A lot has been said about the AI of this game, especially in regards to defense but one of my biggest problems with it comes on the offensive end.
Three seconds violations. I get at least 5 per game. Whether it's the fancy new "Bump & Grind" physics of paint play or just general lack of awareness, my big men are constantly called for 3 in the key. It's absurd. Sometimes they're just standing there, aloof. I wanted to see if there was some sort of uptick in these violations that the devs were attempting to replicate and the short answer is, no. The leader in these violations during last season, understandably was Houston. Yet they
averaged only 0.378 per.
Second here is out of bounds. We (Or maybe just I) rejoiced when they removed the invisible wall from the out of bounds line. It took away the safety net of baseline cheesers and just added to the realism. However this also affects CPU controlled teammates, often chilling in the crowd when they should have wide open looks.
The third issue in this regard is lack of ball awareness. Human controlled players are much less aware of the ball than others. If you've played the game, I don't have to explain how annoying it is to see your teammate ignore a loose ball that he could have picked up to initiate a fastbreak. This problem also spills over to the offensive end in regards to lobs. Not only are they almost completely broken in any situation other than P&Rs, but when they do go awry, your teammates just watch the ball sail out of bounds or to the other team.
Finally, my biggest issue of this kind is latency and flat out disregard of button input. Latency first. Basketball is largely a read & react game. Passes, dribble moves, shots, steals, & blocks all rely on timing. That same timing that is wildly inconsistent in this game. 2K17 lacks that 1-to-1 feel that it needs to make stick skills truly more viable than player ratings. Nothing hurts like playing as an underdog and being forced into a mistake that you simply can't afford. Something as simple as a pass being delayed half a second can change the landscape of a game. What should have turned into an easy two points becomes a contested attempt or even worse, a turnover because the pass needed to be perfect and the game didn't allow that to happen.
Sometimes input is flat out ignored almost as if the game is a strict parent that somehow knows what's best. In it's defense, some of these times it's right, but I would rather lose on my own accord than win on the CPU's. Times where I go for a spin layup and my player just throws up a wild attempt. Or when I try to pass out of a shot for a better look and the CPU is like "Nah, I'm pulling". Times where I tap the shot button ever so gently and the game decides that love tap was enough to register a shot that of course ends up an early release and a likely miss.
I feel like these issues are what "breaks immersion" the most. Feeling like you aren't fully in control can take you out of a game immediately.
EDIT: And one more thing. It's not as difficult to throw a full court pass as you might imagine. I can understand Javale McGee or some other goof screwing it up, but when my point guard lobs the ball into the 18th row over a wide open man's head. That's absurd!!
11-16-2016, 09:25 PM
