NBA 2K12 Hands-On Preview (Part Two)

I try my best to figure out the new finger Olympic controls. It’s not going too well, in fact you could say I sucked at it. Fortunately, there is a new training camp mode this year, where you can practice all the moves.

A nice animation shows a player pushing the ball forward and taking a few running steps before dribbling again. (See Rondo in the Momentous trailer).

You have to be careful when attempting this in traffic though, as it leads to a turnover. I tried to split a double team and the AI wouldn’t have any of it.

Lobbing a pass over a defender, who is fronting in the post, is possible this year. While it’s not an easy pass to make, it can be done. I didn’t have any luck with it, but Rob Jones stated it is successful based on the ratings of the passer, the teammate you are passing to, how far away the player is from the basket and how much space the offensive player can make, before the ball comes in over the top. Players will throw higher lob passes down court instead of bullet passes that are easily picked off. If you recall last year, after a pump fake pass, there was a delay in being able to pass to another teammate, the other way. There is no delay at all this year.

Drawing a foul using a pump fake was toned down and there are no loose ball fouls. Off the ball fouls, illegal screens and over the back fouls are still in the game. I did see some occasional sliding, but collisions are done so well you don’t see much of it.

New this year, during timeouts, you can choose the player you want to inbound the ball, the shooter and the play type (quick 2, 3 pointer, alley-oop, post or best ft shooter). There are also quick strategies for offense and defense. On offense you can space the floor to get that 1 on 1, screen for shooters, leak out on the break or crash the offensive boards. On the defensive side of the ball, there are different ways to put pressure on the shooters, double down in the post, focus on star players or force constant pressure on given situations.

On the downside, the crowd seems to be lost at times. I noticed on a few occasions, I’d hit a big 3 or just a big shot in general and the crowd didn’t react like you would think they would. Even “And 1” calls didn’t cause much of a stir from the fans.

Other times, while playing in the post, I was abused with pump fakes, up and unders, spins and a plethora of other moves. It’s great to see so many new moves being utilized by the AI.

, but they did add standing alley-oops

On free throw attempts, there is a percentage that shows on the screen. This tells the user how accurate they were on the shot.