This game is going to be amazing and it's only 19.99. New commentary, Bill Walton replaces Tom Tolbert, I guess thats an upgrade. Here are some screen shots, simply amazing, Blows Live 2005 out of the water... http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff1_003.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff1_001.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff1_002x.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff2_18.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff2_15.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff2_17.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff2_16.jpg http://www.espnvideogames.com/_img/screens/nba2005/nba2k5_fff1_005.jpg The NBA season is just around the corner, which means another season of Vlade Divac flopping on the hardwood every time the likes of Earl Boykins breathes on him. The new season also means another release in ESPN's NBA 2K franchise is pending. Visual Concepts recently brought a beta version of NBA 2K5 by our office, and what we saw of the game left us hungry for more. This year, the developer has performed a substantial overhaul on several aspects of 2K5's on-the-court gameplay, including player movement and both the offensive and defensive artificial intelligence. In addition, there are a number of control tweaks that have further enhanced gameplay. Player movement has been given a considerable upgrade this year. What the Visual Concepts folks refer to as "the next movement" basically means that players move with a much more tangible sense of weight. No longer can players accelerate instantly to a full sprint simply because you have pressed forward on the thumbstick. Instead, movement is regulated by a more realistic sense of weight transfer, which is especially noticeable during stops and starts. Players must work up to full speed and, conversely, take a bit longer when stopping. While this momentum-based movement system will affect your offensive moves toward the basket, it may also change your approach to defense. No longer will a slowpoke like Rick Fox suddenly burn you out of nowhere with a turbocharged drive toward the basket, as was the case in previous years. Instead, the "wind-up" movement of an accelerating player will be a tip-off as to the direction he is headed, meaning you'll have a better shot of cutting him off if you pay attention and react accordingly. While defensive options have improved, Visual Concepts was quick to point out that there are just as many tweaks on the offensive side of the ball. Basically, the entire approach to game development has been focused on balance. As a result, a large number of interesting and realistic ball and player movements have been incorporated into the game. However, to ensure even, balanced gameplay, there is always a counter to offensive plays when on D. Fans of the NBA2K series either loved or hated the isomotion feature, which was introduced just last year. This dribble feature let you pull off complicated juke moves and crossovers as you drove toward the basket. This year, the system is back in the form of isomotion2, and it offers more moves, more multiplayer animations, and a number of different ways to change the ball position as a play unfolds. We were fortunate enough to have witnessed the dramatic midair isomotion options, which even let you change the direction of a layup while the offensive player was in midleap. In an effort to improve (and perhaps to reintroduce) play-calling in the NBA 2K series, Visual Concepts has simplified the controls for calling plays. You can still adjust your strategies on the fly with a few simple button presses. However, for those who can't tell the difference between the triangle and a full-court press, the inclusion of an adjustable tempo meter is a welcome addition. By taking the tempo down a few notches, you can have your players crash the boards and make extra efforts to grab rebounds. Conversely, speeding up the game means your players will head down court as soon as a shot is in the air, looking to open up the court to create some fast-break opportunities. Tempo also affects your offensive game, so a slow tempo forces the offense outside to take more Js, while an up-tempo defense is always looking for the steal and is hustling to block shots. As you might expect, a quicker tempo means players fatigue quickly, so you'll need to adjust your lineups accordingly, depending on your style of play. Your players' movement is properly weighted in 2K5, giving stops and starts more-realistic momentum. NBA 2K5's franchise mode returns under a new moniker--the association. The biggest change this year is an alternative method for simulating games that you don't want to control directly. In previous versions of the NBA 2K series (and in most sports game franchise modes, for that matter), simulating games you don't want to play leaves you with minimal control over their outcomes. As such, the result can be a painful losing streak if you're not careful. By using NBA 2K5's "full authority" simulation mode, you will still be able to simulate one or more games, but, much like a coach mode