And they said my Clippers would be deterred by their general lack of skill, experience, and depth. Hah. Just give Odom the ball, sit back, and enjoy the show baby! Yes, last night, amidst some Quake III Arena fraggin' and some wicked Chinese take-out, we were able to slap down all takers in a little NBA2K1, and have gained a few nuggets of info you sports addicts may enjoy.
First of all, despite a contrary impression for initial looks at the title, we can honestly say that this game has seen quite a few changes in the area of gameplay. First and foremost, the way player contact is handled has been revamped in a big, big way. Taking a cue from that scary realm known as the real world, Visual Concepts has made physical contact and resulting reactions one of the key determinants in the game's control scheme. Unlike last year, where players basically moved to spots, 2K1 is all about taking advantage of physical miscues by your opposition. If you try to drive, the defender might cut you off, making you go the other way. Or he might try to body you up. If he succeeds, you are stopped in your tracks. If he isn't quite as tough a defender as he thought he was, well, then you've got him backpedaling on heels, and for a split second, explosive offensive players will take that weakness in "the wall" and move in for the kill.
This works especially well for players like Kobe and Spree, and when you have a mismatch, the game rewards you for playing accordingly. For example, the chump we played last night kept insisting on trying to bring our favorite fatty, Shawn Kemp, out on the perimeter to stick our boy Darius Miles. While that may have worked when he was with Seattle and kept away from the donuts, a nice ISO play on the wing, a quick cut across the lane and a dunk later, the D came out looking silly. By the same token, our rookie learned a little lesson about the laws of physics when we tried to bring him in against Shaq in the paint. Apparently, the ball doesn't like Shaq's hand very much...go figure.
Blocks in general have also been refined considerably, and now instead of insta-block every time you drive, you're only punished for your sins against the defense should you take a really stupid shot. On top of that, the sentencing tends to be a bit more severe, as being on the wrong end of the swat block is not a pretty sight.
One thing that is, however, is the game's new selection of delectable dunks. After playing several games, we've discovered two things: one being that you should not get in Vince's way when he comes through the lane with a head full of steam, and the other is that unlike last year, you'll get surprised several times a game with something new and different in the dipsey-doo department. Everything from gliding reverses across the paint to thunderous one-handed verts are in, and they are looking sweet.
More importantly, though, is the fact that functional lay-ups are in as well, and you see a lot less unrealistic show-boating from player who aren't checking in with a full extra baggage on the flight to upsville. On top of that, starting a lay-up or drive is much, much easier to execute this year. If you have momentum and intention, mixing that with a reasonably clear path to the basket is usually enough to produce a realistic slash to the hole.
But the best thing we've noticed so far is that a realistic defensive stop is just as easy. While it requires a whole mess of attention, as long as you have a player who can handle things defensively, you can totally make a stop. The game does a much better job of displaying contact, as I mentioned earlier, and whether a guy is facing you up or you're waiting in a stance for a perimeter player to make his move, each little push feels real, and as a result, you don't feel quite as captive to the action when you're keeping a guy at bay. By the same token, you won't feel quite ad gypped when you blow an assignment. Sure, you'll still be pissed that you let Hill and the new-look Magic work you like a JV squad, but at least the sense is there that they earned it.
But that's enough for now. We hope to hop Online later this week if we can find another game editor out there who isn't afraid of the newly formed rookie regime in SoCal. Hopefully, we'll be back with a full report, as well as a review late this week. Until then, feast your eyes on some new video clips from our crazy Intern. We can't promise he can hoop it up, but he tries hard, so don't laugh at his play too much, OK?
-- Brandon Justice, IGNDC
UPDATE: 10.20.00
Coach Sega has finally opted to give us a little PT, and a previewable build has arrived at IGNDC. Though we were a bit busy with Quake III Arena this afternoon, we squeezed in some quality time with 2K1, and we can happily report that it is coming along nicely.
