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I wish I could take Fifa’s defensive stance and its turbostance and place it into NBA 2k. I would also take NBA 2k’s right stick and move it into Fifa so tit for tat? No...
I understand that its far easier to steal the ball and stay in front of someone in soccer so assume stealing the ball has nothing to do with it. Fifa’s advantages are in control, speed, momentum, AI and physics. Fifa's greatest strength is that is has an organic/realistic foundation. It’s the same thing EA attempted with Live so PAUSE I understand its harder to deliver in a basketball game however I would argue that Visual Concepts hasn’t truly tried.
Control- The stance was improved in 2k14 CG. In NG it’s back to 2k13 which wasn’t good, neither was 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.... NBA 2k has never had a good defensive stance. CH 2k8 arguably did. To understand why you have to step back and realize that it doesn’t even have a defensive stance at all. The automated defensive stance never made sense to me. I remember Rashidi, who I usually agree with said that it should be automated because NBA players are always in a stance.
Maybe
…but not in relation with the ball and their man? As you can see here Hibbert is in an onball stance and he is not close to where it would automate in 2k14 without using the “intense D” which would make Hibbert move like he was holding a 400 pound medicine ball. The slowest player in Fifa could slide down while keeping good relation with Birdman. To intentionally strafe at any place on the court you have to reduce your speed. If you give up too much ground you lose your automated stance, and there are holes in its motion. If you attempt to move backwards/diagonally its ungodly slow. This is even true with the best onball defenders. Its like there is a hole in the animation. You cant do it unless the offensive player is moving. The stance hops out of place with what I would consider unrelated input. Its not just slow its unintuitive, unresponsive and jerky. In Fifa if you want to get into a stance you just press the stance button. There are no variables or penalties.
Physics-
Fifa is just less canned. You can get a penalty in fifa just by sprinting into someone. Fifa’s physics is impressive. It’s the first time I have ever seen two guys collide in an unscripted animation with both guys dazed and the announcers commenting on it. The physics are fair. You simply cant just run someone over like you can in NBA 2k. Contact cancels animations in Fifa. In NBA 2k animations cancel contact. That’s ok in a classic poterization like what LeBron did to Millsap and Mclemore or someone with a major momentum advantage. I’m talking about Durant starting a layup with Wes Matthews in front of him and going through the entire layup animation while running though him unimpaired.
Speed-
Its amazing how much faster fifa’s stance is. You include the right trigger and you are really moving. Its seamless too. No hitches. NBA 2k has always had a problem capturing speed. The ratings are slanted to superficially give guards a speed advantage that they don’t necessarily have in real life or need since ballhandling and a jumpshot are better tools for penetrating than speed. That much is true in the game and out.
The slowest of the slow (sub 55 speed) in NBA 2k are too slow. I recorded evidence of this when John Wall sprinted past Robin Lopez in a 3/4 race to the hoop even though Lopez had a running start and a three yard lead. If you give the slowest NFL lineman a running start and three yards in a 40 yard dash he would beat anyone in the league else he is too fat to make the team. That is truer in the NBA. A global 50 point onball buff might make the defenders move like athletes but I suspect they would get away with more blocking fouls and the game still doesn’t let you drive through the baseline like so many guards do. That’s an indication that the game already has at least a little too much perimeter contact.
Momentum-
The Fifa players are moving in their stance. When you turbo the stance they look like professional athletes so you don’t feel cheated when the offensive player changes direction and momentum carriers you in your current. Hibbert or any center moves like an arthritic sloth in their stance, and the best defenders move like slow high school kids yet momentum has the same effect on them if not worse.
Robin Lopez literally changes directions in “intense D” at a walking pace. Its like people complained so much about not being able to blow by bigs in previous games that they were reduced to nothing. Ive said for years that the most likely occurrence when bigs are switched to guards is jump shots but I never heard anyone say they cant shoot on a mismatch.
AI-
As bad as the onball defense is it would make sense to not play it. The offball defense is improved but without defensive settings it still breaks down letting guys who cant shoot back door or sagging off of shooters. There is enough babysitting to make offball defense as fun as an escort mission in a shooter which usually isn’t that fun at all. People naturally want to play onball. I’ve explained why people dont yet we are still penalized by reducing the CPU’s AI when they play onball for you. The CPU’s onball defense is a bailout foul waiting to happen. Mike Wang confirmed it. If you are guarding the ball the refs are far friendlier. That is the cycle of the design flaw. In Fifa you play onball defense because its fun, in NBA 2k you play onball defense to reduce bailout fouls.
