NBA 2K9 (PS3) Review

Posted by Drew Robbins on 10.30.2008

As the season gets underway, 411's Drew Robbins gives us his thoughts on one of this year's offerings for basketball fans, NBA 2K9.



NBA 2K9
Developer - Take 2 Interactive
Publisher - Take 2 Interactive
Unofficial Score - Ballin!

Every year, the game industry gets a large steaming heap of sports games to go along with the beginning of each sport’s respective season. Most sports are given two separate games, one by our overlords at EA, and one by the “we almost got bought by the overlord” studio of Take Two. While EA gets the bragging rights for best hockey and football game (which is like bragging about beating your imaginary friend in a race), Take Two has always been the go-to studio for basketball games. This year, the franchise is back with NBA 2K9, which per usual, is promised to be the most realistic basketball simulator of the year. Unlike Peter Molynieux, 2K9 keeps its promises and pushes an already realistic franchise towards even more realism.

Upon popping in the disc…after waiting for it to load (the load screen looks like the cover, yes, Garnett’s face looks just as silly in HD), you are greeted by the Quick Play menu, which is pretty self-explanatory. If you aren’t in the mood for just a quick match, you can open up the 2K Nav and surf the game’s other options. Here is where the first problem appears; the 2K Nav is, simply put, horrible. The 2K Nav has been around for quite a while now (I think it started in 2K6), and it has never been the greatest little add-on. You bring up the Nav with the Right Analog stick, and are then given a handful of different options. Options are great, but navigating this tangled web of menus can get pretty annoying. One has to wonder why they don’t stick to the basic menu formula, as seen in this year’s Madden. The game should just start on a menu screen; a game should never assume what you want to do. 2K Nav’s problems don’t end there, however.



The 2K Nav holds in its possession every option available in the game, including the “wide” range of game modes at your disposal. 2K9 gives you a diverse selection, letting you choose from Association (Franchise), Season, NBA Playoffs, and Online mode. The first complaint I have is…what the heck happened to 24/7 mode? Mind you, I didn’t play last year’s game, but I remember 24/7 being a big feature that most people enjoyed. This must be the end of street-sports games…oh how I’ll miss those days, when I could satisfy my sports thirst with a quick game of NFL/NBA/FIFA(Haha…yeah right) Street. Notable exclusions aside, the modes in 2K9 are pretty lackluster, at best. Not that I don’t like franchise mode (even if they did give other modes, I’d probably just play that), but all of these modes are practically the same thing, just different time frames. Association lets you play through several seasons, season mode lets you play one season of basketball, and the playoffs mode is just the playoffs. I hardly think cutting up Association qualifies as separate modes, but 2K9 classifies them that way. Since they are practically the same, I’ll only use this time to talk about Association.

Association is pretty much no different than it has been, with plenty of stats and financial stuff that makes simulation fans foam at the mouth. For those here to just play the darn game, Association offers up a decent time, but is muddled by some user interface issues. Association’s main screen used to just be a calendar with the games on it, and then the menu guided you to the simulation bits. Now, the simulation is displayed first and foremost, and you have to open up the dreaded 2K Nav just to get to the game’s calendar. To my knowledge, you can’t set this as the default screen for when you play Association, so every time you finish a game you have to come back to the news screen, open up the menu, and find the game you wish to play. It isn’t too big of a deal, but it is a bit of an annoyance.



Now, with all of that said, it is time to finally step out onto the court. And hot dang, what a beautiful court it is! 2K9 is easily the best looking sports game I’ve ever played, as the game just oozes with detail and flowing pants. Even the crowd, which is usually a horrible collection of stick figures, looks presentable. The crowd, of course, pales in comparison to the players, who for the most part look outstanding. Each player’s face is rendered fairly close to reality, and the jerseys on their backs could easily be mistaken for the real thing.

If you couldn’t tell from the above description, just about everything looks absolutely right. With several games under my belt, I still have yet to spot any flaws in the animation, not even a hint of clipping. 2K has really perfected the graphics this year, and it just makes you wonder…where do we go from here?

Unfortunately, the presentation is much more on the hit and miss side of the spectrum. Sure, everything on court looks great. When they go to the dunk cam? Gold. However, when they send it to the halftime show, the presentation drops off the face of the earth. The Halftime Show (which, just so you know, is sponsored by T-Mobile…this game has always been bad about advertising) is hosted by nobody, yes, you read that right, nobody. After 2 quarters on the court, the announcers send you to an empty desk, and then a screen (which will kill your eyes on an SD TV) appears with the game’s stats. Sure, one of the announcers mentions the stats, but it doesn’t make for an eye-catching (well, if you are using an SD TV…it will catch your eyes all right) halftime extravaganza that could be seen in the olden days of 2K. The Postgame show has similar problems, forcing you to browse a menu if you want to see the show in its entirety.

Once you get past the graphics, it is time to finally sit down and play the game, and thankfully enough, the game is a blast to play. Whether it be Association, quick play, or online mode, 2K9 will be as fun as shooting monkeys in a barrel. The action is a bit slower than I’m used to, and it adds tremendously to the realism. You can’t just zip down the court and shoot a lay-up, you have to seek the open shot, making it that much more exciting when you pound it in the paint for a dunk. My only beef with the gameplay is free-throws, which has been pretty lousy since 2K decided that using the right analog stick was an awesome idea. It seems pretty simple, pull the analog back, and then bring it up at the right time…but it is all based on your player’s animation, so every time you go up you need to adjust to the player’s style. Even then, it is incredibly hard to pinpoint the exact time when to fling the right analog stick. Most trips to the free throw line end up being fruitless endeavors, when they should be crucial boosts to your team’s score.

If you do hit a free throw, or for that matter, get a slam dunk, shoot for two, or make one from outside the arc, you are greeted by the game’s sound…which is just outstanding. The crowds in sports games are usually kind of laid back, you can hear them but…they aren’t making a tremendous amount of noise. In 2K9, the fans are right up next to the court, screaming at the top of their lungs. This really helps the intensity of the game, boosting your esteem as the home team or intimidating you as the lowly visiting team.

With the sound from the crowd being so spectacular, it is no surprise that everything else lacks. The menu music is insufferable (some girl saying "2-kay"), and the rest of the soundtrack is a collection of rap songs...which I am most certainly not a fan of. 2K's commentators are pretty average, and repeat what they say fairly often. The one nice thing about the commentators is that they do try their best to match the excitement of the game, Clark Kellog's voice really picks up in the last two minutes. The other guy...eh, not so much.



The 411

All in all, 2K9 is a great basketball game. The game has set new standards for visuals and sound in a sports game, and I think it could be quite a while before somebody tops those efforts. With the gameplay as fun as it is, 2K9 could be a constant visitor to your PS3’s Disc-Tray. This game constantly updates, keeping your rosters up-to-date (thanks to the new Living Roster feature). The online options can keep you occupied for quite some time, especially with the added 5-on-5 mode, which makes every scoring opportunity seem like a huge deal.

Graphics	9.5	Outstanding player detail, but the 2K Nav and off the court presentation brings it down a bit.
Gameplay	8.5	It hasn't really changed, except for the slight altering for more realism, which is a welcome change. Online 5-on-5 works well.
Sound	8.5	The crowd is more alive than in any other sports game, but the game's soundtrack and commentary are pretty average.
Lasting Appeal	8.0	You won't be playing forever, but with the online mode, this could occupy you for quite a whiel.
Fun Factor	9.0	Fun when the game is close, but if you get far ahead of your opponent, it does seem to carry on a bit, especially the last minute where you will get fouled quite often.
Overall	8.6   [ Very Good ]