Had much better design to them and they were arcade games that had more depth than this. This is just from a Design standpoint. The reason I believe this game is so Bare bones is because, MAYBE, EA wanted to hold off on putting anymore money into their BBall games because Live 10 didn't sell that well. So lower the budget make less progress recoup some money loss through saving on overhead. NBA LIVE 08 Had the same dribble moves as Elite 11, the exact same minus very few additions to their Dribbling library. Also think about who we are talking about, this is EA, They are probably selling two incomplete games for the price of one but making the consumer think otherwise. I am very anxious to hear their postmortem report after this game releases. I want to know How development for this game went and what problems they ran into, to only be able to come away with such a minimal amount of polish for this game. I won't even talk about the ps3 version.. ughhh!!! I will say the more you let a company do what they want while taking your money the more they will continue to half *** their products. But as you say Every one has their own opinion, its just sad that some people settle for 20 sheep when they can get 1000 sheep for the same price.

And truth of the matter Trey, I don't have to respect a persons opinion, because if I did there would never be debates. I will respect the person, and not attack them, but I will debate, and debating is the opposite of respecting opinion. This is how ideas are bought about and innovation happens and I think this is something that EA lacks. They aren't allowed to debate decisions being made because of their development structure. Unless you get a deal like Infinity Ward which is rare in the game industry.

I dont know why people still pay the piper. The one year everyone didnt was in Live 2007.

Im a huge basketball fan myself man, I still have NBA 09 in my collection lol.. hey man its their last game so im keeping it.

That said, the controls talk is funny. As stated on the OS radio program, Controls is not just dribbling, control extends to defense, blocking shots, etc..etc..

Still im not up in arms about controls.. if you saw my mixes for Live 09- and Live 10 you'd see I had no issues with controls, but dont work on the thing thats already strong then come to me and tell me you're making a sim when you're really making a game for people who doesnt even play your game.

Remember they came to us and lied about what was going on, calling it revolutionary... shoot.. really all they did was loosen the control more and add a shot stick. A shot stick, Yeah man way to go out on a limb.

Czar was right, this game was not made with us in mind. Its a shame people are asked to accept more of less. Bad graphics, bad gameplay, bad animations, bad depth, but hey... love you some dribble controls right?

i might be the only cat on OS not really shocked to disgust by elite. and i'll tell you why...

fifa, madden and ncaa none represent their sport AT ALL yet we accepted the marginal, baby step improvments to date.

fifa, if anyone watched football they know 2-5 passes rarely gives you a shot on goal, no team can pressure for 90+ minutes, the cpu cant walk, and in the box they have no( offensive awareness a basketball term) of if they have the best shot or a teammate may have a better angle they fire like a proximity mine everytime.

maddden- they NEVER NEVER use their superstar players. i just got a stat last night watching NFL playbook, the falcons are targeted their WR White 31 times in 2 games. thats their star WR and they are going to him early and often, yet in madden this NEVER HAPPENS. the AI is pure trash in terms of any football logic and star player priority, if i played 20 games white would have a total of 20 catches.....

Ncaa same as madden and cant run the option, imagine if a basketball game could not get a pick and roll right. well thats NCAA......

anyway ELITE like these other games is an online simulator, GAMING OFFLINE is a thing of the past with these developers.

its not just basketball thats gone to the dogs its sports gaming in gereral, why improve AI when we could have people determine thier own tendencies. And on the graphical side i dont see it getting better anytime soon. the skinny models seem t be EA's trademark look of their Bball. Look at all past lives they were all skinny IMO