in a football title, you can have indirect input in the outcome of your simmed games. In fact, the amount of coaching options you have is surprising--and you can even control the number and type of shots a given player will take per quarter. Once a quarter has been played, you will be shown a brief video recap of the highlights (or lowlights) of that quarter. You can then make adjustments accordingly, subbing in fresh players off the bench, tweaking shot attempts, and making defensive adjustments as needed. A typical game simulated via full authority takes around three to five minutes to complete, depending on the number of post-quarter video recaps you want to watch (they can be skipped if you like) and the adjustments you make. Full authority mode should be an effective method for getting through a large number of games on your schedule while still retaining a modicum of control over your team's progress. Of course, if you're interested in skipping the regular season altogether, you can still go the traditional route, take your chances, and sim your way in to the postseason. The 24/7 mode is back in NBA 2K5, but this time it'll be less restricted. Here's an understatement for you: The NBA contains many interesting personalities. Visual Concepts is taking that wide spectrum of player temperaments into account in association mode as well. As the boss of your chosen team, you'll be counted on to ensure your team's success not only on the court, but also off the hardwood as well. Players will regularly come to you to offer their opinions on the state of the team, the frequency and intensity of practices, playing time, etc. Based on their comments, you are presented with three possible response types for that player: positive, neutral, and negative. The trick is in matching the correct reply to the player's comment. Some players need to be encouraged with positive feedback, while others may need a kick in the pants to get them fired up. This question/answer system can affect team chemistry either positively, negatively, or not at all. At first glance, this system of matching your response to the question seems a bit too "rock-paper-scissors" for comfort, especially early in the season. However, Visual Concepts assured us that once you get to know a particular player's personality and you subsequently learn which response will elicit a positive result from him, that player's behavior will be consistent for the rest of the season. This should eliminate the guesswork in dealing with your players as the season progresses. With NBA 2K5, 24/7 mode returns with fewer restrictions than last year's version. For example, you won't have to play a full game of 21 to up your stats this year. Instead, many of the challenges are held against a relatively short time clock, which lets you quickly upgrade your created 24/7 player right out of the box. A unique feature in this year's 24/7 mode is the inclusion of a create-a-shoe mode where you can fully design your custom scoots, right down to details such as fastener type, heel color, and logo. Graphically, one of the most striking things about NBA 2K5 involves the player models. The quality of the facial mappings is amazing due to the individual mapping of every NBA player's head. Instead of using a set of stock heads and pasting a face on to it, 2K5's variety in head size and shape creates an additional layer of realism for the player models. Other, more-subtle, graphical touches include billowing jerseys and shorts and lighting effects that provide the illusion of numerous folds in the jerseys. NBA 2K5 also includes improved dynamic shadows, where players not only cast shadows on the floor, but also on themselves (such as when players pass their arms over their legs while dribbling) and their opponents, which presents a subtle but effective lighting trick. As you'd expect, the graphics are receiving more than a few touch-ups this year. Watch for a fully customizable camera system too. The ESPN style of presentation gamers have come to expect in the series is evident here in NBA 2K5. Bob Fitzgerald returns as play-by-play announcer, and he's joined in the booth this year by Bill Walton. Meanwhile, Michelle Tafoya is on the sidelines. The halftime show has received a big overhaul this year; where star players and key moments from the first half are focused on in a series of dynamic video recaps. Visual Concepts caught some heat last year for the limited camera angles available in NBA 2K4. This has been addressed this year in a big way, with fully customizable camera options that allow you to tweak the camera angle and zoom level so that you can find the perfect viewpoint for your preferred style of play. Based on what we saw, NBA 2K5 seems to be heading in the right direction. The minuscule $20 price tag, recently confirmed by Sega, is additional good news for thrifty gamers looking for their roundball fixes this fall. Look for our final verdict on NBA 2K5 when the game ships in early October
Hopefully we can have an online league this year. We tried one last year, and of the 3 people who signed up only two of us actually ever played a game.
