The game is in a similar vein to our recently reviewed NHL 2K10, with ample options available in a menu which starts up Quick Match before Career mode. At least Career mode is easier to find, and has a form of story progression, but there are far few of options available in this game compared to its counterparts. The main principle still remains the same though, you lead a basketball team to supposed victory, while meeting opponents on the warp.

 

 

The framerate for this game is quite bad. Every few minutes, lag is initiated. While 2K blame this on the constant stream of data being transferred online, when we played offline it was just as bad. There are other problems during the game though, for example your character runs on an 8 point rotation, creating an obvious octagonal feel when playing the game. Equally there is too much grip on your shoes which means by the time you start you character up again, two shots could well have been fired from the opponent. Not great!

 

As with NHL 2K10 the game chucks you right in the deep end. If you have no clue about playing the game, you are screwed. Sure, it has a much higher fan usage than NHL, but that doesn’t mean everyone knows how to play it, especially those of us based in the UK. It took me many tutorials to even get good enough to play the game, and by that time the games repetitive pitches, and annoying technical flaws were really letting it down. Alas, the AI is cruel as ice. Even at the beginning of career mode, I expecting to do really well before my team manager reported I had a grade F and failed everything to do with the game. Fantastic.

 

Because of the framerate issues, the games graphics are suffer. Crowds do react to events on the field, but they are more cloned sheep than anything else. Also the pitch you play on shows no sign of wear and tear, foot slip marks, or any litter from the fans for the matter. Soundtrack wise, the game is heavy on gangster rap, but there is only a set list of around 12 songs which tend to lap over themselves in the same basketball game. Truth be told, it’s not the greatest set list a sports game has experienced but it fits in with the action.

 

 

The game does have a good online mode though. It consists of playing real-time matches against real opponents in a fake game world. It is all quite exciting and fast paced, which certainly adds much needed action. The only lag encountered was the normal lag from gamers with dodgy connections. Equally it did take some time to find a match to play in, since it automatically match makes against your skills and options.

 

NBA 2K10 is unfortunately let down by unforgettable flaws which doesn’t bode well for the franchise. Not the best way to celebrate 10 years of gaming, perhaps number eleven will be better.