NBA 2K11 (PlayStation Portable, 2010)

It's fitting that NBA 2K11 prominently features Michael Jordan. After all, His Airness is the greatest basketball player of all time and NBA 2K11 is the greatest basketball game ever made.

2K Sports has delivered the most finely polished and fully featured sports game I've ever played -- and I've played a lot of sports games. The amount of work put into 2K11 is staggering -- perfect recreations of Jordan's historic games, streamlined controls, NBA teams that play and feel like their real-life counterparts, a franchise mode that includes sensible GM logic and intelligent team building.

This is one of the most incredible year-over-year improvements of a game imaginable. Madden, EA's NHL series, MLB 2K, and just about everyone else has been served notice. There are no more excuses for half-assed annual updates. Bring it every year or you will get booed out of the building.

NBA 2K11 is where amazing happens. When you first start the game, you get a slick visual treat hyping the greatness of Michael Jordan. And then the game transports you into the tunnel of Chicago Stadium for Game 1 of the 1991 NBA Championship. Jordan turns to look into the camera, right at you, and asks, "Are you ready?" Then he turns, runs out onto the court and the magic of NBA 2K11 begins. Before you ever see a menu, ever create a franchise, ever even get a whiff of all that 2K11 has to offer, you're playing in the finals with the Bulls, battling Magic Johnson and ushering in a new era in NBA history.

This is one of the best improvements 2K has made in the basketball series. It's inclusion of the basketball legend Michael Jordan has brought a lot more star-power to the series and already has eclipsed the revamped NBA Elite series.

The gameplay is a lot more realistic than 2K10 with the plays running a lot smoother and shot selection being more important. No longer are superstars able to hit any shot (except for like Michael Jordan), and have to find better shots than a contested 3 pointer.

The Michael Jordan mode also allows to to relive through the world's best ever basketball player's moments on the court. They also point out how good his competition was in creating good replication of other superstar teams. If this mode is completed, the players have the option of placing Michael Jordan and playing his career through any modern-day NBA squad.

In all, the game takes a big step up from NBA 2K10 and allows players to get more involved in the sport through the ability to play as Michael Jordan.

The game introduces some new features, several of which involve cover athlete Michael Jordan. The "Jordan Challenge" is a game mode that follows ten of Jordan's career accomplishments. In "MJ: Creating a Legend", players will receive Jordan as a rookie and guide him to legendary status on any NBA team. As Jordan completes seasons during the mode, players will see his appearance change as he ages. This mode is unlocked after completing all of the Jordan Challenges.[4] As part of the "My Jordans" feature, users will be awarded pairs of Air Jordans for hitting game milestones and accomplishments. Collect the entire line of Air Jordan shoes that MJ wore throughout his career and gain specific attribute bonuses when you have them equipped. The Jordan Challenge however is not available for the PS2 version.
Also included in NBA 2K11 is the ability to play with some classic teams from the past. Players can play with the teams in exhibition mode and association mode. Along with being able to play with classic teams, NBA 2K11 also includes classic stadiums that correspond with the classic teams.
NBA 2K11 features an improved presentation to make the game appear even more realistic. With the help from a TNT producer, NBA 2K11 improves the broadcast aspect of the game to make it more like NBA on TNT. This includes seeing players walk off the team bus as they enter the arena during pre-game. While Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg remain the broadcast duo for the game, ESPN sideline reporter Doris Burke will be the new sideline reporter for NBA 2K11.
Previously from NBA 2K10, the My Player game mode returns to NBA 2K11. This is basically NBA 2K10's "My Player" but with better and more special features. Features such as getting "Drafted" to the NBA, visiting NBA 2K league headquarters, participating in post-game press conferences and signing sponsorship deals were unavailable in NBA 2K10. Also, the feature to max out skill points of all attributes of the character is disabled.
The PlayStation 3 version of the game will also be able to take advantage of the brand new PlayStation Move hardware allowing the player to shoot, dribble, and dunk with the new controller.[5] There is also a new feature where the players can play as some of the artists in the soundtrack.

NBA 2K11 is a love letter to basketball fans. If you don't follow hoops, a lot of the subtleties will be lost on you. And if you are looking for a loose, fun, crazy dunkfest experience like NBA Jam, you're going to get hosed. But if you are serious about basketball, this will fill a long-standing void in your hoops-loving heart. This is the NBA. No one else has come close to representing it in such great and accurate detail as this.

Honestly, the stuff with Michael Jordan is reason enough to pick up NBA 2K11. The fact that 2K Sports did so much more with this game and improved it so greatly over last year's title is stunning. This isn't just the best basketball game ever; it's the best sports game of this generation.

10 Presentation
Unparalleled recreation of the NBA. The Jordan Challenges bring historic moments to life with incredible detail. Pure awesome.
8.5 Graphics
Great animations, it runs smoothly in every mode, and many of the player faces look solid. A definite ding for botching Kobe and a few other stars.
9.0 Sound
The custom commentary for the Jordan games is fantastic. Even regular season games are solid, though there's some repetitive dialogue. The soundtrack is sweet.
9.0 Gameplay
Just about nailed it perfectly. A few bugs and AI blips, plus an overly aggressive defense are the only issues.
10 Lasting Appeal
The Jordan stuff could be a game in itself. Then you get an awesome franchise mode, the slow, but rewarding My Player mode and solid online play.
9.5
OVERALL Incredible

On Tuesday, October 5, 2010 2K Sports has decided to release the BEST Basketball video game EVER, with the greatest basketball player of ALL-TIME.

When I first heard that Michael Jeffrey Jordan was going to be on the cover of NBA 2K11, I thought to myself "This will be the best NBA Video Game and Basketball Video Game EVER!!!" But, when I popped in the game on my PS3 several days after Christmas, I knew that I would be right.

NBA 2K11 lives up to its' name, due to award-winning gameplay, graphics, sound and also you can not forget about the Jordan Challenges. Sure, they are very difficult, but once you get the hang of it, you will master them in no time. Also, what I liked about 2K11 is that not only they feature the classic Chicago Bulls teams, but also the opportunity to play as other classic teams, such as the '86 Celtics, '90 Pistons, '91 Lakers, '95 Knicks, '96 SuperSonics and '97 and '98 Utah Jazz. I haven't tried My Player Mode yet, but from what I heard it is awesome. I hope 2K12 can top that, since EA isn't going to come out with another basketball game in a year or so.