Necessary Fixes for NBA 2K

We know what you're thinking: "This a fine time to be coming out with a list of things that need fixing less than two months before the game releases!" Here's the thing: we want you to think of this as an ever-changing list. This list will contain longtime issues and new things that pop up as well. As good as the NBA 2K series is (sometimes it seems almost a violation to be discussing what needs fixing) but hey...even MJ was a lil suspect from three point land. So let's get to it shall we?

15. Ball Denial - This was one of the great mechanics added to 2K10 and it was virtually neutered last year. After it became obvious that ball denial could be abused to force you into turnovers (like we mention later, passes to players in animations were restricted) we understood. Now? Its a new year. Ball Denial should return balanced with Pros/Cons. Players being "denied" should still be able to receive the ball, but sometimes let's see them take longer to gather themselves, it deflected away or bobbled as well. Let's also see a significant fatigue drain when players use this brand of defense in addition to occasional holding fouls and quicker whistles due to the increase in physicality.

* Lead Passing - Much like the hop-step this is a good gameplay mechanic except for the fact that its imbalanced and defenders are unable to adjust to it. This is a pretty significant issue that needs to be resolved ASAP (much like the hopstep spin in past versions of the game) as it was horribly abused in online play.

* Less Dunks - While dunks have gone down dramatically the past two years, they may need one last tweak. What we propose is pretty simple: That the aggressive modifier result in a strong/aggressive move to the basket, not necessarily a dunk. With that, and better collision detection in the paint, we'll no doubt see less dunk attempts in traffic and a much more realistic game overall.

14. Auto-Defense - This was easily the one entry on this list we debated most. Would something like this be cheesy? Would it hurt gameplay? In the end we decided since it would make defenders react normally it would be OK, especially with the lag online and the frequency our defenders go off-screen. Some players are just inept defensively. Simply put, a user would click the R3 button to yield control of his defender to the CPU. When the defensive rebound was secured the user would regain control. There are many instances where allowing CPU controlled defenders would aid gameplay, and in the end its just an option for players to use.

13. Defensive Focus - We'd like to see 2K adopt a bit more of a defensive focus in gameplay. Now while we certainly don't want the game unbalanced defensively where button-mashing is rewarded with countless steals/blocks like it has in years past, it should be much more user-friendly and balanced. It seems the right analog would be so much more intuitive than the current defensive controls. It could be used to steal/strip the ball, close-out, challenge shots, block shots (with the aggressive modifier) and even rebound. And really? What could signal a new era of  2K Defense more than implementing a Defensive Stick? Lastly, we'd like to see the defender's have the advantage recovering blocked shots, passes not deflected out of bounds and other loose balls. There's just something wrong when a single offensive player (who just got his shot blocked or pass deflected) is quicker to recover the ball than defenders that should be ready to take possession of it.


12. Open Court Situations - Cutting off the advance of speeding ball-handlers at the basket from the open court is one of the most difficult things to do in basketball. But it seems routine in 2K. In a one-on-one situation the offensive player has the advantage as he has the whole court at his disposal. Only the best defenders should have success staying in front of offensive players when they get to the hoop in one-on-one situations. Defenders shouldn't be able to routinely bring ball-handlers to a dead stop like they do now.

11. Coach Settings - Let's see coaching decisions have a more tangible effect on gameplay. Case-in-point: How is it physically possible to focus on fastbreaking and crashing boards simultaneously? Those two strategies are in conflict, yet we can max them both out in our strategy menu. This gives us the impression they don't impact gameplay all that much, and we'd like to see them have a noticeable effect. A better system would give users a maximum of 100 points to split between the Coaching Strategies and allow Pros/Cons for our decisions. No points in Run Plays? Your players "stand around" more when no play is called. Fast Breaking alot? You give up more offensive boards. Defensive Pressure up? You get whistled for more reaching, blocking and contact fouls, not to mention fatigue. The possibilities are endless.

10. Pass Deflections - This mechanic is an important gameplay fix that could be implemented in next year’s version of the game. We love how players are now more aware of the ball but there are simply too many steals in gameplay, sometimes making for a sloppy game. We understood the need to limit passes into the paint (and bad passes in general) but more of these passes should be deflected out of bounds by defenders. This would still be a win for defenders as it would still force offenses to operate late in the shot clock.

9. Closing Out/Blocks - Let's finally see closing out and shot-blocking separated. Being able to use the right stick to make a defender put his hands up on defense is solid, but it would be more user-friendly if simply pointing the right stick in the direction of an shooter caused us to attempt to close out. In 2K11 there are way too many instances where non-shot blockers blocked jump shots at a rate that was too high. We need to see shot blockers separated from the rest of the pack. Players like Kidd, Artest and Kobe Bryant are not shot blockers but are still good perimeter defenders, but they should be riddled with fouls when they attempt blocks at too high a rate. Those types of players should be more prone to close out to disrupt shots. Instead of one hands-up animation, it would be nice to see various close out, light contact and disruptive animations that make shots more difficult for an offensive player.

8. Hop-Step - As it exists now, the hop-step is grossly imbalanced. it allows an offensive player to get separation from a defender at a rate that is much too high and allows players into the paint too easily. It needs to be balanced where separation is not automatic and forcing contact with the hop-step should cause ball-handlers to lose the ball, charge and get their shots blocked at a much higher rate.

