Friday, April 25, 2008

NBA on 2Ksports

My season is about to end, the Lakers are about to go into the playoffs once again, and their small forward Randolph Ruffin, is going to get the MVP for the second straight year. But who's Randolph Ruffin? Is anyone familiar with the 4th year superstar who won rookie of the year honors 4 seasons ago? He's the main go-to guy for the LA Lakers together with Daniel Gibson, Kobe Bryant, Troy Murphy and Robert Swift. Well just for a video game on the Xbox 360 of course.
Ending my 5th straight season on dynasty mode, my NBA 2K7 hasn't been replaced by the newer version of the series, the NBA 2K8. With Shaquille O'Neal on its cover and still playing for the Miami Heat, I opted to stick with this game and play with it for who knows until when. The visuals are great, with visible sweat running down the players' skin, detailed facial features, and even tattoos are spot on.
For game play, there are some minor issues that make the game a bit more unrealistic than how it's supposed to be. Players seem to dive whenever the ball gets loose, driving to the basket would sometimes end up releasing the ball at the back of the board, and some shots make the player's movement stiff. At times, AI behavior gets predictable, that even on the superstar level of play, you can blow out the opponent by as much as 50 points for just a 24 minute full game.
Despite some game play issues, the game seems to attract people, like me, who are after the stats at the end of the game. Making sure that certain players do well during the entire season, and getting the coveted MVP award, I try to make it a point that my star players perform well on each game, and try to limit mistakes. This in effect, makes the game a lot more challenging than it is.
As I finish every season, and usually get the championship trophy, I am always at the crossroads of my 2K7's fate. Should I finally get the newer game, should I take the bait and purchase the yearly releases of the series, or should I just wait every 2 years before I get the latest version of the series? Meanwhile, the new draft prospects seem promising.




picture: www.gamepro.com

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