Since we last saw the game, many areas of the game stand out as improved, most notably the audio. Team specific chants, coaching instructions that make sense, and player trash talk flow freely on the court, and it all seems to fit. We took Kobe to the rack with KG, and as if to capture the feel, #21 let everyone know he could not be stopped, tossing out a taunt to the defending champs. Very cool. Also, we noticed the crowd waving those long tubey things when we went to the line during an away game. We still nailed the shot, but it was a bit distracting...really, it was.
Visually, the game looks a great deal sharper, especially when you look at the courts themselves. Every player has been visually updated as well, and thought it freaked us out to see Gary Payton with hair, it's nice to know that the crew at Visual Concepts is just as anal as ever when it comes to adequately conveying the game we know and love.
As far as gameplay goes, like I said, our time was limited, but all the rookies seem to be in, and Patrick was with the Sonics, though we didn't check up on Zo's status yet. The defense is notably better this year, as is player AI. Players are making much better cuts without the ball, and taking jumpers with a man in your face is a bad idea, as he will stuff you if you're taking a stupid shot. Werd. Also, the new post moves are pretty interesting., We haven't quite gotten the hang of things, but deterring how you'll take your man, as well as watching the refined push-and-shove routine (which seems to be rooted much deeper in statistical ability) is a blast.
We also spent a little time with some classic favorites in Street mode, and it looks like it could be pretty cool. Dr. J, Larry Legend and Coach Thomas can still ball in the virtual word, and every little detail, from courtside architecture to different rim noises on outdoor goals meeting with player chatter from the benches gives you the feeling of playing pickup ball. We like!
Unfortunately, we won't be able to say much more until we've had a chance to really sit down with the game, but check out the screens we snapped, and check back Monday for even more media, including videos of all your favorite NBA stars. See you then!
-- Brandon Justice, IGNDC
Just a few more shots added to our preview today, kiddies. These new shots show, in addition to some regular on the courts hoops action, first shots of the game's Street Mode, where you leave the court and take to the playground. Best of all, Visual Concepts has given us realistic recreations of some of the most legendary real life street cours out there - can you recognize some of these play fields?
Look for much more on NBA2K1 soon.
As the ball slammed into the camera, the action replay faded way and I was instantly awakened to two harsh truths. One being that some guys have no business charging down the lane. The other was that, despite the undeniable embarrassment, sometimes getting sent into the stands can be such a good thing. Especially when the dejection of rejection is the result of the type of gameplay tweaks that make hoops fans everywhere say "oooooh" as my ball travels up to the 13th row for the Garden.
Yes, upon sitting down with the crew at Visual Concepts for a little hoops-up-side the head earlier this morning, I can tell you right now: the paint is a different monster, but much like a B horror flick, fear is a welcome change this year. As much as I hate seeing Mutombo show me the exact floor plan for his house, the fact that NBA2K1 is gearing up to make last year's effort look softer than Mugsy in the low post makes me very, very happy.
The addition of oh-so-mortifying swat blocks aside, VC is working on a ton of changes to last year's game, including, ironically enough, a reduction in the number of swats you'll see per game. A major complaint last year was the frequency with which players got blocked, and as a result the game's blocking mechanics have been refined considerably, to the point where the total number of snuffs is now much closer to real-life totals.
From what we saw, though, 2K1 is making this a lot easier to accomplish for a number of reasons, perhaps the biggest of which is a much more robust moves list, both in the post and in the backcourt. As you prolly recall, NBA2K made great strides last year with their post play mechanics, but this year's version is looking to offer a lot more push in the paint, and not just for ghetto-booty wielding thugs like Robert Traylor. Post players will now have several options from the post, and can not only back down a defensive man, but choose to go right, left, or fade away from the opposition in an attempt to put the ball in the hole.
The cool thing is, defensive players aren't quite as helpless this year, and can actually try to cut off such moves by playing true directional defense on the blocks. As a post defender, you can try to beat your man to a cut, and if you anticipate his moves, you'll make his route to the hoop look a lot less like a easy bucket and more like my last date. Yes, my friends, shut down. And if you guess wrong? Well, you may be able to take some consolation in being a guest star in your man's latest poster. From our limited two player action, we can already tell you that this will change the dynamics of the post game considerably, and will make throwing one's weight around a much more hefty experience.
