OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

[RaychelSnr]

Sales of NBA 2K12 look to be well below last year's record-breaking totals. By all accounts the NBA Lockout, plus a less than enticing effort, has given many gamers enough reason to not fork over $60 for the game this year. Given the end of the lockout and the reintroduction of accurate and up to date rosters, should gamers who passed up on the game initially take a look at the game one more time?

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[Gramps91]

yea, I mean I got the game day one and as far as gameplay and presentation I love it. Only thing I don't like is the trade logic. I've had the game shelved the past few weeks due to the lockout being pretty much over because I am waiting on the rookies before starting up again. I will start a new association and my player once the next patch comes out and the rookies are finally put in.

[wallofhate]

Im surprised im in the minority of how great this game is. Im not seeing the problems being as glaring as others do. The only gripe I have is the 2 on 1 3 on 1 break passing being very poor. The 3 point shooting is bothersome somewhat but this is hands down the greatest bball game ive ever played in my 29 yrs and top five greatest sports game ive ever played.

[broadrivr]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

Im surprised im in the minority of how great this game is. Im not seeing the problems being as glaring as others do. The only gripe I have is the 2 on 1 3 on 1 break passing being very poor. The 3 point shooting is bothersome somewhat but this is hands down the greatest bball game ive ever played in my 29 yrs and top five greatest sports game ive ever played.

I agree with most of this except the fastbreak. I run mostly with the 97 and 86 Lakers and I've been able to do some amazing things on the break this year. I use icon passing so what I do on the break is keep holding R1(ps3) and the icons stay up the whole time......that way u can do quick touch passes. It takes some practice, and u have to learn how to control ur turbo in the paint, but it really opens up the fastbreak on this game. This works great with Magic Johnson

[ManiacMatt1782]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

I don't know, the on the court game is awesome, but too many features in the prior efforts were removed this year. No shot feedback online, no VIP viewer for tor friends, No lobbies, no crew, no online league, no sliders online for custom matches. New modes are missing options, but I have gone on about that more than enough. For a good no frills basketball game that's missing all the extras, 2k12 is great. But if you like extras, specifically online extras, 2k12 is severely lacking. Too many things removed from 2k11 to justify a $60 purchase in my honest opinion.

[adfletch71]

Lol...if that's the case, then why people buy Madden every year with it's constant issues. Yes it's worth it and it's better than NBA2k11. NBA2k11 had some issues pre-patch last year and post-patch there was still issues. It was a great game nevertheless. The same for NBA2k12. All games have issues and will never be perfect, but u do appreciate the sim elements and presentation aspects of 2k12.

[ManiacMatt1782]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

Lol...if that's the case, then why people buy Madden every year with it's constant issues. Yes it's worth it and it's better than NBA2k11. NBA2k11 had some issues pre-patch last year and post-patch there was still issues. It was a great game nevertheless. The same for NBA2k12. All games have issues and will never be perfect, but u do appreciate the sim elements and presentation aspects of 2k12.

I didn't say anything about Madden, but EA was just as guilty, if not moreso with Madden 06-09. But I firmly stand by my opinion, that I wish I would have waited till black Friday and spent $28 bucks at Target. With more than half of the online features gone, half the price was a fairer price point to the loyal fans of this companies yearly product. As a loyal fan, I have to be honest and say I feel almost feel betrayed by 2k with their online effort this year. I will not preorder 2k13, until I get confirmation about things removed from 2k12 being back in 2k13.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

I really don't get the view that NBA2K12 is a "less than enticing" effort. Last year this time most wondered how they could top 2K11's effort. Whether you believe 2K11 is better or not, I don't know how anyone could say they didn't try/make a major effort to improve on it. I can understand the disappointment some have with [their pet feature from last year] not being available or not in the game, but I think it everything has to be viewed in context. Even if some elements of 2K12 are to be considered "stripped down" from 2K11, what other sports game offers as much content as 2K12 at default?

- 2K12 unquestionably has set the high bar from a Presentation standpoint - period. From the arena-specific camera angles, to the exceptional commentary, to the pregame/halftime/postgame efforts, to everything in between it's hard to argue another game being close to this effort

- The work with the Legends is also ********* imo. I'd think fans of any sports genre would love being able to play with legendary teams with their full rosters whether it's football, baseball, etc. Here we've had people laughably try to write it off as fluff. This is the first game to come close to fully implementing full legendary rosters with the players' looks, signature styles, commentary that provides tons of anecdotal references to the period and/or specific to the situation, as well as visual presentation and gameplay elements specific I think as well as arenas, specific to the moment. Again, I'm not aware of any other sports game that's even attempted this type of effort

- Whether you like or hate them, there were many efforts made to improve on the gameplay. And to me I have a hard time seeing every improvement as being an adject failure. Simply latching on to not liking the playcalling system because it's not NBA Live-whatever and complaining about the passing does the rest of the effort a serious disservice. The new animation blending techniques yields excellent animations most of the time. I think by far 2K's biggest mistake how they implemented cpu play on the higher difficulty levels (flat-out cheats at times), and their customary lack of providing information on how the game needs to be played. The new training modes are a nice addition, but given the amount of content in the game a lot needs to be explained to users so they know what they're doing. The game has lots of depth but I doubt most people begin to even try to grasp it

These are things off the top of my head. I'd think people would be doing backflips if they were able to get an NFL2K12-equivalent, or something of that nature. It's not perfect, but it shouldn't have to be.

