ESPN NBA 2K5

NBA 2K4 was one of my most played games last year. The level of gameplay depth was amazing; I played a season with a couple of friends and by the end the on-court mindgames we were playing against each other made it feel like sports Street Fighter.

According to EB's website, the ship date's been bumped up to this week - the 28th. Check out the video Gamespot's got running alongside their preview, check out the movement of the players, it looks freaking incredible. They seem to have absolutely nailed the way momentum works on a basketball court, and the effect is alot more dramatic than what VC did with NFL 2K5. It's going to add a ton of depth to the way you play on both ends and how you space yourself on the floor, because you can't just go 0-60 in an instant anymore.

It's tough to tell from what I've seen so far, but the game also looks like less of a block fest than last year, which can only be a good thing - Chris Bosh is good and all, but I probably shouldn't be able to make him average 4.7 blocks in a season on superstar. There's a bunch of new features, but the interesting stuff boils down to:

• Isomotion has a bunch of new moves, and can now be done in the air for those Jordan mid-air shot change moments.
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• Franchise mode now features individual player personalities, so now you get to have mid-season Iverson meltdowns and Kobe telling you how to run your own damn team at the merest hint of a 3 game losing streak. How you respond determines whether that player reacts positively or negatively, and affects team chemistry. Don't yet know what Sprewell's coach strangling stat is.
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• Player models are even crazier, with player's individual heads, rather than just faces, mapped out. Improved lighting and shadow effects and billowing uniforms too.

Anyway, after last year I'm all over this on day 1. It's only $20 US, like NFL 2K5. No word yet on whether Randy Moss is going to be in it again, though.

I will be there as well. After 60+ hours put into NFL 2K5, I will live with this game. ESPN kicks ass.

ESPN NHL and NFL 2k5 are both incredible games (not perfect, but still really fun and addictive). I will definitely check out NBA even if videogame basketball is my least favorite video sports genre.

Hmmm...Hilary isn't big on it. Mind you, he still gave it an 8.1. But I'm not sure how to read that review - on the one hand he's familiar with the game, on the other hand I'm not sure reviewing sports games is his thing. Direct quote: "last year's 24/7 mode was better than the main game."

My ass it was. Unless your idea of a good time is spending hours in somebody's driveway having your crappy character getting dunked on repeatedly by Darvin Ham because only 3 pointers or shots taken after a recovered block count for your character but your opponent can score however he wants (*pause, breathe*) all in the hopes of getting a new gold necklace or Joel Pryzbilla's cel phone number, 24/7 was pretty much just a waste of time.

Meanwhile, his praise of NBA Live seems based around its corny all star weekend mode that has you bouncing balls off the jumbotron and scoreboard to perform NBA Street dunks. Gamespot basically called it worthless fluff. I'm thinking he has a thing for worthless fluff.

He also doesn't seem to know how to play the game - "isomotion doesn't work because like last year there are too many charges when using those moves". Try taking your finger off the turbo button. Wow, now the charges go away! He also can't seem to defend the pro hop - "it's a score at will button!" No, it's a "your opponent has committed, free block for you" button. After enough play last year, anytime my opponent went into the pro hop it was an instant spank-a-thon. They needed to add more to it.

He's right about Shaq, though. Shaquille is nowhere near as dominant as he should be - there is a right way to play him, of course, and he's still one of the best post players, but he wasn't worth my first pick last year. But complaining the "he spends too much time on the perimeter" is a bit silly. Apparently this guy has never seen an actual NBA team rotate. Centers get out on the perimiter all the time without any intention of shooting. I suppose they could have written a special AI routine to simulate Shaq's laziness and have him just stand next to the paint, but would that really be a good thing?

Anywaythe game should be out today - hopefully gamespot will have a review up soon - their Live review seemed alot more grounded than IGN's (8.0 to IGN's 8.9, said it was basically the same game as last year.)

Game is out today, picked it up after I was done working at Best Buy today. I really didnt put much time in as I'm getting to leave for my other job, but from the little I played I liked it better than last year. Looks like they fiddled with the controls a little, so that will take a little while to get used to. Anyways, looks like it should be an awesome game again. I'll have to wait until i get home to put some decent time into it.

Might go out and pick this up today if I can get motivated to move...

I picked this up and played the 24/7 mode for the most part... seems cool so far. First basketball game (well, Sim) I've played since NBA2k1.

I take it that the XBOX version is online again...

I wonder if there will be less lag this go around...

I've had no luck with ESPNs online service this year. I haven't been able to get going on NFL or NHL, so I think I'll not even bother with NBA.

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Originally Posted by Korly

I've had no luck with ESPNs online service this year. I haven't been able to get going on NFL or NHL, so I think I'll not even bother with NBA.

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Sorry to hear that, I've been playing both (haven't tried NBA yet). You should give someone at Sega a call.

has anyone played NBA 2k5 yet? i ordered mine online for some stupid reason so i won't get it til tomorrow. is it the goods?

