NBA 2K15: Yakkem Trailer Impressions (Roundtable)

Feature Article

Submitted on: 08/25/2014 by

NBA 2K15 made some serious noise earlier today by debuting some in-game footage as well as the pre-game studio show and a lot of new atmosphere elements within the game. It's time to ask the OS Staff Writers what they thought of the trailer, and whether you should be as excited as you think you are for the game.

Jayson Young: Seeing Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal in a virtual studio set reminds me of the weekly highlight shows from College Hoops 2K8, which were hosted by Greg Gumbel and Clark Kellogg. It's been long overdue for Visual Concepts to build something similar for their NBA 2K titles, so I hope that EJ and Shaq will have segments during each game and after each week of the regular season to keep players abreast of everything that's happening in their My League. It's always been more fun to watch a five-minute studio show in videogames like ESPN NFL 2K5 and College Hoops 2K8 instead of reading through pages of stats and scrolling through transactions logs just to get an idea of what the CPU teams are doing in your offline league.

Ben Vollmer: NBA 2K has confidence, and it has a lot of it. Fortunately for us, that's what it takes for developers to innovate and push boundaries. It's been seven years since we've seen a virtual studio (as Jayson already mentioned) and it couldn't have come a day sooner. Building off of what was already a pretty dynamic presentation with great commentary, player interviews, and lively in-game audio, is icing on the cake for dedicated fans. Just from our brief look at it, 2K really seems to capture the fluid back and forth of Ernie and Shaq (maybe someday we'll get Chuck in there, too?).

From a gameplay perspective, what's not to like? It is well documented that I was a huge fan of NBA 2k 14's gameplay, so I didn't need to see much. There are a few obvious improvements shown in the trailer, including a much needed anti-cheese charging mechanic. Adding all of this on top of what was already a solid base, and the news of the vast MyLeague mode, the competition is going to have its work cut out for it to garner the interest of gamers.

Phil Varckette: What else can I say but it looks to be another impressive entry into the NBA 2K series. I know in many people's eyes, 2K14 took a step back, but from what I can see the game looks as good as ever. Especially with LeBron back in a Cavs uniform. (I had to) With the addition of Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O'Neil to this years offering, that can only be a boon for what is already a game known to have very solid presentation. Let's just hope their commentary doesn't become repetitive and something we button though on a regular basis.

As it stands now, this game is a day 1 buy for me. EJ and Shaq is a nice addition, but to tell the truth, with the Cavs being so much improved this year I can't pass up rock solid gameplay and a stacked Cavaliers team to run my Association with.

Caley Roark: There certainly is a lot to like in the trailer, from the outstanding lighting effects to authentic animations. Even as a casual basketball fan, this short clip is getting me pretty excited about the latest version of NBA 2K.

I did see a few things that are cause for pause, though. While the animations often look good, I noticed at least one "hitch" between animations (from fake shot to pass, I believe). Also, as funny as Ernie Johnson and Shaq are, their models are a bit too close to the Uncanny Valley for me.

And, while the humor is definitely welcome (not enough of that in sports games, if you ask me), I hope it doesn't go too over the top. I also hope that the commentary doesn't take a step back thanks to the new team.

What did you think of the trailer? Are you more or less excited about NBA 2K15 after watching it?

NBA 2K15 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 DevSwerve @ 08/25/14 10:12 PM

Looks like some cheesy animations are still in but overall it looks good.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 2 Gramps91 @ 08/25/14 10:32 PM

Super pumped if they can put those weekly highlight shows back in. Those were great in NCAA 2k8

# 3 cowboy_kmoney @ 08/25/14 10:36 PM

2k is doing there thang and giving us a true feel of Basketball at Its best. And we all knw Its more to kome bout this game. So Its a buy for me like always.

# 4 Jakeness23 @ 08/25/14 10:43 PM

I'll reiterate what I said earlier, the ONLY negatives that I could find personally, and I was trying to find things was:
Warmups are a bit stiff (not loose enough, don't have a flow to them) made LeBron look really skinny, his head looked like a bobblehead, jerseys don't quite fit right (not tight enough, don't sit on player's body, don't look thick enough), McBob's hair and facial hair still aren't quite right either (bout time to give us the control to change current players hair styles).

# 5 thedream2k13 @ 08/25/14 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrleaderboards


	As long as the next info coming to us is about my player and the possibility of a crew mode for Next Gen,I'm all in. That trailer was cold blooded. I mean it was highlights, but it was still good to see what the future holds for us. So guys, what do you guys make of the ball handling, and the dunk animations and the attention to details? I'm still stuck on Chris Birdman's Beard..that's a mans beard!!!

Need to worry about real NBA teams and gameplay first

# 6 Mercilus @ 08/25/14 11:30 PM

Splackakatyow!

# 7 BQ32 @ 08/25/14 11:41 PM

This trailer looks good but I still can't believe how over hyped this game is every single year even after the gameplay is littered with exploits, cheese, and non authentic basketball. Every year I hope that this will be the one but every year so far I have been disappointed so I am going to hold any excitement until the game is tested online and see if the mechanics can hold up. If it does I will sing its praises.

I can see where there target is though and have stopped being as frustrated. I see countless praises by gamers that are only semi basketball fans, but to the gamers who live and breath ball, the competitive gameplay is a mess.

# 8 lakers24 @ 08/25/14 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BQ32


	This trailer looks good but I still can't believe how over hyped this game is every single year even after the gameplay is littered with exploits, cheese, and non authentic basketball. Every year I hope that this will be the one but every year so far I have been disappointed so I am going to hold any excitement until the game is tested online and see if the mechanics can hold up. If it does I will sing its praises. I can see where there target is though and have stopped being as frustrated. I see countless praises by gamers that are only semi basketball fans, but to the gamers who live and breath ball, the competitive gameplay is a mess.

