5 Top Reasons You Suck at NBA 2K13 And How We Can Help

So I’ve already written about NBA 2K13 when it first came out, and usually that’s the end of it. However, I’ve been playing and noticed some things that you might not know – and some folks playing online definitely don’t. It’s gotten to the point that there seems to be a pretty big gap between folks who know how to play this game effectively and those who just suck it up for the rest of us – running around not passing the ball and such. Therefore, as a courtesy, me and Stephen Straker (my lil cuz) came up with a 5 point list of why your doing it wrong and how to improve so the next time I’m on your team online you won’t screw it up for me and our teammates.

5.) You spent all your VC on clothes and accessories. 

You don’t know how angry it makes me when I’m playing on the black top and I see someone bling’ed out and his mid-range jumper is bumish. This person should be beaten with a stick with rusty nails. What you need to do is make sure you spend your VC on actual skills instead of that cool jumpsuit you copped for like 5K VC.

4.) You play like it’s a game.

Admittedly, this is a weird point – but hear me out. Games these days are advancing and though this game is no where near reality – its a lot closer than you think. Items such as height, strength, play-style all go into your match-ups  If you are a PG and under 6’5″ you have no business trying to make that shot in the paint against KG in the post. It’s not going to happen…PERIOD. Don’t take that shot. Same goes for online match-ups  so you have to think about the situation your in. Calling plays (even though I don’t do it too much) also helps to turn the tide against savvy players. Run the pick and role at least! This will at least create a little space between you and your man so the probability of your shot going in is higher. This is especially crucial when you haven’t fully built up your player yet.

3.) You’re not a team player

When playing the game you will go through streaks. Sometimes you’ll be hot and hit everything you see, while other times you’ll be cold. You need to know how to avoid and overcome double-teams  especially if you become a star player, by passing the ball. You’ve got to trust your teammates sometimes and the game rewards you heavily with a good teammate score the more assists you get. This little skill helps out online as well which leads me to my next point.

2.) STOP BALL HOGGING!

It’s so annoying when a ball hog gets the PG spot on the Black Top. They never pass, and try to score all 21 points by themselves. All that ends up happening is everyone on the team gets annoyed and eventually stops helping or quits. It’s extra annoying because your overall win ratio goes down when you lose. I’ve got a couple go-to peeps that I can play with when online but they aren’t online all the time so I’m going to need you to step it up if I’m on your team.

1.) Equip skills that suit your ideal playing style

What this means is spend your VC wisely on attributes and signature skills that make sense for the way you play and the way you designed your player. An example is if your player is really big and pushing 7ft you should make sure to increase your offense under the basket as well as your dunking ability. Having the “Bruiser” signature skill will drain energy from your match-up so later in the game you will have the advantage. Increasing your shot ability from three range is an added threat but I’d wait that out until your other skills are polished first. You probably won’t need the “Highlight Film” Skill or the “Ankle Breaker” just yet. I think people just go for what is cool before taking a second to actually think about a strategy that makes sense for the type of player they want to be.

 

Do these 5 things and I promise you’ll get better a lot quicker and your teammates will thank you!

 

NBA 2K13 Review

Yeah, yeah, this review is kind of late – however, can you blame me? I was too busy trying to get VC points! They are so hard to come by until I got a few tips from some friends. At any rate, take a look at my Likes and Dislikes for the new installment of NBA2K13 and see whether they take the franchise to the next level, or if it falls flat on it’s face.

Likes:

Different Modes

There are many different modes that you can play with this game. So much so that you will really be playing this for a while trying to master each one. Right now I’m developing my player who got drafted to the Grizzlies. You can have conversations with the GM, boost your twitter following, have post game conferences and negotiate contracts. It’s really cool to kind of play the game from that perspective. NBA2K13 is by no means the first game to employ the ability to build your character from scratch, but I really like the way it was executed here. It really brings the game to what we see happening in the NBA today.

If developing your own player is not your thing, you can develop your team just the way you want to in the “My Team” mode. Execute trades, and build a powerhouse of a team. Not your thing – you can play games with up-to-date teams at your leisure. You can also play online with your friends in still more modes like “Quick Match Team Up” and “Tournaments”.

Shoes

The Shoes man! If you are a sneaker fiend you can really spend a lot of time in this area. You can pick from hundreds of pairs of shoes, and you can even modify the colors down to the rubber souls!  You can choose from different brands as well including 2K Generic brand, Spalding, Under Armor, Reebok, Converse, Nike, Jordans, and more. After you finish editing your shoe you can even name them.

Moves

There are tons of moves to choose from to leave your opponent in the dust. from crazy dunks, alley-oops, hook shots, crossovers, fade-aways. Even hesitations, and slight post-up moves. the lean-back that Kobe always does, the shimmey, they are all there and some. Not only that, but there are even moves that are particular to star players so Dirk’s crazy unstoppable awkward fade-away is present, as Derrick Roses ball-handling. I really don’t mind just watching a game play out because it really is entertaining to watch. I end up rooting for a team even though I know it isn’t real.

Music

The music is Boss. Period. Produced by Jay-Z as you no doubt have heard repeatedly, but it goes a long way. I think the era of generic video game beat is now fading as more deals are made with video game companies and famous musicians. You can of course edit the track listing and even add your own library in the editor but the titles are quite good including Nas, Daft Punk, U2 and of course Jay-Z among the line-up. Full Track listing can be found here.

