2K Sports has had an outstanding run with its NBA 2K series in recent years, with each season’s release bringing new and exciting features to the table. NBA 2K9 continues the series’ tradition of delivering the most satisfying basketball experience you can find in a video game, but it seems like Visual Concepts has added very little in the way of meaningful new features, and most of the gameplay improvements will only be noticed and appreciated by series veterans.

NBA 2K9’s major new features are living rosters and five-on-five online play, but there are also a few on-court tweaks to fix issues that players had with NBA 2K8. The living roster system is much like rival NBA Live 09’s Dynamic DNA system in that both apply current statistics from the 08-09 NBA season and apply them to the game, improving or decreasing specific player attributes. The data collecting and implementation is where the two systems differ – EA licenses their content from a “premier analytics company”, while 2K Sports has an employee on the development team that handles all the statistics. EA’s system is a bit better integrated with the rest of the game, though you can’t fault 2K for including a similar system (and not requiring players to punch in a code to use it).

On the court, players will have to look deep to find many of the changes Visual Concepts has made to this year’s game. These alterations are very subtle, but they do improve play on the whole. Lockdown defence has been changed to promote more realistic match ups; players now hit the left trigger to activate the lockdown, and can now set your player’s proximity and orientation with the right stick, allowing for defensive adjustments on the fly. You’ll no longer see a big forward like Tim Duncan move in sync with an agile guard like Allen Iverson. Defensive AI seems to have improved a bit – CPU players now pick up on the holes in their defence, so don’t expect to keep scoring on the fast break and with long range passes like in the 2008 game.

The pace at which matches are played is noticeably faster than 2K8, but the game still manages to stay entrenched in the simulation-oriented approach the series is famous for. There are still a few issues with momentum changes – sometimes a player will stop for a split second when you activate the aggressive modifier. The series’ staple shot stick has also seen some attention, with players now able to change their shot type in mid air. Now you too can “be like Mike”, changing your fancy long distance dunks into lay ups at the last second, which ends up looking pretty awesome. Player shot accuracy issues from 2K8 have also been resolved, so scoring with star players like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony is now much more natural. Fortunately, the improved defensive controls keep these offensive boosts in check, keeping the game more balanced. If things aren’t to your liking, you can always adjust the gameplay sliders, or download shared sliders from other players.

Online play has seen a couple of changes in NBA 2K9, but the main addition is the five-on-five match option. You can play with multiple players on the one console (four on the 360, seven on the PS3), which is pretty handy, because communication is key - you need to work well as a team to play the game effectively. Lag is manageable, though dedicated servers would be a welcome inclusion. Online functions do seem to work a little faster on the PS3, but the Xbox Live infrastructure makes things a bit easier. The lobbies have been eliminated, which is a little annoying but ultimately not a deal-breaker, and Visual Concepts makes up for it by letting you share rosters, replays and such with your friends.

Watching a match of NBA 2K9 unfold is really a sight to behold. Not only are the player models faithful highly detailed reconstructions of the real thing, but they animate incredibly well. Quality transitional animations and star player signature animations breathe life into NBA 2K9, making it look more natural than the competition. The TV-style presentation of the feature is excellent once again, with the commentary team of Craig Kellogg, Kenny Harlan and Cheryl Miller (sister of former NBA legend Reggie Miller) providing enthusiastic and informative banter for each game. Kellogg and Harlan can be a bit repetitive at times – even in the same play – but the good generally outweighs the bad. NBA 2K9 also employs a highlight reel generator to capture the best plays of the game, and present them in little clips at the end of the quarter/half/game in more cinematic camera angles with dramatic music. It might not seem like much, but it’s a cool little feature. Highlights can also be uploaded and shared with friends.

NBA 2K9’s Association mode (dubbed 2.0 for this year’s game) should once again capture the attention of diehard hoops nerds for another year. The menus and interface for the mode are still wretched, even after this year’s redesign. Most of the improvements in the Association are focused around the work in the front office, specifically scouting and trading. Scouting options now allow you to take an in-depth look at a player’s abilities and recent performance prior to a match, with the quality of the information dependent on the strength of your scouting team. Trading and roster management has become much more realistic, but also a lot more complex as a result. Many of the rules from the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement have been implemented into your roster management, including the Bird rule, which allows you to breach the salary cap if you’re resigning an existing player whose contract has expired. It’s pretty complicated and the game does nothing to explain the collective bargaining agreement, so most players will be happy leaving the CPU to handle their front office dealings.

If you’re looking for something a little different from standard basketball, you can participate in the NBA Blacktop modes, which include all of the activities from the All Star Weekend, like the Slam Dunk Contest and 3 Point Competition. Controls in the dunk contest in NBA 2K8 were unwieldy to say the least, but they’ve improved a bit this year – enough to make the contest worth playing more than once. Contests still go a bit long, and the MC is bound to grate on your nerves, but there’s a modicum of fun to be had. The three point contest, on the other hand, feels less responsive than last year. Blacktop modes can all be played online, but you’ll have trouble finding opponents.


NBA 2K9 is a fine iteration in a great series, but Visual Concepts really needs to bring more to the table for future updates. They seem to be busy adding superfluous additions like the living roster updates while the basic menus of the game are still a pain in the butt to navigate. The core game is still fantastic, but I’d like to see them tune up the online play, fix the issues with player momentum, and make the AI a bit more dynamic across the board. Presentation could use a little tuning up on the commentary side of things, but is otherwise fantastic. NBA 2K9 is the best basketball game available this season, but might not be fresh enough for those who played last year’s release.