Why? Because of the Isomotion? It was ok to me last year, but judging from the video clips of it, the newer Isomotion looks a little more fluid and useful. It certainly doesn't seem to hurt it enough, IMO, to put Live over it.
It looks like they have throwback jerseys!!!! Sweet!!! It also looks like they still have the Summit seating arrangement instead of the TC.
Like I said, are you referring to last year's Isomotion or the 2k5 version? The clips seem to show a lot of improvement of the Isomotions, IMO.
Can't say I've played this game before but the video doesn't make it look that confusing, plus its onl $20 bucks so I will be getting it.
it's 20 bucks so i'll definitely buy it and it also looks alot better than last year which was like 4 steps back for the 2k series. i actually had to buy nba live!
Great read. And I had no problems with isomotion and am looking forward to isomotion 2. I'll probably wait till I have cash to buy the game, hopefully my refund check will come through soon.
Well, it's only $20, so I may get it...but they really needed to work on the franchise mode, and I'm not sure they did. It was way too easy to pull off trades last year, and star players like Garnett bounced around the league all the time. I just don't like games when I can have the best team in the league every year, and if I don't, I can pull off some trade to make it happen. It kills the life of the game. Still should be much better than Live as far as multi-player goes though.
Videos and screenshots LIE!!! lol They always make games look great in the shots and vids. I will do like I always do, try both games and trade in the one I hate. Live looks good this year, ESPN let me down big time last year as most of the problems from the year before were still there. Really don't want to go through that again this year.
The videos and screenshots from ESPN may lie, but the ones from IGN or other sites don't really try to make the game look great. They just show how it looks when they got a chance to play a game. Your method sounds like what I do sometimes, except I just rent the games instead of buying both and trading in the one I don't like.
Actualy, everything I have read from people who have it say it is much different than last year's game. I HATED last year's game with passion. I bought it the first day out and then sold it three days later but this year's sound MUCH improved. Check out this first impression from someone who has played it and see what you think. This, along with that site's posted gameplay vids of the game, sold me on this year's version. --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://forums.operationsports.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=97363 Okay, here we go guys. I went out and got a glimpse of ESPN NBA 2k5 for the XBOX. I can pick my copy up tomorrow at 2 o'clock. Needless to say, I didn't get much time in with the game because the District Manager came in to check on the store, and Jeff had to tell him I was in for an interview, which is why I was there after hours However I did get a fraction of time in with the game, and I have to say, that it is a whole different game than last year. Everything from the flow, to animations, to Isomotion, to the atmosphere is better this year. No, scratch that, it is a whole lot better this year. With that said, it is far from perfect. I will start off with a little bit of the negative aspect of the game. When you use the pivot button, the player most "ALWAYS" changes pivot feet. I know it is picky, but it did catch my eye quite a few times. Secondly, the AI attempts some horrible shots sometimes. Granted, we were playing on the 2nd difficulty level, which was I think All-Star. Straight up jumpers were hard to come by since movement plays a big part in this years animations. A lot of the animations are awesome, but sometimes, unneccessary to say the least. I was Houston and T-Mac came off of a Juwan Howard Screen at the 3 Point Line, dribbles right, is wide open, and sort of does a leaning to the right 3 pointer. In real life, T-Mac would probably go straight up, but in that particular scenario, I guess his momentum carried him to the right. In a way, it was kind of cool, but not like T-Mac. I know there was more things that bothered me, but for some reason I have developed a mental block of negative comments on this game. All that keeps coming to mind is the good things. The animations this year, are 50/50. Some animations are better than Live, and some are worse. For the most part though, it doesn't detract from the game at all. One thing that really keeps you into the game is the crowd. There are times that T-Mac would get a steal, and the crowd would pretty much erupt as I raced down the court for the high-flying dunk. Dunks are for the most part better this year, however some of the jams from last years rendition remained and carried over. However they don't have as much of a floaty feel/look this year. For the most part, I can live with them, and it doesn't take away from the gameplay experience. I do like Live's dunk animations