Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

Last Friday, Chase from Access PR on behalf of 2K Sports, invited Aeropause to join a developer call for the upcoming release of NBA 2K9.  The discussion included Lead Feature Designer Erick Boenisch and Gameplay Director Rob Jones, both from the NBA 2K9 franchise.

Erick started off the call by letting everyone know that NBA 2K9 has been improved from top to bottom with every module getting some sort of tweak or refinement.  NBA 2K9 is also coming to the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and for the first time, the PC.

One of the first questions that was brought up dealt with NBA 2K9′s strength over its competitor, NBA Live 09.  Erick let us know that if he had to pick the biggest strength that the 2K Sports title had over its EA counterpart, it would have to be the flow of the game.  He felt that NBA 2K9 delivers a more conforming experience to what you see on the hardwood floors that any other game on the market.

AI improvement was focused on by Erick, because he admitted that the previous year title, NBA 2K8, had some bad AI flaws  The NBA 2K9 title gained some extra QA time, because of the elimination of the College Hoops series.  Those people were brought into the NBA 2K team and have helped with developing a better, and more realistic AI.  Both Erick and Rob did say they were disappointed with the end of the College Hoops series, but in the end, that loss benefited the testing of NBA 2K9.

Player DNA is a new feature that has come into the 2K9 games, and first came about in NHL 2K9.  The feature allows users to create players and then upload them to a server which allows other people to download them into their version of NBA 2K9.  As an example, the developers said that one of their QA testers for this feature has created classic lineups of teams from 1982-1989 I believe (I may be off on the years, but it was a good sized range), and these can be uploaded to the DNA servers for anyone to download.

A lot of people seemed to have a complaint about the control system and how it made things like controlling Alley Oops and other shots a problem.  The resolution was to re-visit the past and bringing back the NBA 2K7 control scheme, with some subtle tweaks.  This should make controlling shots like the Alley Oop, a whole lot better.

Another new feature of NBA 2K9 is the Living Roster feature.  This feature will bring daily updates to your roster, including all kind of stats and animations.  2K Games has recruited several persons to put a personalized touch on the stats, with the feeling that a computer can only do a logical analysis, whereas a person can see some of the intangibles that would never show up in the raw stats.  Erick was quick to point out that the NBA 2K9 Living Roster feature was completely free, whereas the competitor is charging a fee for their daily update service.  2K Games felt that the player has already paid for the game, they should not have to pay for extra services.  As stated, new animations for certain players will be included as well in these updates.  This allows the development team to create new animations for breakout players during the season.

Some people wanted to know if something like The Bigs could be incorporated into NBA licesne, but they said that they cannot do that with their license, mostly because the NBA feels it already has two games like that on the market, NBA Ballers and NBA Street, which alternate each year.  Also, while individual legends are available and unlockable as in previous years, there are no legend teams, again due to a limitation in the license.

Online is where the game has really expanded, with full 5 on 5 multiplayer games, continuing a trend that is working its way into all the 2K Sports franchises.  Online leagues are also available, which will allow you to create a clan like atmosphere for your team.  One thing that will not make it into online games is the new animations via the Living Roster, because they cannot guarantee that everyone playing online will opt in to the Living Roster functions.  You will be assigned a ranking that shows how well you play the game.  If you are a ball-hog, your ranking will stay the same, but learn how to play your position and the team game, and you will move up the ladder with your ranking.

All options can now be accessed via one page, so there is no more searching for the options that control settings for the game.  Association 2.0 is the franchise mode in the game, where you create a player and move through the league.  NBA.com integration is very strong in NBA 2K9, with scores, highlights and other news items being brought to you via the ticker at the bottom of the page.  The point is to make you feel like you are part of the NBA complete experience.

The PC is a special addition to the NBA 2K9 franchise, and unlike other titles, this is a feature for feature port of the 360 version of the game.  No PS2 porting here.  The game will play the exact same as it does on the 360, and will ship with a lower price point of $19.99, in the interest of making sure that people will buy it vs. trying to pirate the game.  They want to make this a yearly experience for PC players, as long as they can see good sales on the title.

Just a last few bits of random errata from the conference call including things like Cheryl Miller providing sideline reporting voice overs (very good addition in my opinion), fully authentic stadiums, uniforms and other items.  The only thing that was not there is the Thunder’s stadium, because it was not opened until a month before the game was finalized.  Also, there will be lots of throwback jerseys and other alternate jerseys.  Trophy support is unavailable, but there will be 50 achievements for 360 players.  On top of coming to the PC, the game will also ship for the 360, PS2 and PS3, and should be on shelves as of today.

I wanted to thank Chase, AccessPR and 2K Sports for inviting Aeropause to the conference, and we look forward to doing more of these for our readers in the future.