The same is true in the open court. Sega has totally revamped the way 2K1 handles offensive moves, such as spins and cross-overs. In addition to looking a whole lot better, these moves now play a much more significant role in how you swoop to the hoop. Crossovers will actually help a good ball-handler get out of trouble, and if a spin is performed correctly, you can use the contact to catch a defender off-balance and gain better position.
While all this bumping and grinding is sure to make R Kelly proud, playing playground ball isn't exactly the best idea in 2K!. I say this because one of this year's coolest additions the way it handles ill-advised player contact. As we mentioned, the wrong moves in the post can really send you up the river offensively. There are a ton of new moves this year, but if you should happen to screw up by, say, dragging yourself into a double team and sticking the ball where it doesn't belong (i.e. right in front of a defender's face), your player icon will start to blink, indicating that you are seriously susceptible to turning the ball over. Not only will this make hot dogging an "experts-only" affair, but it will help alert defensive players to possible steals, which should help turn up the defensive intensity several notches.
But VC is well aware that for some players, the best defense is a good offense, and we're psyched to report that the rim-shaking action of last year's game has gained some serious thunder. Last year's game offered a little over 70 different dunks, and 2K1 will pump up the volume with nearly twice the number of slams. Not only are there some nifty classics like reverses and an increased number of two-handed jams, but some special moves like the East Bay Funk dunk have made their way in as well.
But what good would all these new ways to plaster weak-ass fools be without a little visible embarrassment on the part of the defense? Visual Concepts is all about capturing the feel of the game, and to make sure NBA2K1 is even more engrossing, player are receiving a serious injection of the emotional mojo. Not only will cry-babies like Reggie Miller bitch and moan if they don't get a flagrant for incidental contact, but good guys like Grant Hill will help people up after they take a charge, and if Williams had a conscience, he'd be able to look upset that he just threw away the ball on a bonehead pass. We saw tons of these additions this afternoon, and let me tell ya, it is just flat out awesome.
But this isn't the only reason players are looking better this year. Unlike last year where players often shared texture sets, each player has their own individual textures, which have been doubled per player since last year. The end result? Little details like Terry Cummings' lack of pigmentation on his under-arm can be seen in game. Just another little subtle change that puts you that closer to the court.
And once you get there, NBA2K1 features a few changes that should make balling all the more enjoyable. Several major areas of gameplay areas have been tweaked in the off-season, and most focus on Visual Concept's desire to key off player attributes in a much more realistic manner. For example, 3-point shooting has been totally redone, and now players like Davis and Houston can drain the trey, whereas Shaq will be well-advised to keep his stuff in the post.
The passing game has also been tweaked a great deal, and 2K1 promises to cut down on the number of deflections and stupid passes, and thankfully, in-bounding the ball can now be done by the closest player, and the game immediately cuts to in-bounds plays from the side, so that you won't have to sit around waiting for the sloths in the post to get their butts to the line. Icon passing is still intact, but this year's game makes it much easier to pass out of any shot, so all you floor generals can get your dipsy-doo on with Kidd. Good stuff.
Best of all, Visual Concepts has managed to fine tune the free-throw system so that it is much more stable for good shooters, and bound to the shooter's statistical abilities like Payton to an opposing guard in the 4th quarter. Unlike last year, where players shared the same mechanics, this year, each shooter has his own free throw feel, and we're told to expect a much more difficult experience at the line.
And just to make sure all you slackers who never figured it out last year, VC has also put in a handy-dandy "lock-in" feature in the Rookie difficulty, which set in the arrows upon releasing the analog triggers, so that once you have them where they want them, they'll stay put. Not that any self-respecting hoops fan would resort to such weak sauce, but it's nice to know Sega loves the scrubs, too.