[RUFFNREADY]

Could somebody point out any game ever made without bugs or glitches? I dont think so. The game is good; not great, but a solid good. lockout or not i found rookies that somebody shared on 2Kshare, and it was great. The free agency dilemma thing did bother me for a bit, because i wanted to get to know my team(s) better, and i dont know who is leaving and who is coming; but it was short lived as i did shelve the game for a few weeks as i tried to prestige up in MW3. The break always happens at this time of year. B-ball comes out, then Call of Duty hits; thats alot of playing time, if you have it. For what its worth 2K12 is a game that should be looked at again IMO, and after a few patches, it should be alot more enjoyable as long as 2K doesnt drop the BALL!
btw, i dont know why somebody wouldn't have picked up the game during black friday, when it was alot cheaper?
cheeers

[RockitOldSchool]

I'll admit the Lockout kept me from playing 2K12, at least to the point where I would pop in 2K11 because the rosters were virtually the same as 2K12's. I could never get into 2K12 no matter how hard I tried. 2K11 is the better basketball game. The presentation is 2K12 is great but the gameplay just isn't right. I know if I'm playing 2K11 I'm going to get the most realistic basketball experience. I would say 2K12 took a major step backwards because even with the Lockout if the game itself lived up to all the hype and expectations people wouldn't be complaining so much.

Part of the problem of sucess is that there is sure to be a letdown at some point. In that regards 2K Sports is a victim of their own sucess. It's kind of like when your team finally wins the championship, the next season anything less than another championship is a major letdown. NBA 2k12 made it to the Conference Finals but didn't quite reach that same level. Now it baffles us.

The end of the Lockout will help. And I'm hoping the new patch fixes some of the gameplay issues. I know I'm going to give it another chance. I couldn't stand Madden 12. I sold my copy 3 days after release. I picked it up again at a Black Friday sale for under $30 and I'm starting to have fun. I'm hoping 2K12 will revive itself.

[chia51]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12?

If you're an offline gamer, wait and see what the patch does and doesn't do regarding MP, Assoc and CPU gameplay.

If you're an online gamer, wait and see what the patch does for online play, because right now its pure garbage, ranked, unranked or Online Assoc... games just drop way too often still.

I personally lean towards no, right now... but depending on the patch and what it actually does, I could change and lead towards a yes. NBA2k12 is kinda like a breakout player almost at Superstar status when they come out and have a slightly better than average year and lose all credibility in their ability to go to the next level.

[DBMcGee3]

Very eager to see the notes for this "mega patch". Not sure how much they can really tweak on the passing with just a gameplay patch, but maybe I'm just an idiot. There needs to be some way by which to have more control over the types of passes. I understand the need to be conservative and careful with the ball, but right now I never even try to thread the needle, because I'm scared that the guy will just throw a duck pass and turn it over. I have also had trouble with fast breaks, mainly I feel because of the lack of a manual bounce pass. I just want to know exactly what the guy is going to do before I press the button, is that so much to ask?

Still a great game, so much so that these little problems really seem to stand out. It's like a big scratch on a brand new Benz.

[DonWuan]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

My hours played with 2k11 have been down since 2k12. I cant get passed every player being able to play like hakeem downlow. For some reason this game causes me to rage a little to often. I rarely lose but when I do I feel Ive been cheated. No game is perfect but this one doesnt offer much content for myself since im a offline player. I havent touched the legendary mode since it was introduced. Ive been playing association since dreamcast days.

I cant put my finger on it but something is missing. Since im a PC player I can forget about a patch until next year. Live ball physics was a gimmick. I believe 2k is starting to become the new madden.

[youALREADYknow]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

For under $40, there isn't a better sports game on the console market for the offline gamer. I can't speak for online gamers because that experience is too dependent on 2K getting the "out-of-the-box" experience right which I doubt they will do this year.

[da ThRONe]

Re: OS Roundtable: Should Gamers Take a Second Look at NBA 2K12

The patch will mean so much more than any roster upgrades. In all this I'm mostly impressed with the roster makers. Some guys really did some great work to replicate the rookies. So much so it hardly even an issue.

However what is an issue is the lack of "pop" on the court. The ineffective fastbreak when a CPU defender is back. The poor passing ability/pass selection/ball placement on passes. The ridiculous amount of blocks. The ball having an almost magnetic field when loose and finding it's way into the CPU players hand at an realistic way.