NBA 2K13's All-Star Weekend DLC Review - SteveM's Blog

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SteveM's Blog

NBA 2K13's All-Star Weekend DLC Review Stuck

Posted on January 10, 2013 at 12:09 PM.

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Earlier this week, the All-Star Weekend DLC that early adopters of NBA 2K13 have been playing since the game�s release was opened up to the masses for $4.99. So is it worth it for anyone just getting around to it now?

First, a couple of the weird things about it at this point. Since the All-Star rosters are from last season, there�s a certain surreality to the proceedings. It�s set in Houston, with commentary addressing that fact, yet some players who are playing at anything but an All-Star level�like Roy Hibbert�are there. It�s even weirder to see Dwight Howard sporting his new-look headband but playing for the Eastern Conference. The rosters will be updated once this year�s teams are announced, but until then, playing the game has a certain fever dream feel to it. You�d be better served by simming a Season or Association mode game to the All-Star break if you want something that�s going to feel like an approximation of this year�s contest. Same goes for the Rising Stars game.

So that leaves the Dunk Contest and the 3-Point Shooting Contest. The presentation is on par with 2K�s standards for the rest of the game, featuring unique commentary and new animations. Of particular note are little touches like when you choose a teammate-assisted dunk and you can watch your dunker give little positional hand directions to his teammate as he sets up.

But I honestly can�t see much point to playing these modes unless you�re sitting on the couch with friends. By yourself, they�re kind of a snooze. Aside from the general categories of windmill or 360, there�s little sense of what a given dunk is going to look like, so unless you start memorizing them, you�re picking more or less at random, hitting a bunch of buttons and watching a dunk happen. The rhythm-game style interface is probably the best one I�ve seen in a video game yet, but it�s still about as much fun as playing Rock Band by yourself. Still, it might be better than watching the actual Dunk Contest, though that�s not saying much at this point.

Likewise, the 3-Point Shooting Contest is probably best enjoyed socially. The timing of the shooting is (perhaps necessarily) far more finicky than it is in the actual game, and the result is that even if you�re pretty money with a player, you�re likely to struggle with the mechanic of having to pick up the ball and then hit the shot button or release the shot stick and just the right spot on the slider at the bottom of the screen. It�s reminiscent of NBA Live�s ancient free throw shooting mechanic and not particularly interesting.

Additionally, there�s something a little wonky about the way shooting animations are forced to stay behind the arc with each release, so if the player you�re using is one that naturally floats forward on jump shots, he�ll hit a little artificial wall that forces him back behind the line with each shot. It looks bad and can mess with the rhythm of your shots. If you spent some time with this mode, you could probably figure it out and get the feel down, but it might impact your shooting in other modes, so is it even worth it?

At best, the All-Star Weekend DLC is a diversion to be enjoyed with friends when you�ve got some time to kill, but unless you�ve got $5 just burning a hole in your pocket, it�s hard to recommend over any of NBA 2K13�s other, more robust game modes.

Recommendation: Buy only if you are a huge fan of the All-Star Events.