better than ESPN's, but like I said, you can live with them. I seen about 6 or 7 new dunks in my limited time, and a few big man dunks which was a welcome addition. Layups are in the same category. Most of them are very nicely done, but with a few that aren't as realistic. They are 100% better than the junk from last year. Some of them are done at the wrong time, but I think that you can change that with the sliders. The new Next Movement animations are awesome. I am a huge Inside Drive fan, and loved the fading animations for it last year. Well, needless to say, ESPN took those to the next level, and it looked extremely realistic. I seen quite a few different shot styles from different guys. Big Ben Wallace & Yao's shots were different than T-Mac and Rip's, which was a pleasant surprise. I don't think there are player specific shooting styles, but maybe there are position specific. I didn't get to play it enought to form a good opinion of shot styles. I didn't see too many blocks, but the ones I did see looked NICE! I couldn't ever remember to use In-Air Isomotion or whatever, but when I did, the results were awesome. Of course I missed most of my adjusted shots, but there were some crazy, but real looking animations. The defense of this game is much improved over last years version, which makes you use in-air adjustments. Sometimes Jeff would get tired of guarding me, so he would let the CPU guard me, and he would just guard another guy, lol. But the CPU Defense was good even on the default level. I would say after a few games, it will become second nature to adjust your shots, but in my limited time, I just kept on forgetting about it, but I got to the line a lot. The defensive controls are pretty much the same as last year, other than the double team button. I think that you can change the control layout, but we didn't have time to mess with anything like that. I know I have talked quite a bit about the game, but the one thing that I absolutely loved this year is the atmosphere and the default camera. It is the TV style camera, and it looks authentic. The crowd is usually into the game when it needs to be, and less so when you are sucking up the court. If you make an exciting play, you can expect the home crowd to show their approval. They have a few different chants, and they actually look like a real crowd. The stand up and cheer, or they can just sit there and not be involved in the game if you are losing badly. It was pretty sweet the way the atmosphere is this year. A huge improvement over last year. Player spacing is so much better this year, and it adds to the whole experience. Players spot up in the corner for the open 3, and you can swing the ball around. This is largely in part to the playbooks. You will need to spend some time learning some plays IMO when you bump up the difficulty. But the spacing just reminded you of a real NBA game. Its the little things that you notice in this game, that adds to the experience. And FT's were occuring like they should. There were a variety of different fouls. One of them appeared to be an over the back foul, but it may have just been pushing. I was Lue behind Billups, and jumped into him from behind and he kind of fell forward. It was great. Before I forget, another thing that kind of irked me, but that you will probably get used to, is backing someone down. It is more realistic, but sometimes that is bad. If you have a weak player trying to back down a little stronger player, then you will be pushed back by a forearm in the back. I know it is realistic, but it kept making me mad. I would have good position, and then the defensive player would push me back out toward the 3pt line. The ball movement and off ball movement was money. I don't know how it will be in a 1P vs CPU game, but in 1P vs 2P it was great. People moving and cutting without the ball, the ball moving around to the open guy for the wide open J. Running off of screens to have an open jumper. It doesn't get any better. The jump hop was a great addition, and is not near as overpowering as last years NBA Live. It looks and feels very fluid when performing. It could be abused I think, but not nearly as effective as last year's in Live. Control wise, we were using the XBOX s-Controllers, and the buttons were very responsive. It gave me the Inside Drive feel from last year. I love Inside Drive, and with some slider adjustments, then I can see this game rivaling my beloved ID. I wish the controller was layed out like ID's, but there may be a layout that is similar. We just didn't have the time to look at it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a link to view screenshots and vids. The last few vids, way at the bottom, are the best as they show the gameplay and the atmosphere of the game. http://www.operationsports.com/reviews.asp?game=espnnba2005xbox I will be picking this up tomorrow and make sure I fill y'all in on what I think. I was a BIG "Inside Drive" fan and never really liked either "Live" or ESPN before, so at least you know my impressions are not coming from some fanboy.
