This latest edition of The Sports Snob has to start off with my sincere and deepest apologies to all the NBA video game franchises other than 2K Sports and their upcoming NBA2K11 game. Yeah, I’m talking to EA Sports and their NBA Live series and whatever other games will compete against NBA2K11, including the new NBA Jam.
You guys had a decent run and I’m sure there are some die-hard fans out there who will stubbornly stay loyal, but with the awesome news that NBA2K11 was not only going to have Michael Jordan on the cover, but that he would also be available to play as, there’s no real reason to buy any other basketball game. Any skepticism about the new installment should easily be silenced by the game’s new trailer, which is oozing epicness.
Wanna see the Greatest Of All Time re-create some of his most famous plays on a video game? The trailer has it. Are you more of a fan of guys like Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Clyde Drexler? The trailer shows them all playing too. Plus it features Snoop Dogg rapping and several shots of today’s stars too. Check it below.
I for one am super excited about the release of the game on October 5th. As a non-Lakers fan who’s had to suffer through the last two championships and the exaggerated claims of their fanbase, I can’t wait for the chance to control Jordan and his 1990′s Chicago Bulls and open a can of legendary whoop-ass on all challengers. Sure there hasn’t been a definitive statement that says you can use previous teams, but it sure looks like it’s possible on the trailer.
Even if it’s not though, it features something called the “Jordan Challenge” that lets you play as Michael and try to re-create 10 of his most legendary performances. Think the 69 points he dropped on the Cleveland Cavaliers or the night he went into the Boston Garden during the playoffs and lit them up for 63 points.
That alone should provide for hours of fun, but the best part is what happens if you do pass the challenge. According to ESPN, it’ll unlock a new mode called “MJ: Creating a Legend.” It will be a single-player offline only mode, but will allow gamers the opportunity to draft Jordan and attempt to build his career up to the same heights Jordan reached. Check this quote from NBA2K11 producer Erick Boenisch, via the ESPN article.
“The idea behind MJ: Creating a Legend is that you’re going to step into today’s NBA with a rookie Michael Jordan,” Boenisch says. “He is rated a 79 overall, which gives you plenty of room to improve, but he has all of the physical tools of Michael as a rookie — the fast speed, the high jumping, the quickness — but he lacks a lot of the shooting skills and the offensive and defensive awareness. So you’re playing with a raw prospect who can do just about anything, but can’t deliver in the clutch just yet.
“And the cool thing about this mode is that you’re player-locked to Michael Jordan, so you’re kind of recreating the career and the legend of Michael Jordan.”
As if that wasn’t cool enough, you get to see Jordan literally go through the stages of his career, even down to his physical appearance. That means he’ll be rocking that short fade from the 80s, then change to his trademark bald cut. Much like the “My Player” that many of us 2K users are familiar with, you’ll be able to improve Jordan from the 79 rating he starts out with through drills and gameplay. But unlike our crappy created players, Jordan will start out with the same skills he had as a rookie, meaning insane hops and athleticism will allow you to take games over, even if the jumpshot is kinda shaky.
The mode allows you to use Jordan up until around when he turns 40 and the other teams will make trades, etc like any regular season. You can also draft him with any team you like, which doesn’t seem right but gives us all a chance to see if he can carry other franchises the same way he did the Bulls. I’m still not sold on the idea of drafting him to my Los Angeles Clippers because I don’t know if the 2K11 producers disabled the Clippers curse or not. Would hate to see him suffer a torn ACL in the first ten minutes of the season.
Either way though, for a basketball junkie like me, I can’t wait for the chance to re-live some classic Jordan moments, watch to see if Karl Malone and Ewing will still choke and show Diet Jordan that there’s nothing quite like having the best available instead of a knock-off.
- Will.
The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com