Speaking of loving worthless piles of player, VC knows you guys are all about the Bill Walton, so just so they'd have an excuse to include the annoying egomaniac, 2K1 has added to its player roster 50 "classic" players from 4 decades of basketball action, including Big Red, Larry Legend, Wilt the Stilt, and more. The players will be split up into 5 teams, a 50's and 60's squad, 70 East and West, and 80's East and West. We got a gander at them in action, and if you thought seeing last year's players on the court, wait until you see these guys in their vintage duds getting their hoop on. It is pretty slick.
And as if this wasn't enough, 2K1 is also getting a little old-school love in the form of a fully functional playground scene dubbed "Street Mode." In this asphalt jungle, players will be able to compete in fully customizable pick-up games. Best of all you can choose the number of players, from 2-on-2 to 5-on-5, which should make players per team, who've always wanted a more simy brand of Jam more than pleased. Street Mode offers up several legendary real-life courts, such as Goat Park, Rucker Park, and the Cage, and each has been painstakingly recreated, right down to subway entrances and paintings on near-by buildings.
And the best thing about this mode? You'll be able to take these grudge matches to the Internet! That's right folks, not only will NBA2K1 offer up standard Online play, but the party between two Dreamcast doesn't have to be limited to stuffy auditoriums. I don't know about you, but a little 3-on-3 at Franklin sounds like fun to me. VC still hasn't determined if the whole of the NBA will be open for these pick-up games, or if player selection will be limited to same-team-only squads, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for a little Jason Williams-Vince Carter duo of doom. Aww yeah! Hot dog city!
But enough about Street Mode. I'm sure you wanna know how this thing plays Online. Well, the good news is, the game is playing just as well as NFL, and from the looks of things, the magic of the NBA is a bit easier to replicate due to the player switching. As I mentioned at E3, the game of basketball is a bit easier, and shooting, passing, stealing, blocking and moving are about all there is to this game. Since those are all one-button actions, it is a lot easier to get in to NBA2K1 Online from a gameplay standpoint, as there is a much smaller margin for error. But in case you haven't played NFL2K1 over the 'Net just yet, know that this basketball experience is looking pretty slick, and quite playable over the Dreamcast's 56K modem.
More importantly, VC has been doing some serious fine-tuning to the game's Game Lobby, and the interface for NBA is going to be a lot more user-friendly. Visual Concepts plans to add a "Keyboard" category in the player listings, remove player entry/departure messages from the chat text, and they also plan to make a player's rate and keyboard status pop up with their challenges. All of these things should help finding the right game for you much easier, as well as cut down on wasted real-estate in the Game Lobbies. They also plan to give players more space to chat in-game, and will be including usernames next to their corresponding text, so it will be easier to follow chatter while playing. Other customizations, such as player taglines next to their usernames as well as limiting the number of challenges you can receive are being considered to help make thing go smoothly, and VC hopes to have a much more functional lobby in place when NBA2K1 hits the court.
Offline, the game will also offer a full Franchise Mode that is quite similar to NFL2K1, allowing player trades, multiple seasons, and of course, rookie drafts. There will also be customizable tournaments and playoffs which, unlike last year, will let you select the post-season competitors. As you can see, this game plans to come packing a load of gameplay options.
I haven't even told you about the full length scorer's table!!! Well, OK, so you probably don't really care, but they aren't sure if broadband support will be included, so I had to fill the space with some sort of informative goodness, didn't I?
Set to ship in late October, NBA2K1 is shaping up to be a more than worthy counterpart to its football sibling. We're expecting a playable version of our own in the coming weeks, but until then, check out these hot new screens for a better look at how the game is coming along.
-- Brandon Justice, IGNDC
Last year was undoubtedly the year of Visual Concepts in the video game sports arena. Their initial offerings in both football and basketball exceeded nearly every eager gamer's expectations, and set many a standard in their respective genres. However, it was also as widely recognized that in many respects, NFL2K managed to outclass its hardcourt counterpart. It wasn't that NBA2K wasn't slick, its just that it lack a great deal of the polish that made NFL such a break-through title.
