Home
Preview
NBA 2K14 Preview (Xbox 360)

The demo of the current gen version of NBA 2K14 I played at gamescom feels and plays a lot like last year’s game with a couple of refinements and tweaks that hardcore fans will definitely appreciate. I was expecting something similar to 2K13 due to the next gen release but honestly I was a bit disappointed to see almost the exact same presentation even down to the same camera angles before tip off.

After a couple of games you do see the gameplay improvements shine through a bit more. 


 

The most noticeable change to this year’s game and probably a real game changer is the new blocking system. Not only do you get to see awesome block animations, the feel and reward of playing defense is much higher than last year. On one possession, I played great defense against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs until the end of the shot clock, at which point I blocked his shot because he couldn't get a good one off. You really feel the presence of good shot blockers around the rim this year. Great addition.

Defense on the whole felt a lot stronger as offensive players tend to lose the ball when going into traffic and a lot of contact animations are triggered around the rim. Defense movement seemed improved as well – all in all I really liked playing defense, it was a lot more fun than in last year’s games.

On offense there are some great improvements as well. Passing animations and speed are noticeably improved plus the addition of the stick as a passing trigger felt great too. Shooting is a lot more responsive as well – unfortunately there are still those very quick release points where you don’t have the opportunity to really hang in the air while shooting. Shot releases did feel disconnected again for me which was very disappointing to see.

Another thing I didn’t see a lot of improvements in was the floor spacing. You can tell that they were trying to address the issue (which has plagued the series for years) and the faster passes and jump shots did help a bit – but the main problem with help defense being too one-dimensional and defensive recovery being too quick still exists. Also the teammate AI doesn’t space the floor well enough when penetrating. On one occasion I had Parker of the spurs on Chris Bosh in the post & paint and no Spurs player came to help.

Hope they can fix this issue in the next gen versions.

The new Pro Stick needs a little getting used to at first. I had some instances where I wanted to dribble but went up for the shot. Overall I liked this setting more than holding down LT for a shot or drive. There are a couple of nice new dribbling animations as well.

There were other positive aspects as well. Biting on pump fakes can cause very realistic looking animations where players fall over each other. Contact animations in the paint seemed more varied but you can´t really tell how good or varied they are from playing only a couple of games. I did see some familiar contact drive animations from 2K13 a little too much. I saw a one handed dunk by Lennard on Haslem which looked almost exactly like the one in he NBA finals against Miller. I had the feeling that dunks were a little bit more explosive as well.


 

Playing the Euroleague teams feels a little different as a result of different defensive schemes. 

Overall I liked the improvements a lot after playing for a while but was disappointed to see some issues I had with the last couple of games still existed (jump shots & spacing). This is the year of the first next gen version of NBA 2K so I can understand that the wheel won´t be reinvented with the last big current gen effort. NBA 2K14 will may very well be the best version of NBA 2K to date – just don´t expect a  very different game.


NBA 2K14 Videos
Member Comments
# 1 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 04:55 PM
If you have any questions you can post them here and I´ll try to answer.
 
# 2 Doubt23 @ 08/23/13 05:00 PM
Vielen Dank für deine Preview Stephan!
 
# 3 chris11sg @ 08/23/13 05:03 PM
General feel of defense? Will stick skills allow users to have the upper hand vs an human opponent (or CPU), or will ratings still give the lesser player the benefit due to a higher rating? *from your experience w/ the game*
 
# 4 jersez @ 08/23/13 05:04 PM
Quote:
"but the main problem with help defense being too one-dimensional and defensive recovery being too quick still exists. Also the teammate AI doesn’t space the floor well enough when penetrating. On one occasion I had Parker of the spurs on Chris Bosh in the post & paint and no Spurs player came to help."
Please fix this before the game is released- Signed by A tired of this fan
 
# 5 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:08 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by chris11sg
General feel of defense? Will stick skills allow users to have the upper hand vs an human opponent (or CPU), or will ratings still give the lesser player the benefit due to a higher rating? *from your experience w/ the game*
What I can say is that it was harder to get in the paint because of more contact animations around the rim. Plus the blocks make a huge difference. Also with the better movement you feel more in control of defense. I hadnt had so much fun with defense in 2K for a while.
 
# 6 jersez @ 08/23/13 05:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaWolf
What I can say is that it was harder to get in the paint because of more contact animations around the rim. Plus the blocks make a huge difference. Also with the better movement you feel more in control of defense. I hadnt had so much fun with defense in 2K for a while.
Does the cpu ball handler run right through you? And how many offensive rebounds did you see by the cpu?
 