Dislikes:

Graphics

There were times when I was really wondering about the graphic quality of the game over all. For instance – the screen with the starter line-up just before the game starts looks last gen. Seriously. There are other screens like this scattered throughout which really has me scratching my head as most of the game’s graphic quality is top-notch. Also, if your on PS3 make sure “PS – Smoothing” is turned on so the in-game graphics looks as good as it is meant to be. I also found the background screens with all the colors and moving parts to be really quite distracting. The interface could really be cleaned up, but that really is aesthetic preference. However, the game designers could really do something about it.

Too Many Moves

Yeah, I had moves in the section of Likes, but dang there are a lot of them to master. I end up trying to perform all of them and end up getting the ball stripped. Take it from me, just master a few of them – the ones that work for you and stick with those.

VC Points

I’m questionable with these. It definitely drives the game forward, but does everything have to cost these VC Points – even skills? Also, why do the cost so blasted much!? I can understand shoes, and unique articles of clothing. I can even understand training camps etc. but I would much rather my skills being upped based on my style of play and exploits on the court. It gives me more of a sense of accomplishment rather then me putting the game on coach mode to get easy points and just buying a decent jump shot.

Product Placements

the are everywhere this time around. Sprint, Nike, Jordan, Gatorade. You can spot them a mile away. Though they do add some credibility to the game and make it close to what goes on in reality, it does seem to be a little distracting at times. What if I don’t like Gatorade? Or I prefer a different brand? I think they may be alienating a few folks with this move, but that’s just my two cents. It really didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for playing the game so take that with a grain of salt.

Summary:

Over all this is my favorite NBA2K game so far in the franchise. They seem to keep the stuff that works and continue improving on everything else. Seeing the Dream Team, and all the other old school players is just fantastic and they all look so good graphically. I love the level of control of my own player, or team as well as over the shoes my character wears. It really makes me feel like I’m apart of the action which I suppose is the point. Good move 2K, good move. I’m sure in the coming years, they’ll tighten up on the background graphic elements and when that day comes, I will definitely be rejoicing. But until then, this game is still a winner.

 

Watch An NBA 2K13 Live Stream of the Miami Heat vs OKC

Now this is interesting – If you can’t wait for the Basketball season to start, and you are looking for some exciting NBA action, then check the NBA 2K13 live stream of a Full NBA Game being played out in the NBA 2K13 Game. Also, the match-up is the Miami Heat vs. OKC!  The quarters are 5 minutes worth of game-play. The game will happen today at 5:00pm EST, or 2PM PST. This is not a replay. It will be played live by two 2K Sports community managers “Ronnie2K” and “LD2K”. Not clear on who will be controlling which team. Now to the important stuff – You can watch the live stream here: http://twitch.tv/2K.

All New NBA 2K13 Trailer Featuring Biggie Smalls and Puff Daddy!


Looks like 2K is outdoing themselves with the music for this game. They’re pulling out all the stops with this one. Check out the trailer below featuring the cut by Momentous which is based off of the song “Victory” by Puff Daddy and the Family. Biggie Smalls is rapping over the beat while the featured NBA Ballers are breaking ankles. Arguably one of the best trailers yet for NBA 2K13 don’t you think?

New 2K13 Track List and New In-Game Screens

The good folks over at 2K have released in-game screenshots of the new 2K13 game. The game looks to be shaping up to be even better than last year’s version. Check out the below shots of your child-hood favorites. I feel so old saying that since I grew up watching each of these players. They’ve got AI, Shaq, Kemp, and others for starters. They also added the ’92 Olympic Dream Team as well as this year’s 2012 Men’s Olympic team. The sound track looks like it’s shaping up to be pretty monstrous as well- just check the titles below (Artist/Title). Jay-Z himself handpicked all the tracks.

The Hours
Ali in the Jungle

Too Short
Blow the Whistle (Main)

Eric B. and Rakim
I Ain’t No Joke

Phoenix
1901

JAY Z
Pump it Up (Freestyle)

Puff Daddy and the Family
Victory (feat. Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes)

Daft Punk
Around The World (Radio Edit)

Santigold
Shove It (feat. Spank Rock)

Kanye West
Amazing

JAY Z
Run This Town

The Dirty Projectors
Stillness is the Move

Nas
The World is Yours

Coldplay
Viva La Vida

Roy Ayers
We Live in Brooklyn, Baby

Justice
Stress

JAY Z
The Bounce

Kanye West
We Major (feat. Nas & Really Doe)

Mobb Deep
Shook Ones, Pt. II

Meek Mill
Ima Boss – Instrumental

Kanye West
Mercy (feat. Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz)

U2
Elevation

JAY Z
On To The Next One

JAY Z
Public Service Announcement

JAY Z
H.A.M. (Instrumental)

New 2K13 Screens and Gameplay Footage

I have procured, for your Basketball enjoyment, new game footage and screens for the next installment of the 2K franchise.

One of the significant changes that the Devs talk about is the analog stick functionality. Instead of the shot stick – it is now in control of your dribble – which by the way I should totally get credit for since I’ve been yelling that at the screen for years. At any rate, they finally listened to me and you can now break people’s ankles at will. This game is shaping up to be something quite desirable. Check the video below as well as the images.