2KSports
Gamer Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Platform Platform PlayStation3

NBA 2K10's depth of control gives users a mind-boggling number of new button combos to be able to pull off some stunning on-court moves. Strategies and team playbooks are all accessible and updated. Add that to the tight online integration with the NBA player and team roster stats and this is as close as you can get to hardcourt action without lacing up your Jordans.

There are shoulder fakes, quick pivots, jab steps, pull-up jumpers, and more alley-oops, passes, and dunks than you can imagine-each tailored to your player's style and all learnable within the game.

Button-mashers who aren't predisposed to learn the combos will get by since controls are easy to learn, especially the free throws. What aren't as intuitive are the in-game coaching and playmaking controls, which often take up a lot of screen space and block the action while the game is going on.

Graphics this year are better. The players have a healthy and more human glow to them and don't look as if they were dipped in plasticine. Faces, fabrics, mannerisms, and expressions are more accurate than we have seen before.

The "NBA Today" screen integrates real-time player and game statistics as well as up-to-the-moment league news. I played as the Toronto Raptors a day after they lost to the Boston Celtics and was surprised to hear the in-game commentary break down statistics and player updates that were pertinent to that pre-season Boston game. The commentary is one of the game's strong points as the announcers avoid canned clich?s that usually spam you in this type of game.

A new My Player feature is introduced this year, which allows you to create your own player and guide his career through the training camps and hopefully up to pro hoops. While amusing at first, the My Player mode is a long road of heartbreak when your rookie player is cut from a team for the slightest mistake. The other players in this mode aren't too bright and your guy often gets blamed for everything. My Player mode is no fun.

What is fun is letting loose with your favorite all-star players whose moves and strengths you already know and knocking down shots from areas they excel at. Running fast breaks and lighting up the scoreboard as the home crowd's cheers get louder are what it's all about. Online play is a blast as well, proving that NBA 2K10 is still the basketball simulator to beat.

GRINS

• real-time stats and roster information make NBA 2K10 the most accurate basketball sim in the market today


• wide range of player moves and options give the most realistic on court playing experiences


• basketball fans will love the range in single player and online gameplay modes

GRIMACES

• difficult in-game coaching options


• on-screen menus tend to block the actual game, resulting in a lot of turnovers . can get repetitive

THE LOWDOWN

NBA 2K10 is the basketball lover's sim to beat. Controls are easy to learn and you can tweak every aspect of your team and favorite players.