NBA 2K11 is a much better game than I expected, and it’s not just because the greatest basketball player of all-time is featured in several gameplay modes.
Even with Michael Jordan, 2K11 started out a bit rough for me, because I’ve been a fan of the NBA Live – now NBA ELITE – series for quite some time now. Once I switched the button configuration to a more enjoyable setting and had a couple hours of gameplay behind me, the game actually began to get exciting.
With ELITE 11 being delayed until an unreleased date sometime next year, 2K11 is really your only true hoops gaming action available.
The intro to 2K11 can get any basketball fan’s blood pumping with a sequence about Jordan being a legend and then you hear the memorable sounds of the Chicago Bulls intro music playing and Jordan turning, facing and asking, “Are you ready?”
In 2K11 you can play as Jordan immediately in several different modes, but to trade for Jordan and have him on your team of choice, or to play several special Jordan modes, you must first complete the 10 most memorable moments in Jordan’s career. These moments were hand picked by Jordan himself, as he was a major part of the making of the game.
2K11 was refreshingly different in its gameplay and the different game modes it has available. You can create a player as usual and place yourself on a team with whatever attributes you’d like or you can create a player and build him up to get ready for draft day. Based on how well your player has done, You can change your players attributes and effect where he will be drafted and what team you will go to. Once you start to play for whatever team it may be and you progress through your career, you try to become a star and make your created player into a legend.
There is also the in-game details that make 2K standout from most other sports games.
The in-game commentary actually fits with the moment you’re actually going through, and it’s not just a random quote from the play-by-play man, Marv Albert. Another element of timeliness is the in-game-time-based leaderboards and standings, which allow you to know what is going on around the league in 2K’s Association Mode.
The ticker on 2K can be changed to fit either your association mode or you can have a real time ticker with real action from the day.
For me, I think the combination of MJ being in the game, NBA ELITE 11 being delayed, the amount of game modes and different things to do in the game and attention to detail, make NBA 2K11 a much better game than anticipated.
The only thing that really annoyed me was the size of the players. Most players looked way oversized for their actual body types. If you can get past that, 2K11 will be an enjoyable game overall.
And as much as I want to dislike the 2K sports franchise, I cannot dislike NBA 2K11.