NBA 2K12 (Covers May Vary)

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The strongest part of 2K has always been presentation, and they really took it to the next level with 2K12. The court looks amazing, the players seem twice as real and detailed, even with 2K11 doing a pretty good job last year. No more alien faces or generic-looking bench players. The soundtrack is the best I've heard on a basketball game.

Now for the gameplay: The movement is much smoother and feels considerably more realistic. Ball physics are slightly improved, but still not great in my opinion. One thing that really annoyed me in 2k11 was how you would swipe at the ball and knock it loose, but the AI would always grab it before you could. This flaw is minimized, but still exists. The shots are smoother, but it's hard to get used to each player's different release. Proximity of a defender seems to have little to no effect on whether a jump shot goes in or not. I find that I make more contested shots that open ones. I had a wide open fastbreak layup to win the game and the PG completely missed it. Once you get position in the post, it's much easier to make a shot, but it's also extremely difficult to guard the post on defense. I've quadruple-teamed guys several times down low and somehow they got it to go in, followed by the commentator saying how porous my defense is and how wide open the paint was. Defense, even on Pro and even Rookie, is much more difficult than in previous games. Staying in front of the ball-handler is nearly impossible, and it's too easy to accidentally run past your man. My team doesn't seem to listen to the defensive control pad sometimes. I'll tell them to "lock down paint" and they run out to the perimeter to double-team the PG and leave the paint vulnerable to a 1-on-3 mismatch. Also, blocks happen much more frequently and the AI seems to have a slight advantage on the boards, particularly on the offensive end.

In conclusion, this game looks amazing. The presentation will blow you away. The gameplay is fun, but will certainly take some getting used to. I've played a lot of NBA games, and I've found it really hard to win in this game, even on Pro. Some of the AI's impossible makes, especially in the paint, can be frustrating, as can some wide open misses. The defense got the biggest revamp, and I'm not sure whether I like it or not, but it's certainly more difficult. The modes have been improved, but are basically the same, with the addition of create a legend. If you're a die hard fan, you will probably love this game. If you're a casual fan, you might find it somewhat frustrating. Still, I give props to 2K for trying to improve significantly even after 2K11's success. Rosters will be updated if and when the lockout ends. Grab this game to fill that empty void left by the lack of actual NBA basketball.

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This is a review from a big fan of "classic" NBA, the great teams and great players from days gone by. So as you would expect I looked forward to this title with much eagerness and got it on day one. And when I first played it I was in awe of the packaging, the cosmetic touches used to recreate some of the great all-time teams and rivalries in NBA history. The graphics are great for a basketball game (aside from the occasionally odd animation or player rendering) and the presentation is heads-and-shoulders above any sports game that I have ever played.

But when I got past the cosmetic some intense frustration with the game play quickly followed. Much like last year's iteration the passing system is just incredibly bad. I know they wanted to create a sense that in order to acquire steals you needed to play the passing lanes etc., and they wanted the defenses you play to be operating in this way as well to enhance realism. The problem is that you have no ability to determine what sort of pass you throw (bounce pass, lob, etc.) and so you are left up to the mercy of the game's passing logic to try and make the best pass available for a given situation, only it makes absolutely horrible choices most of the time. You will see a a wide open teammate and attempt to pass him the ball with the PG (not a poor passer and not on the run but at a complete stop) only to have it sail over his head or to a player on the opposing team. This makes running a fast-breaking offense like the 80's Lakers anywhere near efficiently a nearly impossible task. Hell, simply running a conservative offense I still garnered double digit turnovers each game.

Another significant problem is the seemingly sheer randomness of most button presses when attempting to do pretty much anything in this game. You think by pressing a button designated "shoot" you would then release a shot, but often that is not the case as you may find yourself thrust into an animation where you shove your shoulder into another player to create space (where you really didn't seem to need any additional space I might add) and not shoot the ball but rather hang on to it until you press it at least two more times (the other press causes you to then pump fake) by which time you have been blown for a three second lane violation. This is far from a rare occurrence as random animations seem to be the rule of the day in NBA 2k12, and despite what is advertised I have found them to rarely be "interruptible".

Driving the lane is usually an effort in futility as there is apparently an invisible force field that the opposing teams players can extend past their bodies to prevent your player from going past. I am playing with Michael Jordan on one memorable occasion and I have the baseline and plenty of room to get by the other player and he doesn't move his feet and cut me off (at least according to what I saw) I merely am unable to proceed past him and instead shoot a fall away jumper. Supposedly you can use "isomotion" dribble moves to penetrate, but I found these to be so maddeningly complicated and inconsistent (this particular motion does this one move this time and then another move another time etc.) that I have given up anything beyond the most basic.

Also the game is extremely glitchy. Teams that I have unlocked via the "Legends" mode will later be re-locked with it no longer registering that I did indeed won those games and unlocked those teams. I put in code that was available with purchase to unlock a couple of teams (and that was tedious as the server was down for like two weeks) and now I find I have to redo the entire process.

Those are perhaps minor complaints compared to the sheer frustration this game is to play at times. Passing and shooting the ball are the basics for any basketball game and when you can't get that right then all the packaging in the world isn't going to make it a good game.

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okay, i bought 2k11 last year as soon as it came out. Played 2 MP's and a lot of exhibition/online games last year. I would say this is my most played game aside from the far off blackops.That said, i think im a decently experienced 2k basketball player. 2k12 has a lot of the things that we as gamers wished 2k11 had, but it also has a lot of annoying flaws and under-developed new features. I understand that not everything is always perfect with games (specially with only 1 year) but i hate how people keep telling others to wait for the "patch". Why should a patch fix the incredibly bad passing? Didn't we let 2k know about this last year? Bad lop passes last year, so now this year our guy tries to through it through his defenders face. nice -_ It was too easy to get into the paint and dunk. After 10 games played my layups end in blocks 60% of the time. How i get blocked by a C who has his back turned to me and is running in the other direction i don't know. Taking away the crew mode? fail. Why play MP if you can't show your guy off? Okay, so people hack and cheese...they do that in normal online.I wish instead of just avoidin the problem they had implemented ways to limit cheating.New training camp? awesome! I have to go through all of the shooting drills to get to the last one (the only want i want to practice) not so smart. Online association? Awesome! It lags worse than normal association, not awesome. Improved ball handling and more "realistic" gameplay? GReat! My ball handler bouncing the ball off his teammates foot twice a qt? annoying. I think the realism isn't the problem here, more along the lines of still crappy A.I. Teammates still tend to do REALLY dumb things and like i read on some reviews the game needs Base offense,defense plays that run when no plays are called. Overall, while 2k12 will probably feel better than 2k11 i think this game is not worth the 60 i spent on it. I could of stayed with 2k11 for a few more months and then bought it for 40 or even 20 :/ maybe instead of 2k13 they should go for 2k14 and not rush games.

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I am 40, my sons 15 & 12 this game is the perfect mix of Old School and New School. We are having hours of enjoyment and bonding time because of this game.

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Just received this game today and I must say that it is awesome. The graphics are great, the game play is smooth and the presentation is wonderful as well. It's great to see that so many different legends and legendary teams can be unlocked (including a young Shaq during his Orlando years). All in all a great game. Highly recommended!