NBA 2K9

Review from Oracle, Oracle and Oracle - Tuesday, 25 November 2008 @ 9:38pm

It was only a matter of time for Australian Gamer to throw me a basketball game to review. “Let’s give it to the tall guy – he knows this shit”. Thanks Yug. I’ll be sure to recommend you the next Miniature Golf Tournament game on the Gameboy Micro.

I slap NBA 2K9 into my Xbox 360 and was instantly greeted with a message asking me if I would like to update the teams statistics according to how they perform in the actual NBA league each week. I’m four seconds in and it’s already getting technical! I feel sorry for the bloke who has to update these stats over the weekend (it’s ok Norbert – I appreciate your efforts). Ignoring the career and tutorial modes I jump straight into the most important feature of all sport games – the multiplayer.

You're telling me you've never seen a bumble bee and a cowboy play a basketball game?

With my flatmate (Pazuzu) by my side we clench our controllers in our hands and give each other dirty looks – it’s on like Donkey Kong! Both our teams run onto the court as the commentators go ballistic. The crowd roars with excitement as the players warm up. It’s at this point where we both realise how beautiful the game looks and feels.

What further amazes me is that each person in the crowd is 3D - none of this cardboard cut out crap. The players move around the court so fluently – passing and shooting the ball seems so life like. Any fan of the NBA league will have no issues recognising any of the players - the detail is astonishing.

This is how we do it!

Getting used to the controllers is fairly easy. You can play the entire game using only two buttons (A and B) and the left analogue stick. However, if you would like to get technical you can start using the right analogue stick and triggers. Performing layups, dunks, alley-oops will take some practice with timing and speed of the player but once pulled off succesfully you’ll have every right to scream as loud as you can an inch away from your opponents face.

Playing offence is a lot easier than playing defence. No matter how hard you try the other team will most definitely get another goal. Just remember it's all about the timing when snatching the ball. If you cut in or you're too quick you'll be called out by the ref. So be patient young Skywalker. With that said - rebounding is surprisingly a lot of fun. Especially when you knock the opposing team player to his ass without being called.

One of the new features in NBA 2K9 - Orgasmic Dunk

Career mode is fairly deep and customisable. If you know the league well enough or have plenty of spare time on your hands you should look at putting some serious hours into it. Me on the other hand – doesn’t really tickle my fancy. I prefer playing with other players even if I have to take the smack talk online.

Finding an online match can be tricky due to no Australian players. Playing against a few players overseas doesn’t disguise the lag that well. I found a few glitches with the players and the ball itself making the game a little tricky to play. It’s a shame :(

Pros

The controls are easy to learn, weekly team updates, the players animation and facial expressions are freaky deaky cool, great sound track (if yo be a fan of da black music), awesome way to kick your mates ass.

Cons

If you’re not that interested in basketball you’ll have difficulties getting into the career mode, pulling of technical moves does take a lot of practice, online can be troublesome due to lack of Aussie players.