With the NBA lockout postponing this years NBA season and delay of Electronic Arts version of the NBA, many were wondering if there was still going to be a 2011-2012 NBA video game. Luckily the people over at 2K Sports, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, have published their major blockbuster NBA 2K12 video game, back by popular demand due to its major success in the previous year.
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2K Sports is made up of a single development studio called Visual Concepts. Visual Concepts was purchased from Sega in 2005, upon being purchased, 2K Sports was the new publishing label created within the same purchasing year. 2K Sports mainly develops and publishes video games that are sports popular among Americans. These sports include, Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey. Of those sports games, the NBA 2K series has been the most popular and critically acclaimed. 2K Sports and Electronic Arts have an ongoing feud due to the NBA games developed in 2011. When 2K released its rendition of NBA before EA had, EA found that 2K had developed a game miles ahead of them, and thus, caused EA to scrap there 2011 NBA video game completely.
NBA 2k12 is widely available for many platforms, including major consoles like PS3, XBOX 360, and Wii. A PC and PS2 version is also available, and for those who enjoy handheld gaming, it can also be found on the Playstation Portable and the IPhone IOS. NBA 2K12 is a sports simulation video game, specifically a basketball simulation game. NBA 2K12 content is rated by 2 different boards and organizations, these organizations are, Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), and Pan European Gaming Information (PEGI). NBA 2K12 does not include any violence in their game therefore it has an ESRB rating of E, which means it has content rated for everyone to view and a PEGI rating of 3, which means it has content suitable for all age groups.
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In the NBA, there are the traditional 30 teams, 29 from the United States and 1 from Canada. These 30 teams all play 82 regular season games, and the top 8 from the eastern and western conference make it to the playoffs and whichever team beats the opposing team in a best of 6 series, moves onto the next bracket. Whichever team then beats every team they face in the next bracket, wins the NBA title.
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In NBA 2K12, primary game modes included are Exhibition, My Player, Online, Association, Online Association, NBA's greatest, Playoffs, and Season. The most popular mode "My Player," is where you get to create your own NBA player, and take him through the process of entering an NBA draft, and play for an NBA team. From there its up to the user to play through the regular season and upgrade their players stats, all while trying to make it to the playoffs and win a championship. Online is also another popular mode where users can go online and play against other people in ranked matches to determine who really is the "king" of online basketball.
As far as the rating system goes for the game, this is how it will be broken down.
Out of a maximum of 10, the game will be rated by,
graphics, presentation, sound, gameplay, and online experience.
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The graphics and visual in NBA 2K12 are fantastic, visuals have been upgraded since last year, improving on individual player faces and bodies. On court visuals are almost on par with a real game, and with the extra on court visuals like mascots, cheerleaders, bench players and crowds, the game visuals tie up quite nice. Although you can tell that some players visuals were rushed and looked generic, more fine tuning could be done, and there is still room for improvement, so a perfect 10 cant be given for graphics. 8.5/10
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The presentation of NBA 2K12 is outstanding, menus and navigation are simple and have great visuals as well. The fact that they made this game almost like the real thing, will amaze anyone that's a sports fan. The realism that the game brings to the table is incomparable to any other basketball simulation game to date. 10/10
In NBA 2K12, the sounds and soundtrack are amazing, if you were to play this game and have someone close their eyes and just simply listen to the game in action, there is no way they will ever distinguish between a real basketball game and the video game. Crowds, announcers, and player collision voices are exactly on point, and couldn't have been done any better. As for the soundtrack, there's plenty of songs that will get you hyped up to play and get you in the right mood. 10/10
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Gameplay in NBA 2k12 is great but not outstanding. At times I found myself losing the ball due to glitches, and turnovers due to glitches. Computer AI difficulty is also a bit off, whereas rookie mode at times is too easy, and Hall of fame mode makes it almost impossible to enjoy the game. The learning curve for this game isn't too steep, once you get the hang of the buttons and the release timing for shots, everything is smooth sailing from there. Advance moves take some time to learn, but when that's all figured out, the game becomes nothing but great fun. 8.5/10
Lastly, is the online experience. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge online gaming fan, but when it comes to playing this online, you might as well not play. At first it was nearly impossible to connect to another user, and after numerous patches, online gameplay is still a drag. Connections now connect but when the game starts, expect lag and delay after every movement and shot. At times the lag was so unbearable I just quit. Keep in mind all these were ranked matches too, so even if you were the best player at this game, you wouldn't be able to prove it because playing NBA 2K12 online was pretty much a different game. 6/10
Overall Score
8.6/10
NBA 2K12 is hands down the best basketball video game to date, with stunning visuals, presentation, gameplay and sound. There's a reason why Electronic Arts scrapped their rendition of an NBA video game, and NBA 2K series is the reason. NBA 2K12 shines at every aspect aside from online, but looking on the brighter side, the online experience is just one bad issue within a phenomenal game.
References
1. Image courtesy of Counterkicks
http://counterkicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/michael-jordan-nba-2k12-cover-2.jpg
2. Image courtesy of Wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/2K_Sports_Logo.png/755px2K _Sports_Logo.png
3. Image courtesy of wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/ESRB_Everyone.svg/215px-ESRB_Everyone.svg.png
4. Image courtesy of Wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/PEGI_3.svg/426px-PEGI_3.svg.png
5. Image courtesy of Wikipedia
http://students.cis.uab.edu/jphan/nbateamlogos.jpg
6. Image courtesy of Bomeiquan
http://www.bomeiquan.cn/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/The-First-NBA-2K12-Screenshot_2000x1333.jpg
7. Image courtesy of pastapadre
http://www.pastapadre.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/nba2k120824kobe.jpg
8. Image courtesy of Rivalspot
http://blog.rivalspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/20110915181821.jpg
9. Image courtesy of g4tv
http://files.g4tv.com/rimg_606x0/ImageDb3/279670_l/nba-2k12-nbas-greatest-screenshots.jpg
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