I just sold the best basketball presentation to date. Here's why.

User Rating: 6.5 | NBA 2K12 X360
By dwt77 | Review Date:
NBA 2k12 is a frustrating disappointment for this long time fan of the series in that it is everything I've ever wanted in terms of presentation, sound, legends, teams, and visual polish. These factors only succeed in making the experience even more hard to swallow. Simply put-- NBA 2k11 was more fun to play. 2k12 is riddled with game play issues. The speed system is broken. Fast breaks are non-existent. The defense has been completely changed, and not for the better. And they have filled the game with a ton of new controls that don't function with the same level of smoothness that one would expect from this series. I have to question why 2k felt it was necessary to change SO MANY things about the latest installation of the series. If it isn't broken why does it need so much fixing? The only major issue with last year's game was the difficult passing---which was really only a minor complaint and easy to get around. If 2k would have simply tweaked that small detail, and presented us with this beautiful graphics update/new rosters/legends--- I think a vast majority of the loyal fan base would have been completely stoked! The new direction that they are taking is somewhat concerning for a person who stopped at NBA 2k8 and didn't buy another NBA 2k game until 2k11. 2k11 fooled me in to thinking that I had the green light to purchase the next game without even trying the demo. It was that good! It just seemed like a no brainer! Am I going to have to wait another 3 years for them get it right? By that time EA might finally release a basketball game that doesn't suck---And I might just give it a try.

I am always puzzled why great sports games feel that they are obligated to evolve the game play mechanics so drastically every year. One of the things that made video games like Super Mario so awesome was the fact that it held on to it's basic core controls the whole time! They got it right the first time and just kept improving based on that initial model of gameplay/fun. Complicating things just for the sake of complicating them makes games suck more. Good solid controls and a smart AI with awesome graphics and a deep roster of legends is really all I want in a b-ball game. I don't need fifteen different post move control options... This is b-ball!--Not Tekken!

Anyway that's my two cents for this one. I give it a 6.5 comparing it to NBA 2k11. If I had to judge it as a person who never played the 2k series, I might give it a 7.5.

Other Helpful Reviews for NBA 2K12

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    Arguably the worst sports game I've ever played.

    By Ninja_Guy | Review Date: Oct 19, 2011 | X360

    The flaws in this game are numerous and obvious to anyone who's not blind. Terrible AI all around, psychic opposition, zombie teammates, blatant rubberbanding, unrealistic numbers every game, horrendous AI trading, unres... Read Full Review

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    Best basketball game ever. Period.

    By PlayaPozition | Review Date: Oct 07, 2011 | X360

    This game obviously deserves a GameSpot score of 10.0. I am shocked that NBA 2K11 didn't receive a GameSpot score of 9.5, never mind this years version of NBA 2K12. NBA 2K11 got a score of 8.0 from GameSpot. Really?! LOL... Read Full Review

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