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NBA 2K11
Platform: PlayStation 3
85

NBA 2K11 Review

With some key gameplay changes and the addition of Michael Jordan, the annual sports game is a strong offering

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A common criticism of sports video games is that they are often little more than an overpriced roster update with a few new features thrown in. Over the years, developers such as 2k Sports have been battling this cliché, in an attempt to improve their yearly sports offerings. This year, with NBA 2k11, the folks at Visual Concepts have set the bar quite high in the basketball genre. In addition to the usual roster updates, visual, and technical improvements, the developers got involved with arguably the best player of all time – Michael Jordan. From this partnership stems a variety of in-game changes, including a whole mode dedicated to the player. As such, this year’s NBA 2K title has quite a bit more to offer than most sports titles of 2010, and makes for a rather fun ball game.

NBA 2K11

With Michael Jordan on the cover, the game fully utilizes his starpower with various modes and gameplay inclusions throughout. Things kick off with the “Jordan Challenge”, a set of 10 memorable games that are aimed to demonstrate MJ’s greatest in his career. Each of these games let you control MJ and attempt to match his great accomplishment from real life. This usually means reaching a certain statistic that MJ set during that particular game, be it scoring a certain number of points or playing through injury. While this sets the stage for a fun experience, things don’t usually play out as intended. In any game where you must match a certain stat count, the team must take a back seat as the player hogs the ball and races against the clock to complete the challenge. It becomes a very selfish experience trying to net as many buckets as possible, but at least when you’ve reached MJ’s numbers, it truly feels like completing a challenging objective.

Once all of the Challenges are done, the game unlocks a number of other MJ-related modes. In "Creating a Legend", players take control of Jordan as a rookie and guide him to legendary status on any NBA squad. This mode lets you bring MJ into the modern day NBA and see how well he can compete with the current crop of talent. A very cool feature is that as Jordan goes through the seasons, you can see his appearance change as he ages. There’s also a spinoff "My Jordans" feature, where players are awarded pairs of Air Jordan shoes for hitting certain game accomplishments. Collecting the entire line of Air Jordans, which MJ wore throughout his career, will provide specific attribute bonuses when equipped. Also included is the ability to play with some classic teams from the past, including the various Chicago Bulls lineups that MJ has played with. Not all classical teams are completely accurate, but for the most part they appear very recognizable. Along with that, the game also provides classic stadiums that correspond with the classic teams, adding another great touch to the authenticity.

NBA 2K11

With so much attention on MJ, other modes in the game have been kept mostly intact, though that’s not a big problem. The association mode still lets you take control of a team and guide them to glory, while My Player allows you to become an NBA pro. My Player mode has been expanded to include post-game press conferences and sign sponsorship deals, which are nice touches but don’t add a whole lot to the overall experience. The association, meanwhile, lets you bring in classic teams into the mix and see how they fare. Then there’s also a chance to see the US President Barack Obama if your team is lucky enough. Again, most of the offline modes remain relatively untouched, but with MJ brining a whole mode to the offline experience, there’s little complaints to be had. Online play, meanwhile, has also seen very few changes. There’s the usual competitive play, online leagues and the ability to run your “crew”. The most common concern will probably be the servers, and so far the experience has been smooth and without many problems. Unfortunately, much-demanded features such as opponent filtering based on DNF% are still missing.

On the court, changes have also been made for a more realistic gameplay experience. While many sports titles used to be animation-based, the current trend is to create a more dynamic experience based on actual player physics rather than pre-determined collisions. As such, players in NBA 2k11 are now able to break free from specific animation sequences that previously forced them to complete their moves. This applies to everything from shooting to dribbling and passing, resulting in a very authentic and free flowing game that doesn’t look scripted or artificial as the same animations are no longer recycled over and over. A new passing system was also introduced, letting you select the destination of the pass via prompts as well as the timing by holding or quickly releasing the button. Play calling has been tweaked as well and uses a similar interface style as the new passing. While the ability to break out of animations is a solid addition that increases the flow of the game, the new passing system is sure to cause a few pauses as the players decide who to pass to. Still, it can be considered a part of the real game and the decision making process is really up to the player.

NBA 2K11

One of the strongest points of the franchise has been and still remains the presentation. Featuring easily the best cloth physics of any sports title, or even most games in general, the details look great. All of the players are very detailed from head to toe, including realistic faces, accessories, tattoos and the rest. On the other hand, coaches and members of the audience are still rather low on the polygon count, though it usually doesn’t hamper the overall presentation. The facial animations could also stand to use some polishing, and most players still have a very zombie-like empty look. The arena presentations remain a highlight, along with the intermission and post-game reports. With the help from a TNT producer, NBA 2K11 improves the broadcast aspect of the game to make it more like its real life TV counterpart. The soundtrack remains strong, along with the commentary and the rest of the game’s audio.

While NBA 2k11 is a great game on its own right, in line with the rest of the sports offerings on the market, the MJ factor really sets it apart. As most games do, this year’s version brings various improvements and roster updates to the usual host of offline modes. But with a whole mode dedicated to MJ, as well as the ability to bring him and other classic teams into today’s NBA, is one heck of an improvement. The online play remains solid, though some features are still noticeably absent. The presentation is as great as ever, and the visuals look fantastic for the most part. It may not be perfect, but if you’re looking for a great basketball game, NBA 2k11 delivers where it matters most.

Our ratings for NBA 2K11 on PlayStation 3 out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)
Presentation
90
Great presentation, from arena entrances to the commentary. Players are very detailed, and everything feels very authentic.
Gameplay
85
Subtle but key changes include new passing and playcalling, but most important is the ability to break out of animations.
Single Player
83
The addition of MJ modes bring a ton of content and replay value to the single player experience, though other modes remain relatively unchanged.
Multiplayer
76
No changes here, except for better connectivity with the servers and smoother gameplay.
Performance
87
The game runs quite well, and there are no visual or technical issues.
Overall
85
More than a simple roster update, NBA 2K11 offers a ton of offline content and good gameplay changes that make it worth a recommendation to any basketball fan.
Comments
NBA 2K11
NBA 2K11 box art Platform:
PlayStation 3
Our Review of NBA 2K11
85%
Great
The Verdict:
Game Ranking
NBA 2K11 is ranked #160 out of 1957 total reviewed games. It is ranked #18 out of 103 games reviewed in 2010.
159. Killzone 3
PlayStation 3
160. NBA 2K11
161. Driver: San Francisco
Xbox 360
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Screenshots

NBA 2K11
13 images added Sep 23, 2010 12:41
Videos
Michael Jordan Moments - NBA 2k11
Posted: Sep 24, 2010 21:25
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