# 7 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:12 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jersez
Does the cpu ball handler run right through you? And how many offensive rebounds did you see by the cpu?
First thing didnt happen, I could stand infront of him almost every time. There were quite a few offensive rebounds as far as I remember.
 
# 8 chris11sg @ 08/23/13 05:18 PM
Not sure if you ran plays but if so did the play start in an acceptable amount of time? ex. Some plays on 2k13 doesn't run/initiate until late in the shot clock, tempo.
 
# 9 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:20 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by chris11sg
Not sure if you ran plays but if so did the play start in an acceptable amount of time? ex. Some plays on 2k13 doesn't run/initiate until late in the shot clock, tempo.
You couldnt run plays or even set picks. I also dont get where those videos came from with OKC and the ability to set picks. Must have been a non-show floor version.
 
# 10 juicey79 @ 08/23/13 05:20 PM
So this is last years game from a presentation standpoint?
nothing different in sound or commentary?
What about sneakers and accessories?

Thanks for sharing your experience
 
# 11 Da_Czar @ 08/23/13 05:22 PM
Wolf great preview, I must say though your thoughts on spacing have me concerned. Are you saying the players on offense are not in the right positions for spacing OR that they are in the right positions but the defense is still recovering too fast.
 
# 12 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:23 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by juicey79
So this is last years game from a presentation standpoint?
nothing different in sound or commentary?
What about sneakers and accessories?

Thanks for sharing your experience
Commentary was new of course. Accessoires stuff I guess as well. But the loading screens,camera cuts and pregame rituals plus hand shaking looked pretty much identical.
 
# 13 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Da_Czar
Wolf great preview, I must say though your thoughts on spacing have me concerned. Are you saying the players on offense are not in the right positions for spacing OR that they are in the right positions but the defense is still recovering too fast.
I think its a bit of both. I mean there were instances when Ray Allen was open on the perimeter and cut to the basket when I was driving. I hated that in 13 and 12. But more obvious to me was the fast recovery of the help defenders. It is a little bit better because you can shoot much quicker and the passes have more zip but thats an issue for years and its clearly not fixed to a degree where I would say its good.

edit: to me its also a thing of the players moving around too much to run plays. thats typically when it happens that someone like chalmers is under the rim while driving with lebron.
 
# 14 black_mamba24 @ 08/23/13 05:30 PM
Great preview DaWolf.
 
# 15 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:34 PM
One more thing about the spacing issue with the series in general. Call me crazy but if someone still has the 2K12 Demo (!) on his console please check it out and tell me that there isnt awesome spacing in that version. Dont know what happened there but I think this is the best its ever been. Shame it was only this way in the demo.
 
# 16 jersez @ 08/23/13 05:34 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaWolf
First thing didnt happen, I could stand infront of him almost every time. There were quite a few offensive rebounds as far as I remember.

No more of this right? I'm sorry I'm basically asking twice.
 
# 17 DaWolf @ 08/23/13 05:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jersez
No more of this right? I'm sorry I'm basically asking twice.
Really hard to say from this short time but I think that it is improved. You can force the offensive player with the LT trigger away from the basket.
 
# 18 jersez @ 08/23/13 05:42 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaWolf
Really hard to say from this short time but I think that it is improved. You can force the offensive player with the LT trigger away from the basket.
Man playing defense sounds like you don't have to catch a bullet with your teeth anymore LOL

What about signature dribbling?
 
# 19 Da_Czar @ 08/23/13 05:44 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaWolf
I think its a bit of both. I mean there were instances when Ray Allen was open on the perimeter and cut to the basket when I was driving. I hated that in 13 and 12. But more obvious to me was the fast recovery of the help defenders. It is a little bit better because you can shoot much quicker and the passes have more zip but thats an issue for years and its clearly not fixed to a degree where I would say its good.

edit: to me its also a thing of the players moving around too much to run plays. thats typically when it happens that someone like chalmers is under the rim while driving with lebron.
Thanks Wolf. There is an adjustable or there was an adjustable setting I'm sure they will talk more about that will probably give you what your looking for as far as the movement. They need to fix that d recovery asap tho.
 
# 20 jersez @ 08/23/13 05:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Da_Czar
Thanks Wolf. There is an adjustable or there was an adjustable setting I'm sure they will talk more about that will probably give you what your looking for as far as the movement. They need to fix that d recovery asap tho.
How was the spacing in the version you played Czar? And defensive closeouts.
 

« Previous1234Next »

Post A Comment
Only OS members can post comments
Please login or register to post a comment.