It's the bee's knees

bee's knees. heh. 23 skidoo! thanks.

you know, after reading striderkyo's words, i am pretty sure i'll get this today. i'm all about the gameplay and it really looks like 2k5 has it in spades. and i must confess, his use of "billowing uniforms" helped convince me too. :)

I've spent some time with it over the last few days, and while the real depth & flaws won't emerge until the season starts and it gets some heavy duty play, here are my impressions so far:

The Good:

• No More Volleyball! Last year, the main method of stopping a dunk or layin was to block it, spiking the ball into the 5th row. Blocks have been toned down to a more realistic level this year, and defence works more like in a real game - get close, alter the shot, get the rebound.
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• Next Motion. Player momentum is a huge welcome - it used to be near impossible for me to cover backcourt players, but now players have to stop & cut before they can change direction. This alone changes entirely the way the game is played, and gives the players a weightier, more solid feel. Players also react to each other contextually; for instance a point guard will automatically shield the ball with his body as he gets into the halfcourt near a defender.
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• Atmosphere. BONG! Dunk on some guy's head with Ben Wallace in Detroit, and you'll hear the Big Ben bong. The crowd is fully polygonal now, and when the home team gets going, you really notice a difference; it's like they're right on top of you, going insane. Make a bad play and you can hear individual hecklers from the crowd.
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• Visuals. The game looks great, especially with the broadcast camera. The models really are a big jump from last year; in the 4th quarter their jerseys are even soaked through with sweat. The billowing jerseys aren't quite as dramatic as promised though; I guess we'll have to wait for the next generation before seeing complex fabric physics models. But the arenas have been redone, and they look spectacular. Especially the Bobcats' court.
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• Isomotion & dunks have been toned down. Last year, Vince Carter 's crossover was a weapon so destructive Kim Jong Il was calling up for tips. This year defenders seem better able to stop it. Last year, anybody with a halfway decent dunk could practically leap tall power forwards in a single bound. Tracy McGrady might as well have had a trampoline set up just outside the key. This year, dunks seem to obey the laws of physics, and look much more like the real thing. So now, if you do throw down a sweet dunk, you get a feeling of satisfaction. No more And 1 shenanigans.
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• Halftime. The Xbox version saves your best highlights & replays them at halftime. I like.
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• Playcalling. Last year it sucked, big time. Now it's improved, though I'm not sure it's back to the level it was at in the series early years. I'll continue to mess around with it. And see.
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• Jump balls. They weren't in the game before (except at the beginning of the game). Hardly crucial, since I went through five iterations of this game before noticing, but it's cool now that they're there.

The not so good:

• Where's the faceup button? I'd always considered that one of this series' best contributions. Now on D you can take a charge with Y, which is cool, but I don't understand why they'd take out the faceup button. It just gives you less to do on defence.
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• Pro Hop button. It's not as bad as Hillary said, but really, why does this function need its own button? And why does it radically improve my chances of having a shot go down, even if the defender still has position? If you're playing good interior D you'll be able to shut the move down, but it's a mediocre idea they shouldn't have ripped off from Live in the first place.
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• The words "okay player, pull up a chay-er" are now burned into my brain.
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• Changes for the sake of changes. The freethrow meter looks different - same function, just a little odd looking. Tip offs are now won by slamming X faster than the other guy, rather than timing. Huh? These things were just fine before. Not really bad or anything now, but not better either.

Those are my impressions so far. The player ratings also seem to be pretty good for the most part - KG is the best player in the game, and he and Kobe are the only 99s. Kirilenko's an 89. Cassell's a 90. Lebron's an 88, Carmelo 87 or 86. Yao's in the 80s. There are still a couple I'd change - Marbury should be higher than the same 88/89 he was rated last year. And Bosh only a 78? You're killin' me, guys!

Anyway, generally speaking, if you're conisdering buying a basketball game this year, you can't go wrong with this. It's dirt cheap, and Gamespot rated it higher than Live. I can't wait to see how the game plays once I get deeper into the mechanics.

Ill pick the XBOX version up tonight.

Since the NBA 2K series is the only good, realistic Basketball series around (Konami should seriously release another In the Zone in America), I wanted to pick this up.

I was at Frys this morning and I saw the box art. I thought to myself, "That shit would look really ugly in my collection".

I'm sorry but, most ridiculous box ever. Yet, I still want to get it....even if it is the worst box art ever. Like, I would be embarassed to have that in my room, and I don't even give a shit about box art.

I loved the In The Zone games on psone, going back and playing them now hurts.. especially the first one..

That game jumping flash and Battle Arena Toshinden sold me a psone easily...

got 2k5 over the weekend and so far- i'm loving it. very realistic game play, excellent player control. love the atmosphere, sounds, music, stuff like that. 2k5 ocuppied my time for most of sunday and i can officially say i'm hooked. a game that only costs 20 bucks should NOT be this good, but for the sake of my wallet and free time, i'm pretty damn pleased that is.

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Originally Posted by JMET

I loved the In The Zone games on psone, going back and playing them now hurts.. especially the first one..

That game jumping flash and Battle Arena Toshinden sold me a psone easily...

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Same here, although pics of Wipeout/Destruction Derby also sold me the psone! To stay semi-on topic, I remember the first NBA game from 989 studio/Sony was actually decent, but all the annual followups suck.

I got the Xbox version tonight, This plays so much better then last years that it isnt funny.

I could never get used to playing 2k4.. I can actually compete with people online now, I also noticed it seems to be smoother online?

24/7 mode is slowly taking over my life, and it better not interfere with my playing MK and GTA :)

happy to report that i didn't go outside yesterday due to 24/7 mode. also i felt a cold coming on. but mostly because this game is rocksolid.

Spent alot of time with this over the weekend, got in some good multiplayer sessions. Streetball mode is the best it's ever been - Dirk Nowitzki in the velour pimp tracksuit rocks.

I'm also loving all the little animations they tossed in - guys leaning against each other trying to box out for a rebound, or trying to tie up the ball, there's so many of them.

I really have to change the way I play, though - rebounding seems a lot more important this time out, and I can't rely on getting the block all the time or flying past/over guys for dunks. On the other hand, it seems way easier to have the ball stolen so facing an opponent up is often a risky prospect; maybe too much so. Anybody know how you do the clearout move with the ball this year?