The Recipe for an Ideal Console BBall Game - cwash020's Blog

cwash020's Blog

The Recipe for an Ideal Console BBall Game

Posted on May 13, 2011 at 04:29 PM.

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There is no doubt in my mind that NBA 2K11 is hands down the best overall basketball game of this generation. But personally, the fun factor does not last very long for me. On the other hand, the NBA Live series is far from a technical marvel but I truly enjoyed the experience NBA Live 10 offered. The following is what I envision as the recipe for an awesome basketball experience (this is just for fun and purely hypothetical):

Controls - A mix of Live 10/NBA Elite 11: I love the right stick for dribble controls and shooting. However, I was not a fan of the NHL controls for passing. I know 2K diehards will say that the left stick controls are great when given the time to learn them. But it is hard to convince me that the left stick is more comfortable then the right.

Presentation - 2K11: Not much to say here. NBA 2K11 quite possibly has the best presentation offered in any sports game...ever. Though I will give Live 10 credit for having great crowd noise and animation throughout the playoffs and Finals.

Graphics - 2K11: NBA 2K11 trumps Live in this category as well. Live really needs to focus on the proportions of their player models. The glossiness (if that's a word) is overdone as well.

Association/Franchise - CH2K8: College Hoops managed to provide a deep experience, yet it was easily manageable. Haven't found an equivalent since then.

Extras/Fun Factor - NBA Showdown/Bulls vs. Lakers (SNES): Remember these games from back in the Genesis/SNES days? They were considered sim - yet they had special moves for a select group of players (i.e. Hardaway's UTEP 2 Step, Jordan's Reverse, Tom Chamber's Double Pump Dunk). I would LOVE to see some of that brought into today's games. NBA Live 09 tried this - but failed in my opinion because most of the signature moves were just slight variations of one another.

What do you all think? What would your ideal bball game consists of?

Comments

# 1 DGMikeBarker @ May 15

Controls: NBA 2k11 - I like the system they just need to add more sig dribbles and improve the responsiveness. I remember awhile back the developers said they like they're current Iso-controls more than Live's because you only need one hand for full movement, while the anolog stick (Live) needed two hands.

Presentation: March Madness 2010 - The only reason I liked the presentation more than a NCAA Football 2011 or NBA 2k11 was because they had two different commentator teams (CBS & ESPN). I know 2k can't get the license for either right now, but two different generated networks would be crazy.

Graphics: NBA 2k11/EA Football - I love 2k11's graphics but something have be done with the player models & accessories. EA Football games do a great job putting all the accessories in the game "correctly," and having player models correctly because of a scale.

Association/Franchise: College Hoops 2k8 - I agree with everything you said.

# 2 cwash020 @ May 16

Good point on presentation - I would love to see ESPN/TNT/ABC teams implemented for commentary in a bball game. This was genius on the part of EA. Though the CBS broadcast was a bit fragmented.