See, you guys jump all over people saying they like what they saw in a sizzle trailer, why? Because they don't want to complain over a highlight vid? I get it, I hate exploits and want real sim ball too, but some of you guys need to chill. It's a trailer meant to entice people to buy it, period. No kid who wants this game or casual guy is going to care or want to see defensive scheme and offensive playbook trailers.

# 9 lakers24 @ 08/25/14 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nabz


	Huh? Who's the new commentators? Please tell me its not Ernie and Shaq

The wording was confusing but there is no new commentary team. Shaq and Ernie are just there for the studio show

# 10 BQ32 @ 08/25/14 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakers24


	See, you guys jump all over people saying they like what they saw in a sizzle trailer, why? Because they don't want to complain over a highlight vid? I get it, I hate exploits and want real sim ball too, but some of you guys need to chill. It's a trailer meant to entice people to buy it, period. No kid who wants this game or casual guy is going to care or want to see defensive scheme and offensive playbook trailers.

good point, outside of my family my two love in life are basketball and gaming, thus I lust after that one basketball sim. However it has led to a lot of frustration, especially seeing the stellar reviews the game gets year after year while I feel they don't truly get the the game of basketball. They are in it to make money though, and dudes like me are a very little portion of their pie.

Here is hoping the new team additions will help with the online competitive balance.

# 11 lakers24 @ 08/26/14 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BQ32


	good point, outside of my family my two love in life are basketball and gaming, thus I lust after that one basketball sim. However it has led to a lot of frustration, especially seeing the stellar reviews the game gets year after year while I feel they don't truly get the the game of basketball. They are in it to make money though, and dudes like me are a very little portion of their pie. Here is hoping the new team additions will help with the online competitive balance.

A lot of the guys at 2k care and I'm sure they'd love to go all the way sim, but there is an issue there now that 2k is the Madden of basketball. They have to appeal to the masses and by doing that the game has to find a balance of pick up and play and being sim. The suits care about the bottom line and sadly that's the part most gamers don't know or want to know about. My two loves are basketball and videogames but I know the reality of it all and I can only hope one day someone can come along and do what SCEA did for baseball and go full on sim and it becomes so good that you'll have to buy it even if it is "too sim."

# 12 alaska2k3 @ 08/26/14 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BQ32


	This trailer looks good but I still can't believe how over hyped this game is every single year even after the gameplay is littered with exploits, cheese, and non authentic basketball. Every year I hope that this will be the one but every year so far I have been disappointed so I am going to hold any excitement until the game is tested online and see if the mechanics can hold up. If it does I will sing its praises. I can see where there target is though and have stopped being as frustrated. I see countless praises by gamers that are only semi basketball fans, but to the gamers who live and breath ball, the competitive gameplay is a mess.

Take the trailer for face value. It's not going to show you everything right out the gate, so critique it for what it shows. You can't complain about something you haven't seen.

As far as what I saw, I was impressed with the Ernie/Shaq dynamic - the laughter at the end made it seem so real to me. Presentation appears to have an upgrade - excited for next seasons "Little Things" thread. CP3 looks better (they are finally getting there!). Can't wait to see how they implement the new NBA player voices!

Minor gripes, like many have said, warmups don't seem to be "organic." It appears to be very stiff, doesn't have the same natural movement as the jerseys. Ernie and Shaq's suits appear to suffer from the same thing.

You know it's bad when you have to find things to complain about - especially something as small as wether or not the clothing on the players look natural.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 13 raidertiger @ 08/26/14 12:44 AM

Gameplay looked stale like last year. Presentation looked great. Need to see more before committing.

# 14 statum71 @ 08/26/14 02:29 AM

"It's always been more fun to watch a five-minute studio show in videogames like ESPN NFL 2K5 and College Hoops 2K8 instead of reading through pages of stats and scrolling through transactions logs..."

Bingo for Jayson Young!!

# 15 statum71 @ 08/26/14 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakers24


	The wording was confusing but there is no new commentary team. Shaq and Ernie are just there for the studio show

Actually he has a good question. Remember....Steve Kerr is coaching Golden State now. So the commentary team won't be the same.

I truly doubt they'll have Kerr calling the game while he's on the sidelines too. That's sloppy. 2K is more realistic than that.

# 16 Dmanning2 @ 08/26/14 03:43 AM

I think we will see Shaq and EJ pregame and postgame &
the Same guy whose been doing the halftime show for 2k will still be doing it.

Just a guess

# 17 lakers24 @ 08/26/14 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by statum71


	Actually he has a good question. Remember....Steve Kerr is coaching Golden State now. So the commentary team won't be the same. I truly doubt they'll have Kerr calling the game while he's on the sidelines too. That's sloppy. 2K is more realistic than that.

What I said still stands though, 2k has had essentially the same commentary team in Harlan/Kellogg since 2k9 and that's not changing this year.

# 18 geisterhome @ 08/26/14 04:36 AM

aren't there still way too few sideline characters? especially photographers behind the basket??

# 19 seanbarkley @ 08/26/14 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geisterhome


	aren't there still way too few sideline characters? especially photographers behind the basket??

Definitely, that's something I noticed too. Don't know why they didn't fixed it yet because it's something that has been statted many times and doesn't seem to be too hard to improve.

# 20 Taer @ 08/26/14 05:22 AM

One of the positives not yet mentioned is that the trailer showed a few defensive highlights and rebounds among all the dunks.

This in itself is very encouraging.

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