In MyGaming’s review of NBA2K12, the game was called a “revelation that annihilates the foundations on which all sporting titles have been built and is the substratum on which all future sporting tiles should be based”.
That is a tough act to follow, yet Visual Concepts have once again stepped up to the plate and knocked the ball straight out of the stratosphere. NBA 2K13 is as close to sports gaming perfection as any game has come, and as far as I can tell, there are only two half-baked areas where the game is left out in the cold.
The first being the navigation. The game has extremely clumsy menus, which are at times so confusing that you just head home and stick to areas you’ve already explored, which makes the entire process feel archaic and unfinished.
This clumsiness also applies to the tutorial mode, which doesn’t teach you how to actually perform specific functions. The accessibility of the menus and navigation will be one downfall for newcomers.
The good news is, from there on it is as near to sports-sim perfection as you can get. I really hope the other sporting franchises will take note of the way that Visual Concepts have developed NBA2K13’s career mode. It’s unique, original and undeniably superior to anything else out there. You feel like a high-performance athlete that is about to embark on the biggest journey of their life.
Starting with the draft, you have an opportunity to impress scouts by building your player’s rating. After the game, the scouts who are interested interview you, and this entire process is interactive. You have 4 possible answers to choose from, and this will determine if you’re what they are looking for or not. All of these choices activate sound bites that will be played back, so you’re not sitting there reading your way through the game.
Once drafted, you get taken to discuss your contact, then move onto the team and see the list of your endorsements. Whilst this is similar to NBA2k12, it feels more rounded and polished and you now have the ability to meet with your club’s GM and really let him know what you think of your coach.
From there its all about building your player through upgrading your stats, which can be done using cash earned in-game; a system which I found a rather big upgrade, as earning XP and completing certain tasks in previous titles unlocked certain pre-selected upgrades for your player – in NBA2K13 you choose which skills you want to upgrade.
Online Play is smooth and extremely pleasant experience. Not once did it feel like I was lagging or that I was being held back by a lack of bandwidth on a slow line. You once again have access to online leagues, along with the ability to take your career online.
Another update worth mentioning is the blacktop arena. Visual Concepts have polished it off and added the ability to go all the way from 1-on-1 through to 5-on-5. You can also unlock all the legends of the game, so finally, who is the best of the best can be settled on the real court where nothing but skill counts.
NBA 2K12 is near visual perfection when it comes to the arena, the players’ movements , the players’ reactions, the crowd’s responsiveness and input and the refs attitude. The arena is mind blowing and anyone who sees you playing will really have to watch to make sure that its not a real game being broadcast.
That said, as soon as a player steps up for a free throw or gets focus during some off-time, the facial details are a bit of a let-down. Whilst FIFA and PES have some of the most beautifully rendered players, NBA2K13’s players fall far short of EA and Konami’s near-portrait-like renderings. Don’t get me wrong, NBA2K13 is far from ugly; it’s just the meticulous details that don’t match up with the rest of the gorgeous presentation.
Audiophiles rejoice! JayZ has been brought in as an executive producer. The man is known for spinning audio gold from extremely rough straw, and in NBA2K13 he has managed to find a near-perfect balance of bands and artists. His selection only proves the importance that music has in games, as this playlist clearly highlights basketball culture.
As for the in-game audio and commentary, NBA2K13 is once again the benchmark. With commentators breaking mid-sentence to comment about the on-court action, only to go back to their conversation a few sentences later. Court noises are fantastic and you really have to plug in a decent set of earphones and jack up the volume to appreciate the effort that has gone into NBA2K13.
I think the guys at Visual Concepts had arrived at a point where they thought “What do NBA Fans really want?”. Well they answered this in two really random and rather original ways:
NBA2K13 Celeb team
A celebrity team is a really nice feature – sadly, this team is headlined by Justin Beiber, and while The Beib is not known for his athletic prowess, he is a demon on the court. Now Beibface’s passion for the game is well publicised, so seeing him in a celeb team does make some sense. Fortunately, Jay Z’s superior production skills allowed for our ears to be saved from the boyfriend screeching star. Alongside him representing the entertainment industry’s finest are Bow Wow, Pauly D, and Sean Kingston to name a few.
NBA2K13 Shoe Creator
The ability to customise your player’s clothes is nothing new in a sports game; the ability to customise their shoes is pretty unique. However, the ability to take these shoe designs and send them off to NIKE to actually have them made and sent back to you is nothing short of mind-blowing.
This game is as close to sports-sim perfection as you will ever get. So, whether you’re a sport-sim enthusiast or a basketball lover, do yourself a favour and play this title, because it is nothing short of sports gaming nirvana.
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