Defense

[kGinGreen]

Just thought I'd throw this out there. It's definately cool what these developers can do with these games these days. But with such a focus being on how players look, and move offensively, I've noticed in some videos that the same attention hasn't been paid to defense. If you watch the offensive player all is well and good but watch the defense sometime. I haven't seen any real aggression out of the defense yet which is a bit concerning to me. Madden is a great game, but watch the blocking and defense sometime. You notice the same things. Is this just EA's focus to give an illusion that something is right when it isn't necessarily? I f you wonder why you notice AI flaws in these games after time and cheese starts cropping up, this is why imo. I wish more attention would be paid to the defensive side of the ball instead of just making an offensive player look and move realistically. Flame shield on I guess, but I think what I'm saying is true. Obviously I'll have to wait and play the real thing to judge for myself.

I guess the point is basketball is not just a one sided sport. KG being my favorite player I appreciate defense and I'm watching these vids and KG does not look like KG on the defensive end of the floor at all. Rondo same thing.

[jtdribbles25]

Re: Defense

only thing I can say is that most of the videos have been produced with the intentions to highlight the intended purpose. Possibly with about 5 weeks to go and at lest 4 more blogs, there will be some dedicated to the defense. Last years game was decent defensively so theres some hope. . It would'nt surprise me though, if defense hasn't been made quite the priority that offense has.

[Rocboyz101]

Re: Defense

Already had a defensive blog, and alot of the reviews said the defense is good. Gotta remember these trailers are on a lower difficulty to showcase a certain aspect of gameplay..

[kGinGreen]

Re: Defense

Watch Lebron in the cavs video though and watch the defender. The defender is like let's just sit back and watch lebron shoot the ball. I'll wave hi as you shoot it from 5 feet away. Hi how you doing. Nice shot. Shakes Lebrons hand.

[Rocboyz101]

Re: Defense

Watch Lebron in the cavs video though and watch the defender. The defender is like let's just sit back and watch lebron shoot the ball. I'll wave hi as you shoot it from 5 feet away.

I don't remember this, just remember lebron doing a step back jumper...I'll watch it again though.

[SageInfinite]

Re: Defense

Defense wasn't a problem for me last year, I don't expect it to be one this year.

[kGinGreen]

Re: Defense

the on ball defense in general seems very lax. Maybe it's the difficulty. I have no idea.

[kGinGreen]

Re: Defense

Defense wasn't a problem for me last year, I don't expect it to be one this year.

I agree live 09 the defense was ok if you controlled the man minus the delay in jumping/contesting shots which appears to be fixed. But i'm more talking about the cpu controlled players. It's very lax. Players just kind of float there. The switching is also screwy and very basic, and players just don't move or play to their real life attributes. You see that block by the guys elbow. It's just because he got in the way and didnt react realistically and it hit off his elbow. The defenders when going for the block don't appear to take the proper angle. This was a problem last year as well. They just kind of jump for no reason sometimes if they are anywhere near the play.

The save by Garnett as the ball was going out of bounds was nice though.... EA did a nice job with the lose ball thing apparently.

[Rocboyz101]

Re: Defense

Main problem with defense last year was contesting and closing out on jumpers for me..

[kGinGreen]

Re: Defense

I hope there is a feature where you can regulate defensive aggression(and it works well).

[Rocboyz101]

Re: Defense

Yeah I just watched it...I don't see the problem..He took to jumpshtos where he created space..and lebrons not much of a shooter so he gets played loose for the drive.

[Jano]

Re: Defense

Imo defense isn't something that can be easily recognized just by watching a gameplay vid. Its something that is more hands on like in real life.

Guys like KG and Artest are great defenders but you don't always notice how much work they put in each possession you know.

We as fans don't really know how hard players have to work to get their shot off on these guys. Even though the D looks lax we don't know how much of that is effecting the offensive players percentage.

Just by looking at the vid (Celtic Cavs) I can tell that in those sequences the defenders just got beat plain and simple. The thing is that was only 2 min of gameplay we don't know how hard they defended earlier or if they improved later on.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't stress out too much until you play the game yourself. If the game defensively is constantly like the video that was shown then we have a problem.

Fortunately I don't think this will be a huge problem because in Live 09 I felt okay defensively and I can't see the game taking too many steps back in that regard.

Also check out the vid brs posted from gamescom look at how much harder it was for him to score. Gotta remember that these were devs playing the game so obviously they can make it look easier then it actually may be.

It's kind of like watching Kobe or Pierce score on guys and then trying to go out and do those things yourself. You realize just how good those guys are at doing what they do.

[donkey33]

Re: Defense

I think my biggest concern was too mayn dunks and the interior being too weak.

From what I've read though, on the right level, dunks have been limited and interior D is working well so hopefully that's the case.

[Beluba]

Re: Defense

well, if it's any consolation... i make it a point to check team stats for every game i play and watch (user vs. AI, AI vs. AI, and user vs. user) and I can report that shooting %'s are at least 10-15% lower than any other game I've been involved with in the past. and i literally have never seen a 10+ min. quarter game go into the 60% range. and no, there was no fudging of numbers to make layups or jumpers go in at a lower % this year. so hopefully that reassures you a little. also bear in mind that videos that showcase defense (outside of big defensive stops like steals and blocks), don't necessarily excite the casual fan. and like it or not, many of our videos are catered to them.

when you get the demo and have some time with the game yourselves, i think you'll find that there's more than enough solid defense being played by the AI. and in user vs. user games, if you concentrate and play smart defensive basketball, you can hold your opponents at bay as well.

[jtdribbles25]

Re: Defense

I think my biggest concern was too mayn dunks and the interior being too weak.

From what I've read though, on the right level, dunks have been limited and interior D is working well so hopefully that's the case.

what makes you think there are too many dunks??