Reader Review: NBA 2K10

Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Jim does, as he towels down after a full court dribble.

Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.

And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.

This review was submitted by Jim Smith. If you’ve played NBA 2K10, or just want to ask Jim more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

NBA 2K10 (PS3)

2K Sports’ 10th anniversary edition of the game. A not-so-happy anniversary for NBA2K fans.

Loved

My Player: Create yourself, go through the Summer Draft Camp and get signed to the NBA. It’s an engaging, deep feature that has a lot of potential for the series’ future.

NBA Today: A great feature for the casual player who wants a bit more variety than playing just one team for the season, and it keeps you as close as possible to the real NBA action.

Better Presentation: It’s much more like watching a game on TV. From pre-game cutscenes to updated, more dynamic commentary, the presentation has taken a real boost this year.

Hated

Glitches/Frame rate: This game is glitch city. Routine texture issues, slowdown, players teleporting across the court, and much, much more really slam the brakes on the gameplay, and can render it near unplayable at times.

Player Control: Trying to move your player to any given spot on the court is an exercise in the absurd. Awkward, clunky and a big step backwards for the series.

AI will move your player on D: Clunky controls aren’t helped by the fact the guy your supposed to be controlling will often run all over the court without you actually giving him the input. It seems like the AI’s way of getting CPU players open shots. Annoying as hell.

Online bugs: If you love playing online, you’ll hate NBA2k10. Online features are virtually inaccessible to date.

Player models: Some players look good, while others look plain hideous. Paul Pierce’s face looks like its melting.

Choppy animations: Animations this year are choppy and don’t flow together. The problem is exacerbated by the poor frame rate.

Impossible defence: While it seems the CPU will have no trouble defending you, you’ll have big trouble defending them. No more lock-on defence.

Same old issues: AI, post play, and recurring issues the series is known for have not received any attention. They’re still there and they’re still annoying.

The arrival of a patch expected soon may fix some of the big issues, but the only real reason it seems worth buying is the up-to-date rosters; 2K let a lot of people down this year trying to fix something that wasn’t really broken. I’d recommend picking up a cheap copy of 2K9, the core gameplay being much more solid.

Reviewed by: Jim Smith

You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 300 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.

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