I think it’s a rather important fact to establish that I know very little about basketball. I believe it has something to do with placing a ball in some sort of elevated netting. That’s about the extent of my knowledge yet I still got excited about NBA 2K14. I’ve always found sports games have a way of being particularly addictive and satisfying regardless of their chosen specialty.
Unfortunately it seems to be a genre where load time considerations are right at the bottom of the list and indeed NBA is no exception to that ‘rule’. Once you get up and running it’s certainly playable but before and between games you can expect to be waiting just a little longer than you’d like. Admittedly I’d like not to wait at all but it’s amazing how quick you can become bored on a loading screen reading the same old ‘tips’ over and over again. Luckily once you’re playing a game everything works smoothly.
To start I decided to go on what is as close to a tutorial as I could find. You will go through all the basics of the control system and eventually do some tests with the AI using moves and skills to achieve an objective. It all seems very progressive and constructive and soon I felt comfortable with the control system. Some of the text based explanations of the task I was required to perform where ambiguous resulting in an irritating trial and error session but for the most part things where well explained.
If you choose to use it, and you should, the Pro Stick system means that most of your time will be spent manipulating the ball using the right thumbstick. For example a half circle is used for passing a ball around your back. It all feels very intuitive and helps make proceedings feel much more natural than just pressing a button to pass or shoot. It takes a little time to get the hang of but luckily the tutorial is more than enough to help you on your way.
Things all started going wrong for me when I went into a proper game. Having little knowledge of the sport didn’t help with choosing a matchup because for all I know I might have been pitching a world leading super team against a bunch of weekend amateurs. But I was prepared for my ignorance to cause some problems and hopefully diminish as I learned the game.
But that wasn’t made easy. OK so the tutorial told me how to move around and handle the ball with skill that I can only dream of but there is no support what so ever in line with ‘Basketball for Dummies’. I appreciate that a vast majority of the people playing NBA 2K14 are likely well versed in the world of NBA but I’m not and although the rules aren’t the most complex a simple 10 minute explanation would’ve helped me enormously. I can’t be the only gamer out there who would enjoy the game but doesn’t know the sport. Just a rigged tutorial game or at least some of the tutorial with AI to play against would have been enough.
So after a mixed learning curve and figuring out the buttons I would need that the tutorial didn’t explain I got to fumbling around the court. The Pro Stick control system certainly keeps things smooth and slick. There are some touchy graphics, especially (and predictably) where the crowd is concerned but for the most part things look nice. The movement of the players is realistic and nothing looks rigid or robotic. Even the announcers do a pretty good job of helping the realism by providing facts and nuggets of information that don’t directly coincide with what happened 2 seconds ago.
The AI also assists with the realism, at least as far as ridiculously easy to score exploits go. The apposing AI will do a great job of defending and stopping you from just running around dunking all day long. At times I found it a little too tight hindering the flow of the game but it’s certainly better than the alternative. Again thanks must go, at least partially, to the improved control system. Being able to pass accurately (or inaccurately if you’re desperate) and have command of most of the moves you need on the thumbstick much better equips you to compete and win. Improved too is the mechanic for taking shots which are satisfying but not ridiculously simple.
Overall I found NBA 2K14 to be satisfyingly challenging and complex without becoming bogged down in statistics and strategy. As a basketball noob I would’ve liked some more gentle hand holding in the early stages but there’s nothing that can’t be figured out after a few hours of playing. Those familiar with basketball will undoubtedly feel right at home and find the Pro Stick tutorial enough to get going.
There are enough new features and improvements to make NBA 2K14 appealing to returning players. If you’re good enough there’s definitely enough space for some impressive manoeuvring and skilled shots with the Pro Stick and the AI is competent enough to help you along. Although the opposition sometimes defends like they’re protecting a vault filled with the secret to eternal life it does stop things becoming stale with one move working 90% of the time and carrying you through the entire game. A good choice for returning NBA gamers and well worth it for basketball enthusiasts but noobs like myself might be left a little disappointed and confused.
Reviewed on PS3
