OSer DaWolf had the opportunity to attend Gaescom, and was able to get his hands on the sticks with NBA 2K15 for a solid amount of time. With plenty of game time, and a chance to speak with Senior Prodcer Rob Jones, DaWolf put together an impressions piece for Operation Sports as we get closer to the October 7 release date of the next NBA 2K iteration.

Impressions

As a typical 2K demo, NBA 2K15 started off right at tipoff without any added presentation of lineups and player information. The first thing noticed was how much smoother the players felt as they ran the floor – on offense as well as defense. Overall the game felt less chaotic than in last year’s version. The off-ball movement of the A.I. felt cleaner and more focused. Other than that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed with how similar the game felt to NBA 2K14 (shooting, passing, rim physics, etc.).

I saw a lot of improvements in the core gameplay which became much more apparent the more time I had with the sticks. Rob Jones kept reiterating the word “polish” during our discussion, and I would agree “polish” fits the mold of 2K15 perfectly. Here are a few specific areas of “polish” that I noticed:

Movement: This has to be one of the biggest improvement this year. No more sliding on defense (it’s gone!) which gives an overall smoother dribbling and movement system on offense. The improved movement made defense more rewarding as you were able to stay in front of your opponent without being pulled out of position.

Spacing/Defensive Rotations: Yes! This was a huge point for me and I can say that spacing and defensive rotations are a lot better this year. Jones explained they have rewritten underlying defensive A.I. mechanics for better awareness about various situations. I was able to rout the Heat with Ginobli/Parker and Duncan pick-and-rolls by kicking the ball out to a wide open Kawhi Leonard or Danny Green when Duncan slipped to the paint. I would have liked to see more help-for-the-helper defense which would give the opportunity to play a fun cat-and-mouse game with the defense. If 2K could implement more help defense and double rotations, it could rival NBA Live 10´s great spacing.

Rebounding: Jones said the team put in plenty of hours fixing the rebounding, which in turn is noticeable in the gameplay. Bigger players would win the battle most of the time, though I would have liked to see more diversity with rebounding animations.

Contact Animations: This is one of the more defining areas of the game that has improved significantly, and it showed each time players interacted during drives to the paint. Jones mentioned it was a huge point of emphasis this year. Also defensive bump animations had a very realistic feel to it. Overall, defense was much better than last year.

The Little Things

• Heat check on the D-Pad has returned.
• Defensive settings have returned.
• Signature size-ups have returned (right stick towards the basket).
• The added shot meter under your player was added to reduce the luck factor in wide open shots. If you hit the sweet spot, the ball will go in (most of the time). The meter varies depending on the position, player and situation.
• FIBA games have a different feel to them (It just felt different and reminded me of College Hoops 2K8 for some strange reason).
• Online net code was a main focus this year. Two of their best engineers worked on the coding.
• A lot more and-1s.
   

What I Didn’t Like

• NBA 2K15 feels like another year of refinements and “polish” rather than a fresh experience. I would have loved to see some radical changes to some of the game’s core elements as I can imagine the casual gamer will have a hard time noticing the differences in the gameplay. But I understand that taking risks with a franchise that sells over 7 million units is not necessarily a smart business move.
• Lack of help defense and defensive rotations. On one occasion I was posting up Norris Cole with Tim Duncan and backed down deep into the paint. I didn’t see any double team coming over. This is even more frustrating because it happened in NBA 2K14 as well.
• The transition and responsiveness of the jump shot is an issue when your playing is not facing the rim. There is a slight delay on the button input where the player positions himself to face the rim. Jones said the team would look into the issue.

Overall, most of the issues of next-gen NBA 2K have been fixed and several key improvements will definitely please the hardcore 2ers. NBA 2K15 at this stage is a very strong and polished version of a familiar game.