NBA2K10 - Retiring The Legends - MessenjahMatt's Blog

MessenjahMatt's Blog

NBA2K10 - Retiring The Legends

Posted on October 11, 2009 at 03:38 PM.

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It puzzles me. I keep searching for a logical answer... did the NBA make them do it? Was it even on purpose or just an oversight? Some mix-up in the code? Whatever the reason, retired jersey numbers are off limits in NBA 2K10.

The great pool of legends in the game are rendered virtually useless when reuniting them with their old teams. Unless you don't mind seeing Magic Johnson run showtime as #10, or the Admiral David Robinson posting up with #14, and don't forget the classic moment when #52 Patrick Ewing was posterized by the G.O.A.T.... what number was he again?

It seems all the different departments canceled eachother's efforts out this year when it comes to MJ.

On the plus side you have...

A refined CAP system to accurately sculpt faces.
An "Air" Dunk package! Something that has been requested a lot and finally made it in.
More accessories, including compression shorts.

But then...

No #23 on the Bulls
No "None" option for hair, the first time I've ever seen that removed. The Short Stubble is passable, but still shows a visible hairline when switching between it and "The Patch".
Pretty frustrating to see the perfect mustache option under goatee
Still no 90's or 80's style uniforms (length, not design), which makes the compression shorts hidden at all times.

Now, I know what some people have and will say.. "It makes the game more realistic." or "The numbers are retired in real life so they should be retired in the game." but that's a copout. 2K9 had the best of both worlds, if a player was traded to a team, in which his current number was retired, the CPU would automatically switch it. BUT it would still allow the user to go in and change it back manually if they wish. So why was this system thrown out in 2K10? Again, I'd love to know.

For now, we wait to see what's contained in the upcoming patch. Hopefully a system like 2K9, but Ron over at the 2K Sports forums didn't sound very optimistic when this was brought up in the patch suggestion thread: "I don't think this will be changed, but I'll write it down." I'm not sure to take that as a "This was done deliberately and won't be changed" or "There's more important gameplay issues to be fixed". The latter is understandable, gameplay should come first, but I hope they're able to give this some attention because it's a huge part of the game for a lot of people.

It's certainly put a halt to my re-creation videos, but my annual "Where Amazing Happens" one can still go on through the magic of Photoshop. Check out the preview of one of the photos below (The only one I've finished so far), a little callback to my first ever video on 2K8.

Comments

# 1 Shinyhubcaps @ Oct 11

Of the many frustrating glitches in 2K10, this is one of them. It ranks high for me, not so high for others, but come on! David Robinson wore #50 for the Spurs, so if I put him on the Spurs, I need him to wear his number (my game changed him to #7). In fact, 4 others wore Spurs #50 before The Admiral, so maybe they should be included since the retirement of #50 wasn't retroactive.

Still, I was hoping to do historic rosters this year, and while I understand that they may not allow #33 on the Bucks for a created player since Kareem isn't in the game, they should at the very least allow the legends to take on the numbers that were retired for them. That's like a retiree not being able to use his own pension fund.