NBA 2K10 Review

Before I start this review, let me get something out there. Basketball is not my favorite sport. I really wasn’t expecting to like the game, and to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t really impressed with it. As far as general gameplay goes, NBA 2K10 is difficult to get into if you’re A) not a fan of the sport and B) haven’t played a previous iteration of 2K’s basketball venture.

The controls are very simple, but at the same time, pretty clunky. There are many times where the shot glitched and went way over what I intended. There are also lots of simple graphics glitches like going through players or the ball would pass through a block or two. It doesn’t really affect the overall gameplay too much, but it is quite annoying and pretty noticeable. The ability to play games that are scheduled for that day is pretty cool and the automatic updating of player stats and such when connected to the internet is well done if not uninspired, but this can’t really save a game when the overall experience is pretty dreary.

When it comes to game modes, 2K10 isn’t really lacking in quantity, but the quality is certainly questionable. You can play pick-up games of 21 and various other schoolyard antics, online matches (which are laggy), the now played-out My Player mode which follows your one player through seasons upon seasons as you try to make him king of the NBA. Perhaps the most fun I had in all of the modes is the Dunk Contest. The stick combinations make for some pretty insane dunks, but that’s about as far as it goes. The commentator is incredibly annoying and repetitive, the controls and distancing are really hard to pick up, and you will be frequently frustrated by several “too far/close to basket” error messages. You can, however, play as/with Kanye West, and as tempting as it is, I will totally leave that open to everyone to do with what they will. Enjoy.

The graphics are pretty standard fare, which isn’t expected given that sports titles are usually top-notch. You expect an extra layer of realism to breath life into the sport. Besides the aforementioned graphics glitches, the rest of the game is pleasing to the eye, regardless of whether or not the controls translate that feeling in a physical aspect. The audio in the core of the gameplay is okay. It sounds like a basketball game, both with on-court sound and various crowd noises. The one thing that annoys me, is the non-variance in music. Does anybody who enjoys basketball like rock music? There is nothing but rap music on the menu, and on my Xbox, it gets turned down very quickly.

All in all, NBA 2K10 is very disappointing for someone who isn’t a fan of the series or of basketball in general. Granted, someone who doesn’t like the sport probably won’t be so inclined to drop sixty dollars on this game, so no harm no foul. I have friends that love basketball and say that 2K10 is the way to go when it comes to picking between this and EA’s Live title, but really I would rent both before deciding. Since the controls are pretty easy to get into, if not a little lacking in execution, and you’re looking for something new to get into, I would recommend a rental to you over anything. I was hoping a tiny bit that 2K10 would do like the other sports titles I have played recently and “converted” me to watching the real life counterpart, but no, I still will have no idea who is in the playoffs this year, nor do I care.