NBA 2K11 Demo Available Now, Impressions and Discussion Here (360,PS3)

[ataman5]

Quote: Originally Posted by Todem

PS3 demo ready for DL yet?

Anyone has any idea on?

[noeasylayups3]

I still have to get used to the dribbling, learning how to dribble. Yet, so far, so good. I'm holding out of Halo Reach for this game and FIFA. Really hope the wait is worth it.

[RubenDouglas]

I need to record every single moment because without savable replays, im missing out on so much..

Someone try going up for a dunk with dunk then use the right stick to modify it into a LAYUP..... MJ status right there. Now imagine it with MJ!


Had my First CPU Alley Oop. Rondo to KG. I was controlling Gasol and I went out to guard KG 22 feet out. KG ran in to the paint. Gasol was too slow.

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Other random thoughts:

-Dribbling appears hard at first glance, but you have to take into account how the defender is guarding you. Many instances, you will get bumped and you cant pull off your dribble move. The contact created all around is a welcomed addition. I think its a combination of new controls and the fact that there is now contact that is troubling some people.

-The ball is a lot more organic and free. I've seen countless helpside blocks that would never have happened last year

-CPU has an equally balanced MID RANGE game, 3pt game, and Post game, for maybe the first time ever... Seeing Jumpshots being attempted is a breath of fresh air

[hoodkid205]

any body done kobe's sig gathers yet??i think he had more than 1.im glad that in the post when u go for the steal the offensive player doesnt spin off you for an automatic dunk or layup .u can recover

[Stickz24]

Quote: Originally Posted by SageInfinite

I'm in love. It's like live 10 and 2k had a baby.

On the low ... Yup. It gives it that old school video game feel. It seems they sacrificed some of their pretty "canimations "for some off beat "video game/live moves" .. but hid it well enough that you can appreciate what they are doing because it helps w gameplay. You might call it .. a little more organic. Besides .. good ball can be ugly sometimes .. so it helps you make an excuse for them.

Only complaint so far is that the back to ball (ie. Gary Payton style) ball up court animation feels a bit stifff .. It should be more fluid. If you've ever brought the ball up court vs. pressure you know what I mean.. back to opponent and move baby !!!!!! Move and stop.. move and stop !!! Like Magic ... Maybe a patch or something fixes that later.
Now, while they did steal a little bit from Live .. it's still sufficiently 2k. Live's been doing the same thing too tho .. so its a wash. That's how innovation works ... The Elite previews I've seen are starting to have that 2K feel to them.

You know how when you play someone nice ..or someone who has a particularly nice move ... you begin to imitate their style .. but dont straight up come out and bite it? Add your own flavor to it ..(Like KB did Mike ?? .. Like we all do Mike ... But you do enough of that from different people and you're nice and unique in your own right ... - Of topic .. back on.

My rant for the day is specifically intended to help the newbies out there ...I want y'all to get better defensively .. that'll give you the confidence to play this "sim" thing every one keeps talking about .. they want you to play "sim" but get your shiiit kicked in ..cause you can't stop them on D ... Listen up troopers .. 2k defense 101 ..

Defense
Remember to play D on the strong hand (usually the right) y'all. Manu's a lefty And then save/practice your cut off moves for forced speed bursts to the right (strong hand) .. or good guesses to the left.

Also, contest shots by leaning more towards that right hand. (In 2k10 ... It had my boys wondering how I blocked so many of his forced Lerbon dunks .. esp when fatigue is reasonably worn .. and they panic and go for the forced dunk .. bad combo .. Mutombo finger wag for those if you practice what I'm preaching here). Practice shot stick defense .. especially in the paint. Just start by trying to put your hands up. Fyi .. the hands up animation in the demo is a bit sluggish .. but it will be better in the game .. almost always been that way .. again .. since 2k. Get a feel for it now though. You'll shout me out later.

It's the same as pressing Y ... but just waaay more effective. In time you'll have a feel for when to press y .. and when to use your shot stick. Would explain more details ... but this is long enough already.

Overall, ... remember <(YOU) .. on defense ..
and ..> (YOU) on offense. As an individual player and as a team.

These have been effective defensive concepts for me since 2k...hmm ..8 - Whenever they understood that shading mattered. That concept is now simply embedded in the game .. remember when it was manual. They never got rif of it

I'm EASILY an 80% game winner in ranked gms online (40 plus % 3 point shooter .. -- High was 43% for a few days this year ) ... 90% winner plus if I stick w only LA, Boston and Orlando .. Easily. I change teams tho for the flavor and challenge of it. Had to describe myself: I'm hard core sim. If you leave the paint open I will take it .. If you press the pt, I'll spread the floor and open you up (no fish-sticks) for the leaner, 3 .. or iso dunk .. or whatever you have coming .. Still I had only about 10% of my shots being dunks - Just my resume. Not shiiiit talking .. but substance verifying). If you're nice .. our gms look like real gms .. sometimes you win .. sometimes I win.. but never met anyone who can just beat me consistently .. especially if we're switching teams around. Those who prefer to just stick w one team .. are probably scared of losing anyway .. we eat those up eventually. 2-3 loses and they get scared to play. Off topic .. back on.

