On the Court with NBA 2K9

Published October 14, 2008

NBA 2K9 from 2K Sports rocks the Xbox 360® rim with another edition of their award-winning, NBA-fan-loving 2K basketball series. Like most sports games, the foundation remains unchanged. The Association, Season Mode, online leagues, and NBA Blacktop (Dunk Contest, 3-point Shootout) are all back and tweaked even closer to perfection.

The big question though is: What's new? What does NBA 2K9 bring to the court that helps it soar head and shoulders over last year's edition? The answer is plenty.

Can Pierce and the Celtics repeat?

Team-Up
From the heady days of 2-D sprites to the high-def offerings of today, sports fans have been clamoring for a pure and true cooperative experience where every player on the court or field is controlled by a human player. Now, the reality is here with the Team-Up feature of NBA 2K9.

There's no going back and there's no overstating the importance or satisfaction of the Team-Up feature.

Take to the court with four of your friends and play together simultaneously, with each gamer locking into a specific player or remaining "unlocked" so they can switch out at will. You can also take on an entirely different player-controlled team for the ultimate ten-player test of skill and teamwork.

It's one thing to execute a flawless pick-and-roll with the A.I. controlling your teammates, but when you call out your real-life friend to pick another player, scoot around the edge, drive to the basket, and alleyoop to another buddy, that's a priceless moment.

There's no going back and there's no overstating the importance or satisfaction of the Team-Up feature. This is what sports fans have been waiting for.

Living Rosters
It used to be that the rosters and animations that came on the disc stayed that way forever. Then there came roster updates which tweaked player stats, accounted for trades, and made adjustments to team's lineups. But now we have the Living Roster, which takes roster updates to unprecedented levels.

Chris Paul came into his own last year.

Not only will the Living Roster adjust your team's makeup to account for any lineup changes, but it alters the very behavior and even the animations of the players constantly throughout the season.

For example, let's say that last year's rookie superstar Kevin Durant suddenly starts playing a lot more in the post. This will be reflected in his A.I. behavior after a Living Roster update, as he settles more often into the paint on offensive possessions. If he suddenly adds a trademark dunk to his repertoire or a brand new free throw routine, 2K Sports will take notice and adjust accordingly.

No player ever plays quite the same, and now neither does their NBA 2K9 counterparts.

The Little Things
While the NBA 2K series has excelled for years in bringing the NBA game and players to life, it's worth noting the attention to detail that 2K Sports brings to the title.

Looking forward to a return to form.

• Their shot: Whether it's Ray Allen's silky smooth delivery, Kobe's trademark fadeaway three, or King James' one arm extended rim-rattling dunk, nearly every player shoots, dunks, and lays it up precisely like their real-life counterparts.
• Incidental details: Impressive as their mid-action behaviors are, it's the incidental animations and small details that 2K takes the time to get right bringing the game and players to life. You'll hear the Detroit crowd chant "DE-TROIT BASKET-BALL" during games at the Palace, spot LeBron James biting his fingernails during timeouts, and notice Ray Allen smacking on his gum at the free throw line. The little details add up to one enormously immersive NBA experience.
• Moves in the post: True, the Iso-Motion mechanic allows for amazing behind the back dribbles, cross-overs, lightning quick spins, step-backs and more, but NBA 2K9 brings nearly as many moves to the game under the basket. Whether it's a quick face-up, shoulder-fake and spin, a pump fake, or just a simple drop step, this one section boasts a whole game's worth of moves.
• Dual Player: Running team-wide plays is great, but so too is the Dual Player control, highlighting team communication on a smaller scale. With Dual Player, snap off quick orders to a teammate, asking them to set a screen, post up, slip a screen, or just get open. This is especially effective when you're working to get a superstar involved.

Team 2K
For all those hyper-competitive NBA fans out there, 2K Sports offers the ten-week Team 2K tournament to open the NBA 2K9 season. Every time you log into the multiplayer menu, you'll see ten slots all set to give glory to whichever player proves to be the best each week. Play and win as many Ranked Quick Match games as you can to find out just how your skills stack up against the community.

NBA 2K9 for Xbox 360 takes enormous strides with its Team-Up and Living Roster features without losing focus on what made the series great to begin with: spot-on gameplay and unflinching attention to the smallest detail.

Article by Ryan Treit