Has the NBA 2K series become too successful?
Two years ago, the stars all aligned for the long-running basketball sim. Michael Jordan signed on. Their competition crashed and burned spectacularly. And most importantly, independent of all that, the gameplay itself was the best we'd ever seen in a pro basketball game up to that point. 2K's party continued last year, with Jordan returning, EA keeping NBA Live on the bench again, and 2K12 offering up more hoops goodness.
So what of this year -- 2K13? His Airness is back -- and this time he's bringing a certain Round Mound of Rebound who'd long since stayed out of the video game world -- and the game will once more be the only basketball sim you can buy on a disc. As for the game itself? It's packed to the rafters with goodness, from a playable fantasy match-up of the 1992 and 2012 Dream Teams to an all-new, NBA Live Freestyle stick-esque control scheme. But it's also got a whole slew of features that you're probably not expecting. So that takes us back to a version of the original question: has Visual Concepts gone nuts?
The answer for gamers is a resounding yes, but in the best of ways.
First, there's the whole Jay-Z thing. Visual Concepts proudly puts him forward as an "executive producer" on the game, but until now they've never explained what the hell that means. Besides giving him credit for getting Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley to sign on and be playable in the game (no, really; they claim Jay picked up the phone, said, "Get me Barkley and Pippen," and they called him back ASAP and reached an agreement to be included), Hova curated the entire soundtrack, which includes himself (duh), Kanye West, and U2, among many others. Better, before each game tips off, a music video by Jay-Z or one of the other featured artists plays to get you fired up for the game, mixed together with gameplay footage. A number of these are included, and they definitely spice up the presentation. Finally, he also requested that the background menus pulse in rhythm to whatever song is playing at a given time. I've seen this and...yep, it does that. Thanks Jay!
"Please, Mr. GM, will you fire Stan Van Gundy for me? PLEEEEEEEEASE?"
Second is the new Virtual Currency (VC...get it?) system. Like many other modern games, you'll get what amount to experience points for everything you do -- even quick-play games. Your VC is spent on upgrading your MyPlayer, which returns from last year but has now been blown-out. Buy suits for your created baller that you'll see during post-game press conferences. Pick up official, real-life team gear by adidas to don in blacktop pickup games. And in the Accessory Shop, grab gear like the adiZero Speedwrap ankle brace that has stat-modifying bonuses; in this case, a +2 boost to your on-ball defense.
In MyCareer mode, you'll be able to simulate Dwight Howard's life, from meeting with the GM to demand your coach be fired to taking your teammates out to dinner in order to receive a team chemistry/popularity boost. You can even do NBA Cares charity functions in order to win over more fans.
"Damn, I make this look good."
Visual Concepts spent perhaps the most amount of time during my demo showing me their craziest feature yet: the Shoe Creator. Yes, they've had a basic version of this before, but the ends of the earth they've gone to on this smack of a studio that clearly has no competition to worry about and is free to pursue flights of fancy like this (again, I mean that in a nice way!). 2K13's Shoe Creator is, essentially, the virtual shoe equivalent of Forza Motorsport 4's livery system. Except in that game, you can't click a button when you're done and order the car you just designed, complete with that custom paint job.
Yes, you can build your own kicks using different materials, colors, patterns, and more. Dozens of layers (45 of them, to be exact) let you highlight every detail you like. You can then upload those to the web, where other users can rate them. Want to go a step farther? Get this: the game syncs with the NikeID website and you can actually have your virtual shoe made real and shipped to your door. Perhaps Visual Concepts will let us try out that particular feature next time...
In case you were wondering: yes, there is a basketball game in here too.
What you should and probably do care most about, however, is the new Control Stick. Simply wiggle the right thumbstick and use the momentum of your body to fake guys out of their shoes (don't worry, it's far easier said than done; I don't expect it to be exploitable), and then pull LT/R2 in order to flip the Control Stick into the Shot Stick and put up your look. I only got to play a couple quarters as the '92 Dream Team against this summer's Team USA -- hardly enough time to really get comfortable with the controls -- but it feels like a natural, simulation-friendly evolution of its implementation back in the last-gen NBA Live days. It should prove to be NBA 2K13's most important new feature, along with the return of Michael Jordan and the Legends teams (including a new crew: Allen Iverson's '01 76ers)...
...What, you thought I was going to say it'd be the Shoe Creator?
Ryan McCaffrey is the Executive Editor at IGN Xbox. He used to own a DeLorean, which is weird. Follow him on Twitter, on IGN, catch him on Podcast Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Source : ign[dot]com
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