NBA 2K10 for PlayStation 2 Reviews & Ratings by IGN

Last year, it appeared as though 2K Sports could be bringing its acclaimed basketball series to a close on the PS2 before it started to lose a step. With few games being released for the aging system, and even fewer innovative features being squeezed out of the hardware to provide an engaging experience that players can't find on the PS3, it seemed like 2K would gracefully disappear before it turned into a weak barebones port. However, instead of taking that into consideration, 2K Sports decided to release NBA 2K10 on the PS2, which is still an adequate game of basketball, although if you were expecting anything radically new, you're not going to find it here. In fact, with a few minor updates, this feels exactly like last year's game.



Unlike the PS3 and 360 versions of NBA 2K10, the PS2 version is essentially a faster paced, arcade styled basketball game instead of a simulation style title. In some ways, it's more like NBA Jam than a realistic representation of the sport. Players move incredibly fast, performing actions that aren't in keeping with their standard play style. Considering that the game touts attention to signature styles and tendencies as a major selling point, this feels radically off. For example, playing with the Hornets, I was able to get Chris Paul to perform tomahawk jams and 360 dunks that would make Kobe and LeBron jealous. Sure, you can mess around with sliders, but you can expect to have to tweak the game quite a bit to get a true sim experience.



This is only exacerbated by the redesigned Turbo system, which doesn't work the same way that it does on the newer systems. Conceptually, the redesign was made to prevent players from abusing the sprint feature by forcing users to measure their bursts of speed as they run up and down the court or completely burn out a player's stamina. However, because the players move incredibly fast on their own, using the turbo allows you to completely blow through some defenses to constantly establish fast breaks. In fact, you don't ever really need to run plays within the game, because if you want, you can constantly streak up and down the court without needing to set up your offense and get a player open. This speed doesn't solely work on offense, as dropping back on defense isn't a problem either; in fact, breaking back down the court to potentially interfere with an opponent's shot can easily be done.



Fortunately, the PS2 version doesn't have some of the gameplay issues that the PS3 or 360 versions have. Errant passes are practically non-existent, players don't run out of bounds and call for the ball, and the AI issues are few and far between. While the game does have a tendency to look the other way on some blatant backcourt issues, the gameplay is essentially solid. There isn't lockdown defense, but moving your player close to another player puts pressure on your opponent, potentially forcing them to turn the ball over or take an errant pass. In fact, one of the largest issues that comes up are the clearly easy shots that refuse to fall, such as layups or dunks that bounce harshly off the rim or open jumpers that fail to hit their mark. Even with all that said, the animations are pretty well done, although there can be some clipping through the basket or other players as well as some stuttering animations as you dribble up the court.



Like last year, 2K10 has an extremely basic presentation, which can be seen from the generic menu screens and the limited expansion within the game modes. There wasn't even an attempt to make the navigation system better, which is disappointing. In fact, you'll essentially find the same modes from last year, meaning that with the exception of updated rosters, you're not finding anything radically different here. The season, playoffs and tournament are all here once again, just like the game of 21, half and full court games and one on one matchups pickup games in the Street mode. Ditto for online matches, which are still basic online matches between friends or found opponents in a lobby that features quite a bit of lag. The Association also returns, and while it features new drills for players as well as ambitions for each athlete, it's still as clunky to navigate as before, and while it attempts to approximate the same look and appearance of the PS3 and 360 versions with the calendar view, it does a poor job of helping you explore the functions of your organization, making it infinitely less appealing to play.



Speaking of the presentation, the visual appeal of 2K10 is easily the weakest element of the game, particularly those off the court, as the audience members, cheerleaders and environments look blocky and outdated. While not entirely primitive, the age of the engine is clearly standing out here, and whether it's the aliasing issues that crop up on the court or online, the beauty of the game is clearly past its expiration date. Fortunately, player models, for the most part, look pretty good, so you'll have faces that look close to the athletes themselves, even if their bodies look a bit like plastic. At the very least, Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg do a decent job of providing commentary for the gameplay, and while the dialogue isn't as strong as the current gen version for this year, it manages to do its job as well as it needs to. Crowd noise as well as arena noise is pretty generic, but there's only so much that can be expected since it's clear that the focus is on the current generation than a system that's been on its last legs for a while.

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