NBA2k13 Demo Review - dukebeatsuncagain's Blog

dukebeatsuncagain's Blog

NBA2k13 Demo Review

Posted on September 29, 2012 at 10:36 AM.

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After finally playing the demo for NBA2k13, I must say I am a bit dissapointed, but hopeful for this years game.. It's not like they did anything wrong, it's mostly what they left the same that did it for me.

I know this is a demo, and the retail version is bound to have some additional tweaks, but for what the demo brought to the table was a lot of the same from 2k12. I will say the gameplay felt better to me, but so did 2k12 at first. That sort of thing truly comes out after countless hours of play. That is when you see if the gameplay is different and fresh enough to last for 82 game seasons. For 2k12, at first everything was "shiny and new", then over time it got stale, boring, and predictable. The same thing kept reoccurring to the point where the game became boring. Only time will tell if 2k13 can stand up for the long haul.

The defense seemed to be improved but still, in my opinion, not to where it was at in 2k11. For me, that is what truly made the game endlessly exciting and fun. In the real NBA anybody can score, it is the ones who play defense that stand out. 2k13, like I said seemed improved, so once again that will be determined with hours of play. I am leaning towards it will have a relatively positive effect on the overall gameplay value.

Let's get to what I thought seemed the same...all the visuals. Graphics, player models, arena, crowd, reactions, pregame all seemed with the same, or not a big enough change to induce any sort of wow factor. The grabbing of the rim was nice, the ball looked different and better, and the jerseys looked a bit smoother at first glance but like I said, nothing really stood out. The game even sounded the same. No new rim sounds, different crowd sound, or any other sound effects stood out as being new. Sure the menus and layouts will look different, but that doesn't do anything for me. I was not impressed. I also noticed the weird shadow thing in the arena ceilings from 2k9 was back. Yuck.

And now to the big change in the game, the new controls. At first glance and feel, I was not impressed outright. It honestly seemed like a step back. They had a very complex and unique system, albeit not perfect, and now it seems like a generic control scheme used by all sports games one way or another. Like everything else, because it is only a demo, over time the beauty of the simple nature of the system will make for an amazing experiance. I personally did not have any difficulty adjusting to the new shooting mechanics, so maybe that was part of it. Like the defense upgrades, I also think that with time it will prove to be a fun way to dribble and make moves, but I do still think it is a bit of a step back because I would love to dribble stick through defenders back on NBA Live 10, and people though I was crazy and preached how amazing isomotion was in NBA2k10...and look where we are 3 years later. I hope hope hope 2k13 's take on the dribble stick will be way more in depth and dynamic than NBA Live 10, and on first glance in the demo.

Where I do think this game will shine, and where it needs to come through, is everything under the hood. The additions to Online Association are exactly what the mode needed, but it is kind of like the iPhone...why on earth wasn't it included in the first place? Same with the offline stuff. This will be the 3rd year in a row improved trade logic is a headlined improvement, and it has yet to satisfy. Things like that need to finally be improved, or it seems pointless to me to keep making it a selling point. The signature skills seems like a great idea, but I have a feeling it will be one of those things in sports video games that is "there" and doesn't work. I can see people complaining about not getting charges, finishing games in the clutch, not hitting threes in the corner , even though their players signature skills say that it is a strong point for them. The signature flaws point brough up earlier on the main page is a great thought, and if it was included by 2k, would put a little mor faith in that the system will work, and was more thought out in the quest for realism and player individuality, and not just describing a player and how you can GET them to play, but how they WILL play.

In conclusion, am I getting this game? You bet your foot I am! It will still give me my basketball fix for the year with all the new players and teams that I need. It will be extremely fun, and I will be satisfied with it for what it is. I just honestly hope that all of the features boasted about this year will stand up over the long season and keep me coming back for suspenseful, exciting, realistic, innovative, and consuming NBA basketball action from October 2nd 2012 thru October 2nd 2013. If there is anybody that I believe could do it, it is 2k Sports.