Psychology of defense

Understanding how the defense works .. gives you the freedom and confidence to try out other teams .. and that in turn improves your offense and defense because you learn these other teams strengths and weaknesses .. w/o getting discouraged/blown out constantly. That fear keeps some people from trying other teams .. they know "offense" for their fav team and can probably keep up when it comes to defense. But it's usually because they stick to one person (maybe Pau in the paint) or cirlcle's w Lebron ... whatever. But its a formula they use on defense to survive .. like those old boss fight video games .. once you peep their formula .. If you play organically .. It's over. And you make them look silly while laughing at them .. they've usually formed habits on defense by then and will simply dissappear because you frustrate/call them out at that end of the ball. Meanwhile ur "simming and loving life " ... Still playing hard *** D though .. switching teams on them et all.

Truth be told, if you know what you're doing .. defense in 2K10 can be pretty tough. I only imagine its going to get crazier with this 2k11. Maybe even a bit too much ...just watch - Because they are trying to accomodate a lot of people .. (I think its fair though .. cause I don't expect a 16-17 year old w/o a deep experience or understanding of the game to play the kind of D 2k might have expected in 2k10) .. I'm 28 .. but this thing's for all of us .. besides I love whooping up on my little bros .. even after I've honestly taught them everything I know .. "You just can't execute like big bro maan" newbies , older or younger, I'm talking to you.

Early defensive lessons: practice these in the demo newbies ...
eg. < see that sign? The ball handler is always at the vertex -- cut him off on the dominant hand .. if he tries to drive into you .. simply sag off enough to close off his space -- then just put your hands up w the shot stick. (he's in your face w no space .. forced shot .. this even works in 2k10 .. for those who couldn't play D in it .. but it's almost obsolete now .. so lets look forward).

Tease him to shoot and make up the space w you height if he decides to take it in (kinda like real ball ..
Pressure him heavy if he's a shooter with ... meh .. driving ability. For the demo .. try it w Ray Allen and Pierce ... lol. Work w what you got man.
Heavy right hand press .. simple.

Simply put:
For Bigs and Rondo .. sag off on right .. force them to shoot but make up space w height ... If they drive into you .. just sag w shot stick (practice) .. so they'll quickly close off their own space)

Personally, I always angle my views with a slant so that it can accomodate that triangular defense concept (hopefully you see what I'm trying to say).
With 2k10 I used skybox .. zoom 10 .. height 7 on a 42" LCD ... Anything smaller and it may be too small a view for most people"

Overall though, these will make you feel more control on defense. Remember that the triangle is one of the most important shapes in basketball .. from an offensive and defensive perspective. So if you don't take nothing from all this .. find your own way using that basic as your map. Defense should gamble on the strong hand and bet that the opponent wont win many games using their weak hand. Offense keeps defense honest.

Again to the newbies ...

Forget the specific buttons for now man .. especially those who had trouble on D last year .. focus on defensive, post and get open play calling concepts .. the buttons will come as you start trying to figure out what you want to do ..

Last one ... Shot stick in post .. (start post up LT,RT) ..
postup (someone ... just tap stick repeatedly in the direction you want to shoot .. then hold it for a little while
Or wiggle it for a while and point it in direction you want to shake to.

Little tangent here .. but it'll help make someone's 2k11 year better .. I'm 28 and have easily been a 2K killer since 2k. I got my basic training during college so the stuff sticks w me. Buttons and animations have changed but.. conceptually .. it's pretty much the same thing.

Stickz24 on the 360 ... I don't win 100% of my games cause I'm comfortable trying other teams .. but even then, I'm easily above 80% .. to win that much AND feel comfortable picking .. damn near random teams ... that's really what I dig about the gm. Cheesers will get you here and there .. but no way 80% of the people in any population play this gm better than me. Probably didn't have enough time to figure out the cheese 5% of the time .. the other 15 .. I either just got beat, was lazy .. or busy playing w my little boy. I'ma get back to that right now .. Enjoy the demo y'all. I am.

Too lazy to check for sps, and my son's getting upset that I'm typing so much ..I'ma go play with him .. just imagine my spelling and grammar are "impeccable" .. if you made it this far .

[HarryDickman]

Nice impressions Ruben. glad to hear the ball is more free this year. that was my main concern

[D Apocalypse]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dawgthem

Yea and the only thing i see from that vid is a guy scoring before the defense can even set up

I just wanted to show how the PC 2K10 version looks and compares to 2K11 console. I wasn't showcasing the gameplay or my (lack of) skills for that matter.

After playing the 2K11 demo, I am impressed at how much they improved on the graphics which looks almost as good as a powerful PC rig can run. That was really the purpose of my video.

I don't play online much so I will probably still stick to the PC version this year since it's $30 cheaper. But kudos to 2K for improving the game overall each and every year!

[23]

It sure is... gasol threw a long pass to kobe going down court and as he was trying to gather the ball up, PP came and snatched it away... very nice