This year, however, it's a whole new ballgame, as Visual Concepts has hit the ground running with their second entry into the race run to see who's who in digital hoops. One thing you can bet on this go 'round is that all those little kinks the critics felt held back 2K from being the ultimate b-ball sim will be getting much more than a simple once-over with the developmental iron.
The crew at Sega Sports has their steamroller of detail fired up and ready, and are prepared to make this year's rev the smoothest thing since Reggie's stroke from behind the arc in the heat of the playoffs. Gone are the obnoxious amount of dunks and blocks, and in is a more realistic, less frustrating game of hoops, and from a limited playtest at this year's electronic Entertainment Expo, we can already tell you that the game is handling with a much greater sense of purpose. The mo-cap also already seems much more natural, and over all the game feels much more at home with itself.
What I mean by that statement is that when you execute a maneuver such as a spin move or a cross-over, it actually seems to do something, as opposed to just show off the game's exquisite motion capture. Also, the team is hard at work attempting to make the passing game a bit more functional, and you can expect to serve up a slice of no-look pie smack in the middle of a shot or rebound with ease.
The last major change made in the gameplay department is perhaps its most important though, because, as any coach worth his haircut will tell you, you can't win without defense. Thankfully, an important aspect of revision for the Sega Sports team has been on the tenacious one itself, making sure that playing defense is both more natural and effective for the average player. Yes, this means even your little brother will be able to give you a good thumping if he learns to master his virtual footwork.
But this will take more than practice. It will take smarts. But since we're a big bundle of good news today, get a load of this: Not only have players gotten a bit more agile on the court, but it seems that they will be getting a whole heck of a lot smarter, to boot. This year's playbooks have all been redesigned, this time with the input of real NBA coaches. No word yet, however, on whether or not they'll be including post-game yoga sessions for the kids in So-Cal...
One thing that is sure to be a bit closer to real-life this year is the game's AI, in which Visual Concepts is looking to simulate everything from more intelligent commentary to "late-game" AI. You can expect lots of clock-eating or catch-up offense, depending on where your boys are at the end of the game, and a crew of announcers telling you all about it as it all unfolds. Exciting stuff.
OK, so it isn't that exciting, but I am guessing you've already heard about a feature that most certainly is: Internet play. That's right, for the first time ever for a console hoops title, NBA2K1 is ready to rock the rim from coast-to-virtual-coast via the world wide web in a little narrow band nitty-gritty we like to call Online play. Up to 8 players will be able to hit the court (up to four per Dreamcast) and initial play tests point towards a more than expectable connection at a blazing 60 FPS. How ya like them apples, kiddies?
On top of this huge addition, many of the little things will be getting tweaked to meet the demands of the public eye, namely the game's player models, which will feature a much greater level of detail, and of course, we'll be looking at a more customizable camera set, so that you can the best look possible at all this shiny new artwork.
And for all you geeks who would rather analyze the bottom line than the baseline, Visual Concepts has been kind enough to give a little back to the front office with a fully customizable host of evil options for the management-types. Included in 2K1 will be a new franchise mode, where you'll be able to sign players, draft rookies, and cry like a baby if you're a Clippers fan. The game will feature a completely updated roster and player trades, so be sure to do something devious like trade Steve Francis to Toronto for VC. You can even create custom leagues with nothing but Canadian teams. Just for our co-rookie of the year! I'm sure he'll be pleased.
Not nearly as much, though, as gamers who felt the fury of last year's VMU saves. You'll all be pleased to know that a year's worth of optimization can fix a lot of little things, including the save system, so that this go round, you'll be able to fit a Shawn Kemp-sized portion of game data next to your Season Statistics for NBA. Post lock-out, of course.
All this and more await us in this year's rev of NBA2K1, and if Visual Concepts can pull it all together, we'll be looking at impressive basketball titles ever to grace a console system. Between gameplay tweaks and the addition of Internet play, the rest of the field will have some serious catching up to do. Let hope I can find me some good sneaks by November...
--Brandon Justice, IGNDC