NBA 2k12 Review
By Michael Birdwell, Staff Writer
As anyone who knows me can tell you I’m a big NBA 2k fan. I was counting down the days until 2K12 came out, and then I got the game.
One of the features the NBA 2k series has always prided itself on is its presentation, and this year is no different. The players look great, the animations look even better than last year, and the feel of the “NBA’s Greatest Teams” mode is phenomenal. Some of the players in the series have always looked not so great. The big name stars look great because the majority of the people that will play the game will play with the teams that feature those players, but some of the lesser known players, still look like something Sigourney Weaver would have killed in those movies.
The “NBA’s Greatest Teams” mode is basically like the Jordan challenge mode was last year, albeit without as many goals. This year you just have to win with the team. The presentation in this mode is rather fantastic. When playing as the 1986 Celtics, the game actually looks like it was played in 1986, meaning it has the sort of blurry, washed out look. The games from the 60’s are black and white, the ones from the 70’s are grainy. Even the commentating on this mode is very good. The play by play is still there, but the color commentary is more like they took the commentators and made them do a new overdub, I say this because you hear things like “Larry Bird was one of the all time greats” so its like they are doing a retrospect on a game airing on ESPN classics.
My player is back in full force and even better than last year. This year your player starts his stats around 60, whereas last year you would be happy to have started at 45. They have made it much quicker to get started, since you no longer have to do rookie games, or the summer league. You create your player, play in the rookie showcase, answer some interview questions after the game from 3 teams interested in you, then you're drafted. You now also get paid. You have a payday every 2 weeks, and with this money you can buy more skill points, more abilities, dunk packages, a players clinic with MJ himself, and variety of other enhancements. The goal of the My Player mode this year is to earn a place in the NBA Hall of Fame, which I can assure you will take a long time, and many seasons. Which brings me to my main gripe about NBA 2k12.
In the previous two years of the NBA 2k series, you could build up your “My Player”, and then take him online in pickup and crew games, both of which are absent from this years installment. My personal favorite thing about the previous two years was grinding with my player, building him up to be a force, then taking him online with my friends to play other teams in Crew Mode. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. This year the crew mode option is not there, which makes me completely disinterested in the My Player feature, because I feel as though there is no point to it. I understand the objective is to reach the Hall of Fame, but it didn't have to come at the expense of crew mode. It honestly makes me not want to play the My Player at all because it is not nearly as rewarding as taking him online and posterizing another my player in Crew Mode.
All in all, NBA 2k12 is a great sports game, and the NBA 2k series is still possibly the greatest ever made, but for someone such as myself, who values co-op over competition, it is a bit lacking.