GC '07: NBA 2K8 Updated Hands-On

[yungflo]

GC '07: NBA 2K8 Updated Hands-On
2K Sports has some new tricks up its sleeves with its latest hoops game, and we've got the latest details.
By Brian Ekberg, GameSpot
Posted Aug 23, 2007 12:25 pm PT

LEIPZIG, Germany--In our last look at NBA 2K8, we focused primarily on the new dunk system, which promises to add an entirely new level of fun and challenge to one of the more stylish aspects of the NBA game. Here at the 2007 Games Conference, 2K Sports was on-hand to show off an updated build in the game, one that gets to the heart of what most fans of the series have been clamoring to know more about: five-on-five gameplay. Though our time with the game was short, we have a good idea of where the team at 2K is heading when it comes to the fundamental hoops play in 2K8.

Simply put, the focus this year has been on improving defensive controls and giving players more options for running plays while on offense. When defending, a new lock-on defensive system will help you shadow the ball carrier. To initiate it, you simply press and hold the left trigger. A small target icon underneath the player's feet begins to animate and, once it's complete, your controlled defender is locked on to the ball carrier. A player's defensive attributes will affect how long it takes for him to lock on to an opponent, as well as how tough he will guard him once locked on. When locked into an opponent, your defender will be able to more tightly cover and stay with a ball carrier--the CPU kicks in a bit to act as a defensive helper--but that isn't to say that you can't get beat. Indeed, should your defender get his ankles broken, or if you switch to another defender, you'll need to lock on to that player as well.

The other big addition to gameplay is the new off-ball controls, as they're known. Here, the idea is to give the player more flexibility with how plays unfold on the court; and the team at 2K are taking the system to a surprising level of depth. Essentially system lets you choose a two-man play to run, and gives you the ability to choose which players are involved in that play. Here's how it works: As you bring your player (say, your point guard) to the offensive end of the floor, you hold down the left bumper. Immediately a menu pops up showing four different plays you can call right away with a press of the associated face button: X for get open, A for come off screen, Y for go to post, and B for set screen. Once you've called the play, the highlighted player (indicated by a RB button icon above his head) will move accordingly based on the kind of play you called. Once the player is in position (wherever that may be) an button icon will appear, press the corresponding button and you'll pass the ball to him.

Sounds good so far, right? Well, it doesn't end there. Remember that RB button icon that appears over the player's head after you've brought up the menu with the LB button? By pressing the RB button, you can take control of that player. For example, let's say you're playing the Pistons and controlling Chauncey Billups. You can send Rip Hamilton towards the net by pressing the Y button, and then take control of Rip by pressing the RB button, move Rip towards the net and then press the button to pass the ball from Billups to Hamilton. And because you can select any player on the court with the directional pad, then take control of them with the RB button, you could conceivably start the play with Chauncey, send Rip towards the net (controlled by the AI), and take control of Richard Jefferson to provide some rebound help or an easy outlet pass.

When playing NBA 2K8, you might notice a small icon underneath player's feet, one that looks suspiciously like cell phone reception bars. No, NBA 2K8 won't have LeBron asking if you can hear him now; instead the cell icon represents your player's shot tendencies in the game and throughout different areas of the court. Deriving data from actual NBA games, the team at 2K have devised a system that will illustrate when a player is close to his hot spots on the floor as well as whether that player is on a hot streak or not. When a player gets close to a hot spot on the floor, the cell phone bars increase; if he moves away from it, the bars will deplete. Hot or cold streaks are noted by the color of the bars in the icon--if you're lighting up J's from all over the floor, you can be sure your cell icon will be bright red before too long.

These features, coupled with a promised new batch of signature style animations have us once again excited to tackle the next entry in the NBA 2K series. We should be getting a more detailed hands-on look at the game in the coming weeks and will be bringing you much more on NBA 2K8 in the coming weeks.
-GameSpot

More Thirsty quenching news.
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Behind closed doors at the Leipzig Games Convention, 2K gave us our first look at this year's iteration of its acclaimed basketball franchise. The build we were shown is roughly 75% complete, which is pretty far along for the first time showing a game publicly. The main focus of the demo was the new NBA Black Top, which brings a big change from previous years' 24/7.

The Black Top features four different modes; 21, a 3 point shootout, a street pickup game, and a slam dunk contest. Each of these modes can be played with up to four players online or off to bring a few friends into the mix. The court we saw is located smack in the middle of Las Vegas, with flashy lights, occasional spouts of fire, and big crowds surrounding the darkened black top.

It's called the NBA Black Top for a reason. In each of the contests, you can scroll through the big list and bring your favorite player in to test his skills. We were shown a slam dunk contest between King James, Vince Carter, and Dwayne Wade. The round starts with a spotlight entrance as each entrant gets introduced. From what we saw, pulling off crazy dunks is not as easy as some other games make it out to be.

