by: Michael Ogunnubi

October 16, 2009

The remarkable realism from last season is even more true to life this year. The AI as a whole holds up as well as it did last year and in some cases slightly better. Teammates and opponents alike are still true to life in their behaviors. Teams run real life NBA plays and individual players make the moves and take the shots they do in real life. Ray Allen runs off picks and has a lighting fast, picture-perfect, release on his shot. Tim Duncan faces up for his patented bank-shot and pounds a couple dribbles before turning into the lane for a short jump hook. This all adds up to be one amazing basketball game.

The defensive AI feels more reactive and intense than it did last year. Players body up their man, wave hands in his face as he dribbles and generally feel more lifelike when playing D. Playbooks and team schemes are recognizable and authentic. As you play with different teams, you'll feel how each squad sets up their offense differently; they utilize different areas on the floor and unique movements within the offense. AI is smart in this game, not just your teammates, but your opponents. Defense is unrelenting and no overused or misused tactic goes unpunished. Anything less than smart basketball will lead to you being on the wrong end of a blow out by halftime. The realism is so stout it may have created a barrier of entry for those who aren't basketball savvy. The casual gamer or hoops fan will either learn how to play smart basketball or be frustrated by the reality that the game of basketball is one that requires you to think.

Certain animations are also smoother and more lifelike. Drives to the basketball feel more natural and less like restrictive locked in animations. Physics and collision detection help with this; when players drop a shoulder to drop step in the post or perimeter players bump and jostle on a drive, it's all accurate down to the pixel. The slightly re-tooled iso motion controls also make things easier. Turbo is now mapped to the right trigger and iso motion controls are distinct on the left trigger. Combined with weight and momentum these two distinct methods of control can allow for slight adjustments in movement that can also affect the shot you end up taking when moving towards the rim.