NBA 2k11 Review (PS3, X360)
Until recently, Electronic Arts has been the dominant developer in the field of sports games. In 2009 2K Sports took the basketball championship away from them with NBA 2K10, while October of 2010 saw the release of one of the best basketball games ever made – NBA 2k11. Basing a big part of the game on Michael Jordan’s career might seem like a hype move, but this title truly deserves to have His Airness on the cover.
Gameplay
There are several new modes based around the career of one of the greatest players of all time – Michael Jordan.
The first one is the Jordan Challenge mode, where the player gets to relive 10 of MJ’s greatest games, starting with his 1986 debut game against Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. We then move on to his 69 point game against the Cavaliers, The Shrug game that forever put the Trail Blazers’ Clyde Drexler into Jordan’s shadow, all the way until Michael’s last dance against the Utah Jazz. Michael doesn’t get to play his unmemorable seasons for the Wizards here, but that’s not a really big loss. Long time basketball fans will love the nostalgia and immersion of the feature, but that isn’t the only thing that the Jordan Challenge mode has going for it. Michael goes up against some legendary players including Dominique Wilkins, Karl Malone and Magic Johnson. This can lead to a lot of frustration, but it’s the good kind of frustration that has you coming back for more and feeling on top of the world after you finally pull it off.
Another mode is the MJ: Creating a Legend mode, unlocked after completing all the Jordan Challenges. It allows you to play as a young MJ as he puts all the flashy Kobes, Lebrons and Iversons of today in their place in the My Player mode. The My Player mode is great for anyone who enjoys a good RPG – you create your player, play in the draft combine to impress the scouts, get picked by a team for a few games in the summer league, after which you either stay in your team or get sent to the development league. Stat Points (essentially experience points) are awarded after drills and games. One of the most important factors in getting SP is your teammate grade. The game watches your every move and assigns you a grade based on your performance. This is both the low and the high point of this feature. If you don’t know much about basketball, get ready to lose a lot of SP (yes, you actually lose unspent SP if you mess up), especially since the game can get cheaper than Stephon Marbury’s shoe line and cheat you into making mistakes, like when you call for a pass and your teammate passes you the ball half a second after a defender gets between you and him, resulting in you getting a “bad call for pass”. Just like the Jordan Challenges, it can get really frustrating, but finally feeling like an asset to the team is a wonderful feeling that’s more than worth all the prior rage quitting.
Graphics
NBA 2k11 has amazing presentation. 90% of the players and coaches look exactly like their real life counterparts, complete with things like tattoos, sweat and realistic facial and movement animations. All the textures are very high resolution and very detailed even when the camera zooms in on the player’s face. The Cleveland Cavaliers court is outdated, but that’s been fixed in patch 1.2. The best part is that after patch 1.3 NBA 2k11 can be played in 3D without having to shell out on a 3D TV – all you need is a pair of red and cyan glasses.
Sound
Other than the main theme by Snoop Dogg and “Over” by Drake, most artists featured in NBA 2k11 are obscure. As expected, most of it is hip-hop artists like Dux Jones, Raaka, Sean Price and other rappers you probably never heard of. Even Ron Artest has a song in the soundtrack. There is also some indie rock – Two Door Cinema Club, Russian Futurists and others. Despite the obscurity, the soundtrack feels really fitting. In fact, some of the songs, such as “Crown of Thorns” by Raaka, feel like they’re there to help you cope with the frustration you’ll encounter early on.
The NBA Insider doesn’t bother you much after the summer leagues, which is a welcome change from NBA 2K10. The commentators are very smart, often mentioning the high profile things that the players did during their careers, such as Chris Bosh leaving the Toronto Raptors, as well as their performance in prior games.
Immersion
The presentation helps make the game really immersive. If you go to My Player mode and play a few games for the Heat, guarding the turnover-prone LeBron James from defenders, you’ll experience a strange sense of familiarity when you see the real LeBron on TV or YouTube. If you enjoy playing basketball in real life, the My Player mode may help improve your game by punishing you for making the wrong decisions and rewarding you for the right ones. In the Jordan Challenges, NBA on TNT is done very accurately with the broadcasters sounding exactly like their real life counterparts.
Overall Score – 9.5/10
While NBA 2k11 has a very steep learning curve that can lead to a lot of frustration, it’s more than worth it when you finally rise above it like Michael Jordan did. It’s the MVP of basketball games and more than deserves to have a legend like Air Jordan on the cover.