Review: NBA 2K10

Ten years ago, I had my first experience with NBA 2K on the Dreamcast. I never expected a basketball experience to be so immersive and fun. Sure, I had played most of the games before, with Tecmo Super NBA being my favorite and NBA Live being my least favorite. After 2K, I never really looked back, even though I did give NBA Live a shot every year (including this year). With NBA 2K10 being the 10 year anniversary of the series, you’d expect many great things. While this is true, it’s also true that an unacceptable issue has occurred.

Before I dive into the review, I want to make everyone aware that NBA 2K10 is, out of the box, an unfinished game. There are many issues, most you could say are subtle, but a few are simply inexcusable. For one, there is plenty of slow down in the game, most noticeable when driving the lane (regardless of whether you have key zoom on or off). Another is that online play doesn’t work so well, if you can get it to work to begin with. Visit the 2K Forums and you’ll be able to read about all the issues. The good news, however, is that a patch is coming for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It might be a couple weeks from the time of this writing, but at least it’s coming. Is this a good thing? Sure! Is it right to release an unfinished game just to get in stores at the same time as your main competitor? Not at all, especially considering NBA Live is making some serious moves to knock 2K out of the top NBA spot!


There’s no need to spend much time on the visuals or the sounds. As expected, both are excellent. Players look even better and move more realistically than last year, with a couple exceptions. For some reason, Carlos Arroyo was given black arms, even though the rest of his body is a much lighter tone. With the latest roster update, 2K took what would seem like the harder way out. Rather than addressing the color of his arms, it appears they attempted a create-a-player substitution – the arm problem is fixed, but the face looks nothing like the original.