Nailing the dunk involves some precise timing. First, you'll have to jump from the right spot. Too close or too far and the game flashes a warning that a dunk isn't possible from where you jumped. When jumping, the Left thumbstick is used to choose a launch direction. Flicking it again in the air helps determine your move and the dunk is finished by pulling the right trigger at the right time as a meter fills. Out of six tries, we only saw two successful dunks and only one of them had any flair to it, but we're told the series of button presses can produce a huge number of unique dunks.

The slam is all about timing, but it's also about wowing the crowd. To this end, we all know props are the way to go. Chairs, benches, or even cars can be placed around the court to make you look that much cooler when you clear them for a righteous dunk.

We weren't able to see any of the other street style games as the last part of the demo was used to talk a bit about the main game. On that front, Visual Concepts is looking to expand the number of signature moves from the somewhat limited number in last year's introduction to the feature. As usual, NBA 2K8 will sport online leagues for both PS3 and 360. Additionally, both the PS3 and 360 versions will run at a smooth 60 frames per second.
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http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/815/815255p1.html
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/spor...result;title;0

[G. Daddy~1~]

sounds great man. all we need now is video confirmation and info on the CPU AI.

[yungflo]

These two things were in live before 2k. Someone's biting style. Off ball beens in live since 05. and now, Hotspots.

still looks good though I love the new defense as well.

[theProdigy]

The Hotspots are a cool addition to the game.. love it..

[pongd]

theres nothing wrong with taking or borrowing ideas...helps build better games. ive been waiting for off ball for a long time

however im not feelin the defensive lock on thing...sounds a lil cheap. i take pride in playing tough d and even more when i beat cheesers with defense. theres already a auto defense feature where the player shadows his man as long as you dont touch any buttons. the left trigger defensive stance is good enough to keep in front of your man if youre good enough. thats really where the skill is shown in the game...how much you focus on defense...anyone can put the ball in the hole...offense is easy...esp in the paint...they need to make scoring harder not defense easier

2k actually has a better hot spots system bc it wont light the floor up into red and blue zones...thats annoying. which is why im skeptical about the plays being drawn out on the court while youre playing...it would be annoying to see arrows and lines everywhere. and although i like the hot spots system...i still dont think you should know where they are while youre playing and know when a players on a hot streak. you should have to decide for urself whether theyre on a hot streak or not and learn where the players hot spots are...again, making the offense easier than it already is

[yungflo]

Originally Posted by pongd

theres nothing wrong with taking or borrowing ideas...helps build better games. ive been waiting for off ball for a long time

however im not feelin the defensive lock on thing...sounds a lil cheap. i take pride in playing tough d and even more when i beat cheesers with defense. theres already a auto defense feature where the player shadows his man as long as you dont touch any buttons. the left trigger defensive stance is good enough to keep in front of your man if youre good enough. thats really where the skill is shown in the game...how much you focus on defense...anyone can put the ball in the hole...offense is easy...esp in the paint...they need to make scoring harder not defense easier

2k actually has a better hot spots system bc it wont light the floor up into red and blue zones...thats annoying. which is why im skeptical about the plays being drawn out on the court while youre playing...it would be annoying to see arrows and lines everywhere. and although i like the hot spots system...i still dont think you should know where they are while youre playing and know when a players on a hot streak. you should have to decide for urself whether theyre on a hot streak or not and learn where the players hot spots are...again, making the offense easier than it already is

I agree about the hot spots. It would be pretty annoying seeing it on the floor. It's better than lighting it up like a rainbow.

It's going to be annoying. I hope you can like choose to light it up.

[G. Daddy~1~]

steal from live? no, no. Off ball control was in 2k6. Live never had that in 05. as for the hotspot, ours are better, and we didn't steal because it's part of the nba, just liek the dunk contest. if you implement items that are in the real thing, then you are just doing what you're suppose to........steal....hahahahahahahahahahahahaahhaha

we will kill again

[pongd]

Originally Posted by G. Daddy~1~

steal from live? no, no. Off ball control was in 2k6. Live never had that in 05. as for the hotspot, ours are better, and we didn't steal because it's part of the nba, just liek the dunk contest. if you implement items that are in the real thing, then you are just doing what you're suppose to........steal....hahahahahahahahahahahahaahhaha

we will kill again

i didnt use the word steal. and even if i did. how amazing you are. youre no better than live fanboys. and dual control is not the same thing as off ball...or else they wouldnt consider it a new feature

[yungflo]

Originally Posted by pongd

i didnt use the word steal. and even if i did. how amazing you are. youre no better than live fanboys. and dual control is not the same thing as off ball...or else they wouldnt consider it a new feature

No, I did. And I never said they steal the dunk contest . Where are you getting that g.d.?

Edited first post for Blacktop info

[Vietboi955]

they need to add an option where you can argue with the refs and possibly get a technical, thatd be insane, other then that everything up there sounds good.