[Mister Magnus]

Quote: Originally Posted by Epiffani

Coming from someone who played NBA 2K12 a total of 10 times max, due to the neglectful nature of factoring in positioning on all fronts (my main problem with 2K12), NBA 2k13 is a far cry in that respect and it really is an excellent game that deserves the praise that it's largely getting. The number one thing that I feel like they absolutely nailed this year -- and they always try to make this a point of emphasis, but they really fleshed it out this time around --is player differentiation. In the past, the ratings & tendencies, in combination with the numerous amounts of signature animations, were enough to visually see the difference amongst players, but throw into the mix signature skills, and you have players that feel completely different-- even those with similar attributes playing the same position. I've only been the Bulls and the Clippers, and Chris Paul and Derrick Rose (two elite PG's) feel completely different as far as when I'm controlling them. CP3 has a certain tempo to his game that I simply can not replicate when I'm controlling Rose and vice versa. When I'm controlling Rose, it's almost as if he's a highlight waiting to happen because of his athleticism. They're both 'explosive' guards, but at the same time, they are almost polar opposites from one another (just like in real life).... Just like the old adage of saying "there's more than one way to skin a cat" and I thoroughly enjoy using both of them equally because of it. It's seriously hard to play other sports games now because the lack of player individuality absolutely pales in comparisons to what NBA 2K13 has done with their 4 headed monster (ratings, tendencies, signature animations, and now signature skills). NBA 2K13 (along with The Show although to a lesser extent) is the only sports game that I can play the appropriate, real life allotted time, and not feel like it's a choir to get through. In fact, when I'm playing offline, that's all I play is 12 minute quarters and I couldn't imagine playing any other way. Just think about some other sports video games out there and imagine trying to play the exact same minutes of the sport that they are attempting to simulate... Not only would it become monotonous after awhile out of sheer out of boredom, but the numbers would be way out of wack. All of my numbers when I'm playing 12 minute quarters in 2K13 are respectable and are not so 'far-fetched.' This game, just like the review alluded to a bit, is also incredibly deep. My friend picked up the game on release, I went to his house and he hasn't even played the game yet. You know why? Because of the shoe creator (he was creating shoes when I went over there). He's absolutely locked in on that feature despite me telling him that there's a good game to be played. The All-Star Weekend, much to my surprise, is extremely well done and the commentary just like the regular games is incredibly seamless and well done. I was playing the dunk contest, and the CPU did the exact same dunk as I did and three man crew clowned him because of it.... Of course there's negatives, which I'm sure I'll get into on here as time goes on, but I'm seriously amazed at this point from the improvement that they made in a year span with this title, especially as far as the gameplay is concerned. Fantastic game.

@Epiffani

Dude, you're so right about playing with 12 minute quarters. So spot on. And it's been that way for at least the past few years for me, too. In no other sports game would I ever play a true full-length game and in 2k I almost never want to play anything else. Maybe 8 or 9 minutes against a bud, but always 12 minutes against the CPU. And games never feel too long. Mark of a great simulation game.