'NBA 2K10': Bound for Greatness?

August 27, 2009 - When the "NBA 2K10" producers announced that they were lowering the player ratings in their game across the board to better separate the superstars you cheer from the bench players doing all the cheering, all you had to do was look at Jerome James and his embarrassing 42 overall rating to know they weren't messing around. Other casualties of the ratings game include Adam Morrison (crashing hard to a 55 overall) and even former 2K Sports spokesman J.J. Redick, who despite showing some flashes in the postseason, drops to a 52.

But the change in philosophy over the ratings isn't the only aspect 2K Sports was looking to adjust; in speaking to the game designers, they look back to "NBA 2K7" as still being the best in franchise history. "When fans talk about 'NBA 2K,' they always go back to '2K7,'" says producer Rob Jones. "After they see what we've done with 'NBA 2K10,' they won't need to talk about any of our older games. '2K10' is going to be the game everyone talks about from now on."

All you need to do is turn on the game to realize Jones' words aren't just bold, they appear to be dead on.

Sure, the game has all the flash and style of pregame rituals like LeBron tossing chalk into the air and having his crew pose for photos before the game, but I've never seen a computer opponent play a smarter style of basketball than what I've experienced with "2K10" … and the game's still not finished. I recently had the chance to play the preview build on the set of the "NBA 2K10" commercial shoot in Los Angeles. The build was dated Wednesday, Aug. 26, and I was amazed at how everything from the player spacing to the defensive rotations and the way inside shots are contested (virtual Dwight Howard, in particular, swatted virtual Pau Gasol back to Spain) was improved in the latest edition of the franchise. 2K Sports credits its relationship with 82games.com (a leading statistics and basketball analytics site) for helping producers further push everything from player tendencies to the proper positioning on court to help give "2K10" a more realistic feel. The game is now tracking 36 additional tendencies per player, breaking down not only how these players attack the basket, but how their teammates behave.

And the results are incredible.

Playing against the computer, I saw some of the most authentic ball movement I've ever seen from a CPU-controlled opponent. Players were hitting cutters slashing toward the basket, setting picks away from the ball to open up shooters, playing the inside-out game to set up the 3, and the post moves have been tuned to a point that would make even The Dream jealous. We're talking shimmy shakes, pump fakes, hooks, pivots and up-and-unders all controlled by various taps of the right analog stick.

In fact, the overall look of the game has really been improved thanks to, of all people, the guys who helped bring you "Grand Theft Auto." That's right, 2K Sports enlisted Image Metrics, the team that did the faces in "GTA," to help add personality to its players. So now, when LeBron throws down a vicious dunk, you'll actually see him puff his cheeks in the game like he does in real life when he's strutting back up court. I even saw Jameer Nelson miss a game-winning shot against the Lakers, and as Kobe walked toward the locker room, he had this smirk on his face like he knew he just got away with one. It might sound small, but details like this really add to the value of the game and individuality of the players, especially if you're a hard-core hoops fan.

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