NBA 2K10 Review

While you can make the case that fundamentally sound players like Tim Duncan win championships, it’s the high-flying antics of players such as Andre Igoudala and Ty Thomas that bring fans out of their seats. NBA 2K10 captures the excitement of these breathtaking dunks and acrobatic layups, transforming a typical NBA team into an old-school ABA club that is more intent on wowing the crowd than buckling down to play solid defense. The frenetic pace makes games fast and exhilarating, letting players show off their agility every time they get the ball back. This means offensive strategies, such as setting screens or working the ball in the low block, are largely ignored as guards constantly drive the lane. Though this isn't a realistic representation of the actual sport, it is entertaining. Unfortunately, a number of bugs and an inconsistent grading system in the new My Player mode put a damper on the fun, and a lack of depth limits the longevity. Despite the problems, NBA 2K10 provides a good time for those who want to re-create the most exciting moments of the real thing.

The biggest addition to this year's game is the My Player mode, which lets you create your own persona from scratch and attempt to make it big in the NBA. The creation tools are in-depth, letting you tweak not only standard options, such as your position and height, but also more specific traits, such as what tattoo you have on your right forearm or what your fallaway jumper looks like. Once you decide on the perfect representation of your inner NBA player, you make your way to training camp and hope you can worm you way onto a team. Playing through Summer League is a vastly different experience from playing in a real NBA game--the crowd is almost nonexistent and the other players are borderline NBA talent struggling to make a team. The wins and losses also don't matter nearly as much as they would in a real game. Chances are you won't be picked up by a team based on your play in the Summer League, so you have to play a number of games in the NBA Development League before you get a shot at the big time. It's a long process to finally make your way to the big league, but it's well worth the effort when you finally step on the court in front of thousands of screaming fans.

In the My Player mode, you only control your created player and are rated on your effectiveness as a teammate. There are obvious ways to earn a good grade, such as dishing a beautiful pass to an open man under the basket or blocking a shot on the defensive end. However, the majority of your grading comes in less obvious situations. For instance, you get a positive grade for successfully double-teaming the man with the ball or filling the lane perfectly on a fast break opportunity. These small details force you to play the game as if it were real, instead of freelancing on your own and hoping your teammates will cover for your mistakes. Combined with various goals you have to accomplish in each game (such as holding your man to under 10 points or shooting above 40 percent from three-point land), NBA 2K10 does a good job of making you feel like a player gunning for a roster spot.

McGrady and Yao on the floor at the same time? Talk about unrealistic!

However, there is a lot of inconsistency in the grading system. Every individual stat is rewarded, except for the most important of all--scoring. The only time you receive a positive mark here is if you take a "good shot," but just making a basket doesn't help you improve at all. It's also impossible to know what the game will deem a "good" shot and what it will decide is "bad." Shooting from the paint in a one-on-one, fast break situation sometimes results in you being penalized for taking a bad shot. This problem also crops up in buzzer-beater situations, and it's pretty annoying to be punished for taking a long three as the horn sounds. Similar issues are prevalent while passing as well--it's unclear what the game considers a good or bad pass. On the defensive end, you are disciplined every time your man scores, even if you were playing solid help defense. On a two-on-one situation, it's fundamental basketball to stop the man with the ball, but if you play like real-life coaches teach in My Player mode, you won't get a high grade. These inconsistencies kill much of the realism of the mode, making you spend more time thinking about what the game wants rather than using your own intuition.