Review by: Todd Brakke

In a lot of ways, the NBA lives off its legends of the past more so than the stars of its present; this is especially true in a year when an ongoing lockout has delayed the start of the regular season. Given that, NBA 2k12's emphasis on the inclusion of legendary NBA squads is fitting. Right from the title sequence you'll see an homage to greats like Bird, Magic, Malone, and Dr. J and it's this obvious love for the game that permeates every nook and cranny and helps make it an easy game to like, even if some of its recurring flaws continue to drag this latest entry in the high-flying NBA 2k franchise back to earth a bit.

Last year, NBA 2k11 had a reputation for recreating as authentic a game of basketball as you could reasonably ask for, but it was also a very difficult game to play with any degree of skill. Having come back to the series after several years away, I can tell you that summation is just as true this year. This looks, feels, and plays like an NBA game, from the unique shots and moves of a multitude of players, to the ebb and flow of the games, to the presentation, to the relative stats you'll generate playing full 12-minute quarters. (Playing 12-minute quarters still takes too long thanks to some of the presentation elements that either can't be skipped or can't be skipped quickly enough.)

My only consistent qualm with the on the court experience is that the controls are both tricky to get down and they too often feel imprecise on the court. For beginners, the most important thing to know is this is not a game where you can just jam the analog stick full on in any direction. With the rather intricate momentum system Visual Concepts has implemented, you'll find your player launching himself all over the court, getting stuck in lengthy transition animations, and generally being uncooperative. Once you play enough to let the game slow down and come to you a little, you'll learn that fine nudges and softer movements are the order of the day, and it's at that point controlling the game comes into its own. Even then, however, I still find it frustrating at times. When you can't consistently set your guy up between the sideline and three-point line without putting at least one foot on one of those lines then your control scheme still needs a bit of touching up.

Tougher to learn are the variety of moves you'll need to break down a guy off the dribble when moving the ball on offense or keeping your man in front of you on defense. Left button, left trigger, half circle on the right stick, move in another direction with the left stick - it's crazy how many different moves there are in this game and committing them to memory isn't remotely realistic for any but the most dedicated player. Now, you can adjust the game's difficulty to make knowing all the step-back, spin, and hop-step moves less necessary, but when you're driving the lane with Isaiah Thomas it would be nice if I could actually stutter and freeze a defender, race to the hoop, and generate his trademark finger roll without having to depend on my deteriorating button mashing skills with a gamepad to make it happen. That said, when you do perfectly execute a sequence of dribble moves, it's a feeling like few other games can generate. Difficulty aside, this is a fantastic NBA game.

Off the court NBA 2k12 offers the usual array of game modes, from single and multiplayer Association (franchise), Creating a Legend, and Greatest Players. Last year's Association mode was solid and that continues to be the case this year, but its two big issues with sulking players and overactive trades remain. If a player feels misused for his role (Sixth Man, Starter, Star, Role Player, etc.) he'll be prone to huge ratings swings, which can get frustrating and probably contributes to the AI's problems in assessing trades.

Spurs fans, raise your hands if you think in one season you foresee the Spurs trading Duncan, Parker, Jefferson, and McDyess? Yeah, I don't think so either. Worse, though, was the haul they got back in trade. I know Tim Duncan is getting on in years, but a team icon for Gilbert "My Knees are Shot" Arenas? No. Just no. Not even their in-game ratings let this trade make sense and this kind of thing happens a lot in the game. In my first sim season there were over 15 trades, mostly with notable players moving around. That may not be hugely outside NBA norms, but a game like this should be programmed to play it a bit safer with the rosters. Do Lakers fans really want to see Bynum playing for the 76ers this year?