I understand that its far easier to steal the ball and stay in front of someone in soccer so assume stealing the ball has nothing to do with it. Fifa’s advantages are in control, speed, momentum, AI and physics. Fifa's greatest strength is that is has an organic/realistic foundation. It’s the same thing EA attempted with Live so PAUSE I understand its harder to deliver in a basketball game however I would argue that Visual Concepts hasn’t truly tried.
Control- The stance was improved in 2k14 CG. In NG it’s back to 2k13 which wasn’t good, neither was 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.... NBA 2k has never had a good defensive stance. CH 2k8 arguably did. To understand why you have to step back and realize that it doesn’t even have a defensive stance at all. The automated defensive stance never made sense to me. I remember Rashidi, who I usually agree with said that it should be automated because NBA players are always in a stance.
Maybe
…but not in relation with the ball and their man? As you can see here Hibbert is in an onball stance and he is not close to where it would automate in 2k14 without using the “intense D” which would make Hibbert move like he was holding a 400 pound medicine ball. The slowest player in Fifa could slide down while keeping good relation with Birdman. To intentionally strafe at any place on the court you have to reduce your speed. If you give up too much ground you lose your automated stance, and there are holes in its motion. If you attempt to move backwards/diagonally its ungodly slow. This is even true with the best onball defenders. Its like there is a hole in the animation. You cant do it unless the offensive player is moving. The stance hops out of place with what I would consider unrelated input. Its not just slow its unintuitive, unresponsive and jerky. In Fifa if you want to get into a stance you just press the stance button. There are no variables or penalties.
Physics-
Fifa is just less canned. You can get a penalty in fifa just by sprinting into someone. Fifa’s physics is impressive. It’s the first time I have ever seen two guys collide in an unscripted animation with both guys dazed and the announcers commenting on it. The physics are fair. You simply cant just run someone over like you can in NBA 2k. Contact cancels animations in Fifa. In NBA 2k animations cancel contact. That’s ok in a classic poterization like what LeBron did to Millsap and Mclemore or someone with a major momentum advantage. I’m talking about Durant starting a layup with Wes Matthews in front of him and going through the entire layup animation while running though him unimpaired.
Speed-
Its amazing how much faster fifa’s stance is. You include the right trigger and you are really moving. Its seamless too. No hitches. NBA 2k has always had a problem capturing speed. The ratings are slanted to superficially give guards a speed advantage that they don’t necessarily have in real life or need since ballhandling and a jumpshot are better tools for penetrating than speed. That much is true in the game and out.
The slowest of the slow (sub 55 speed) in NBA 2k are too slow. I recorded evidence of this when John Wall sprinted past Robin Lopez in a 3/4 race to the hoop even though Lopez had a running start and a three yard lead. If you give the slowest NFL lineman a running start and three yards in a 40 yard dash he would beat anyone in the league else he is too fat to make the team. That is truer in the NBA. A global 50 point onball buff might make the defenders move like athletes but I suspect they would get away with more blocking fouls and the game still doesn’t let you drive through the baseline like so many guards do. That’s an indication that the game already has at least a little too much perimeter contact.
Momentum-
The Fifa players are moving in their stance. When you turbo the stance they look like professional athletes so you don’t feel cheated when the offensive player changes direction and momentum carriers you in your current. Hibbert or any center moves like an arthritic sloth in their stance, and the best defenders move like slow high school kids yet momentum has the same effect on them if not worse.
Robin Lopez literally changes directions in “intense D” at a walking pace. Its like people complained so much about not being able to blow by bigs in previous games that they were reduced to nothing. Ive said for years that the most likely occurrence when bigs are switched to guards is jump shots but I never heard anyone say they cant shoot on a mismatch. AI-
As bad as the onball defense is it would make sense to not play it. The offball defense is improved but without defensive settings it still breaks down letting guys who cant shoot back door or sagging off of shooters. There is enough babysitting to make offball defense as fun as an escort mission in a shooter which usually isn’t that fun at all. People naturally want to play onball. I’ve explained why people dont yet we are still penalized by reducing the CPU’s AI when they play onball for you. The CPU’s onball defense is a bailout foul waiting to happen. Mike Wang confirmed it. If you are guarding the ball the refs are far friendlier. That is the cycle of the design flaw. In Fifa you play onball defense because its fun, in NBA 2k you play onball defense to reduce bailout fouls.
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