NBA 2K10 Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

System: X360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PC, PSP	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Visual Concepts	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: 2K Sports	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Oct. 6, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-7 (10 Online)	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

My Player Mode let's you try your luck as an NBA wannabe upstart. After setting his looks, attire, size, and style you are set on your journey to make it to an NBA roster. But first you have to prove you're worth it by playing in summer leagues, getting in practice time, and working drills. Along the way you are guided by your own personal, highly opinionated mentor. This mode is a bunch of fun; where you are forced to control just your own player in game situations and work on adding skills and abilities as you have strong performances on the court.

NBA 2K10 screenshot

During games you are constantly graded for how well you are playing as a teammate. Taking a good shot, even if you miss, is rewarded as much as dishing for an assist or snagging a rebound. Try to just focus on getting the ball in your hands as much as possible will lower your grade for being too selfish; ditto on the defensive side of the ball. Slack off on covering your man and you'll be penalized for giving open shots or failing to block out on a rebound. The grading isn't perfect and can be overly harsh at times but is enjoyable, regardless. My Player Mode is loads of fun as it is, but it has even more potential over the next few years as 2K Sports fleshes it out further.

Graphically the game is beautiful. Players look great and are full of detail. Tons of unique animations make the players feel more than skinned versions of the same person, as everyone has their own tendencies and movement and shot styles. Arenas and crowd graphics are also strong and only enhance the top notch presentation. Announcing is strong but suffers the same eventual repetitiveness all sports titles have to deal with.

NBA 2K10 is a fantastic, fun, and deep representation of the NBA experience. While it may be too much for a very casual basketball fan looking for an arcade experience and instant gratification, 2K10 will certainly appeal to longtime fans. Game modes like the dunk contest, 3 point shootout, 21, and pickup games give a nice variety while Association Mode and My Player Mode give plenty of reasons to keep coming back. I hate to leave you with such a tired cliché, but 2K Sports' NBA 2K10 is a slam dunk.

By Caleb Newby
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.3

Graphics
Some framerate problems are the only hitch to an otherwise gorgeous game.

4.3

Control
There's a lot to learn, but the depth and control is worth the investment.

4.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The soundtrack is an amazing mix of genres, but commentary gets repetitive.

4.4

Play Value
With My Player Mode and Association Mode and the plethora of other things to do, NBA 2K10 should hold your attention for a long, long time.

4.3

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

NBA Today - All the real world matchups, news and stats are automatically streamed right into your game providing dynamic commentary and presentation elements based upon what is happening in the real NBA.

My Player Mode - Create the ultimate NBA player and guide his every career move. Start as an undrafted rookie in the Summer Circuit; work hard enough and you may get an invite to participate in an NBA team's training camp, or you may end up in the D-League. The road to being an NBA star is a long and hard battle.

Crews - Round up your friends and build the ultimate squad, using either your created players from My Player mode or an actual NBA team, then go online and battle other Crews for bragging rights and progression points as you try to climb your way to the top of the Crew leaderboard rankings.

Living Rosters - The 2K Insider and his team of NBA analysts continue to keep NBA 2K10 fresh with up-to-date team and player information, including roster and lineup moves, trades, injuries and player ratings. Now track all of the changes through the season with interactive menus and analysis.

Signature Play - Signature Play pulls together all of NBA 2K's player Signature Styles and adds in all-new Signature Tendencies and facial expressions, creating NBA 2K10 teams that play and react like their real life counterparts for an unbelievably realistic NBA experience.

New Intuitive Offensive Controls - All-new easy-to-use dribbling and post game controls allow you to pull off ankle breaking Iso-Motion moves and dominate like Kobe from the perimeter to the paint.

Shut Down D - Shut down teams down like never before with innovative defensive controls that allow you to shadow your opponent's every move, deny position off-ball, and even select how you want to contest shots.