7. More Fouls/Less Miracle Defense - NBA 2K has too many situations where out of position defenders make plays on the ball and not enough shooting fouls. We're not saying these plays can't happen, they just need to happen LESS. We love the strip animation, but it needs to be whistled at a much higher rate. We certainly understand the need to prevent people from abusing the paint, but out-of-position blocks and steals need to occur much less than they do now. When we drive to the paint with CP3 and draw a post defender and then thread a pass to his man, he shouldn't be able to recover on a whim. Even players like Dwight Howard should be reduced to a 30-40% success rate in situations like those. The blocks-to-fouls ratio is horrible. Button-mashing defenders simply make too many miraculous defensive plays (particularly in one-on-one situations) and this is unrealistic. The gameplay needs more shooting fouls (the average number of FTs in an NBA game is 16, we're nowhere near that) and foul trouble is rarely an issue, consistently whistling these out-of-position block and steal attempts is a good place to start.

6. Display Mismatches Better - While a guard in the paint versus a true post player is a dead duck, and the ability for guards to beat "bigs" off the dribble is mostly well done, there are instances when we can't beat them to the basket. That's fine but we'd like to see more blocking, contact and reach-in fouls in instances like these. Too many times in these mismatches, guards try to pull up and simply get their shots blocked. Given the level of quickness at the guard position it'd be nice to see jab-steps and dribble moves consistently give us space for open looks when mismatched defenders back up.

5. Passing - The issues with passing are varied, While the ability to use bounce passes is important, even more pressing is the new issue of passes not going where we intend them. This wasn't an issue before this year and with the amount of turnovers it results in, it HAS to be resolved. There isn't anything worse than breaking down a good defense late in the shot-clock, kicking the ball to an open shooter--and it going to someone tightly covered instead, resulting in easy fast break points for the other team. There is also the issue of being unable to pass to players in certain animations. This has to cease, as it usually results in the CPU choosing a recipient we did not intend and a turnover. PLEASE let the ball go where we intend it to. If the defender deflects it, its bobbled or our player loses control of it, that's one thing, but not having the ball go where its supposed to is a big no-no.

4. Address the Pump Fake - I have been a NBA 2K fan since 2K2, and since that time the pump fake has always been an overpowered weapon used against defenders. While in reality, it can certainly force a defender out of a proper defensive stance and make a drive to the basket less difficult, rarely should we see defenders leave their feet on the perimeter. In a nutshell, we would like to see defenders fall victim to the pump fake far less, but would also like to see more of a risk-reward structure regarding it.

Users on SIM settings have become used to the fact that CPU defenders are able to poke the ball away during a pump fake. However, this rarely happens online. For this reason, there need to be Pros/Cons when using a pump fake. Scorers that "ball-fake and drive" are frequently called for traveling violations because they shuffle their feet. Perhaps this aspect should become a reality in NBA 2K as well. If a defender does not fall for the pump fake, we should see him sometimes crowd the offensive player and take away his dribble. Where are the animations where pump fakes result in jump-ball situations or the ball being poked away? We love the way gameplay in NBA 2K11 mirrored what we saw in the NBA. No team in the league passes the ball around the perimeter, pump faking with everyone until someone falls for it. The last time I remember someone faking that much was Charles Smith, remember how that turned out? Let's make this strategy extinct in NBA 2K.

3. Chemistry - In our opinion, chemistry should be one of the most important ratings in the game. It should be the difference between a talented team that doesn't play as a unit, and an average team that plays with one mind. Sometimes individual player ratings should remain the same while a higher chemistry rating should display how well a team is playing together. We'd like to see some good intangibles from high chemistry ratings like less turnovers, less silly fouls, and more disciplined play in general.

2. Robust Online Setup - Online and Offline play should be seamless. While we can't account for lag, we shouldn't feel like we're playing a completely different game when we get online. We should have all the options we do when we're playing normally. As good as the NBA 2K series is, for too long online has felt featureless. It'd be nice to see a way to save playbooks/rotations/minutes and a user-friendly lobby system with different levels of difficulty. It's time 2K's Online package matched the quality of its gameplay.

1. More Intuitive Shot-Stick -We're big fans of the Shot-stick but it needs just a bit more polish and consistency. First and foremost, 2K11 should be the last year our shooting percentage is lower with the shot-stick. If we use the True Shooting % setting there should not be an advantage to using the buttons to shoot like there is now. If the shot-stick truly is the future, players can't be placed at a disadvantage when they use it.

Next, the shot-stick must be much more intuitive. We're big fans of adjusting our shots and deciding which side of the rim to shoot on, but when we point the shot-stick towards the basket its because we want to continue our momentum towards the rim, we should never do a fall-away. Our player should continue towards the basket and at the very least attempt a floater or a leaner. Pulling back on the shot-stick should result in our player stopping his momentum for a jumper. If continuing toward the basket causes us to bowl over a set defender and get an offensive foul or our shot blocked; so bet it. Those are the consequences. The shot stick should react to our intentions, not decide on its own what type of shot we should be using.

Lastly, we'd like to see the ability to take advantage of airborne defenders. Shouldn't we be able to push the shot-stick into the direction of an airborne defender and sometimes draw a foul? I can only imagine the reactions in living rooms across America when people pull off three-point-plays in instances like those. There's still a small issue with the "2 foot jumper" in the game when an airborne defender is at the basket. again, our player should attempt to finish at the basket if we so choose, as there is no set defender between us and the goal.

So that's our list. We hope you enjoyed it! We're hoping all these issues are eliminated in 2K12 or soon after.