What could have been...has been saved for next gen.
* Still the only NBA sim on the market, so...there's that.
* Animations are as good as it gets. Less "leaning layups" that plagued last years release, and user-controlled players are less likely to get stuck in animations and get pushed out of position (or out of bounds). So many shots, layups, contact reactions to speak of. A+
* LeBron "Path to Greatness" is straight to the point, and puts you in the finals from the first moment. It's a fun distraction from the cut-and-paste association mode.
* Most of the good stuff returned--the ability to design shoes is even more awesome, the association mode is exactly the same (the good and the bad), and my player is still my player.
* Shot-blocking is much improved.
* Drawing fouls against the CPU is more realistic (it was ridiculous how many instances of contact went the CPU's way last year).
*My player has some subtle changes like a better menu and pop-up info which make it a little more fun than last year.
Cons:
* The "improved defense" talked about is a lie. You can block shots now, but it is STILL far to easy to score. Even on Superstar/Simulation I was able to score 115 a game with the Bobcats. The Bobcats. The computer simply doesn't adjust to the same plays that work over and over.
* The woeful A.I. of non-user controlled teammates is still there in all game modes. In Association, teammates routinely leave their assignments for no reason to stand out of position; picking the player in order to prevent this just means the on-ball defender will get beat every time. AI teammates don't box out or go after rebounds, which means the CPU will have 20+ offensive rebs unless you switch when the shot goes up, but the guy you select will often be already out of position for this to matter. My player is worse...teammates don't shoot when they are wide open, get beat routinely on D, and offer no help D if you get beat with your player.
* To much of the game is the same as last year--they could have at least given the game a different menu interface in Association since you'll be sifting through it all the time.
* Cheesy computer exploits are STILL in the game from 2k11. AI teammates will commit silly fouls when the shot-clock gets down and there are the unrealistic quarters when the game decides the computer should hit every shot while you can't make a basket just to make the game appear difficult, but it's really just cheap alternative to maintaining a consistent challenge all the way through.