Thoughts on the Demo (360):
I actually
like the demo, I was really into the practice mode... everything really felt great, and there were a few times where I said, "man that's cool." The Pro-Hop/Euro-Leap (wtf Euro-leap?) really feels smooth and realistic, like as if you have control over where the player goes and how he transitions into his shooting animation. The first few times I did it I loved it.
Other things that really felt right:
- The post-play and how you revert from backing down to the basket to transitioning into a half-spin, to shot, really felt smooth and it actually too some practice to get the complete move down
- Again from post-play, the hookshot and baby hook, or running hook, really felt right. It is a challenge to hit a hook shot at first, which is good, it might take some skill.
- Dribbling, moves, etc., all felt right. There is no delay in pressing the button and waiting for the animation, it does truly feel "1:1."
- Shooting, overall, seems too easy. Basically, any shot that I stood straight up for and took my time shooting, I sunk. Maybe this is sort of realistic in that NBA players probably hit almost all of their shots in practice... but it felt like, after practicing shooting for 1min, I was able to sink every straight up jump shot without any issue.
- Fade aways felt great, they're sort of hard to pull off and sink accurately, and I can just imagine nailing a shot and feeling like you pulled it off.
- The defensive practice drill was lame. "Steal the ball." "Block the shot," in the two easiest tutorials on earth.
The 5 on 5 game was a little different reaction from practice mode.
Thoughts on actual 5 on 5 gameplay:
- Passing seems innaccurate and difficult, but that might be a good thing, I don't know. It actually just didn't feel responsive, like as if I had very little control over the pass. There was no passing tutorial though, so I wouldn't know how to pass. Are there separate passing buttons othr than RT? If so, I couldn't figure them out.
- Graphics are simply not as good as you'd expect from a next gen basketball game. I know that we're supposed to sort of leave the comparisons out of this, but the graphics in NBA 2K11 are really strong, and these -- from every facet of the game -- were comparatively really weak.
- Animations were good and I did feel like I had control over the game and my player
- Often times had a lot of trouble changing players on defense
- Shooting really feels good. I went on a 13 - 0 run, capped off by 2 Ray Allen 3pointers where the defense broke down... and I just knew I was going to sink both of them. When I hit the 2nd three I actually shouted in jubilation almost like how I would watching or playing a game.
- At times, per usual, shooting feels too easy. It felt like I couldn't be stopped with Garnett down low, when in real life, Garnett really struggles against Gasol these days.
- Lakers ability to make a fast break was terrible, but I was playing on the 2nd difficulty... which could be the issue there. They literally made no pressure on me down the court and took terrible shots.
- Players seem to play to their strengths... Kobe isolated on me all day, to mixed success.
I know that this isn't about comparisons, but c'mon now, we've gotta compare. Graphics are much worse than NBA 2K11, animations are choppier than 2K11 (as somebody described, spastic is a good word: there is poor flow from one animation to the next), but without a doubt feel much more organic (it doesn't feel like you're just "watching animations" For 5minutes like NBA 2K series does). The whole game feels "looser," where as NBA 2K11 feels like it's on rails, like most other NBA 2K games. This isn't necessarily a criticism of 2K11 because many people prefer that type of gameplay, but the Elite '11 gameplay feels like a more organic experience. Honestly, if I were to buy one game over the other based on the demos alone, I'd get NBA Elite '11, but that's only because the crop of basketball games from the last 5 - 8 years have bored me to tears and playing practice mode in this game was the first time in a basketball game that something felt really fresh.
I play a fair amount of basketball and this was the first game that I've played in ages that actually made me feel somewhat like I had control over what happened... not just on the offensive side, but especially on defense. Playing defense on basketball games has always felt so contrived because it's so reactionary: you basically have one pro-active manuever, the steal, and everything else is a reaction... which just isn't how good defense is played in basketball. Good defense is played not by reacting to the offensive player, but by predicting what his next move is going to be and then playing based on that... Knowing how a player will cut to the hoop, preparing for an off-ball screen, predicting when your opponent will pump fake and when he will actually go up with the ball for a shot.
NBA Elite isn't close to really doing that, but it's the first honest attempt to do it in a basketball videogame... at least from how the demo feels.
09-21-2010, 01:04 PM
