Video Game Vintage Title: NBA 2K11

NBA 2K11

NBA 2K11 is a basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and 2K Sports and published by 2K Sports. It was released on October 5, 2010 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, PC, while the Wii version came out on October 21, 2010. Michael Jordan is the cover athlete of the game and is featured in the game in different ways. NBA 2K11 is the successor to NBA 2K10.

NBA 2K11 Gameplay

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. They are called 69 Points, Double Nickel, Shootout, The Bad Boys, The Arrival and many others. 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 the Jordan Challenges or entering a specific cheat code. As part of the "My Jordans" feature, users will be awarded pairs of Air Jordans for hitting game milestones and accomplishments. The player is able to collect the entire line of Air Jordan shoes that MJ wore throughout his career and, when equipped, can gain specific attribute bonuses (the Jordan Challenge, however, is not available on 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, 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 PS3 version of the game allows use of the PlayStation Move hardware allowing the player to shoot, dribble, and dunk with the controller. There is also a new feature where the players can play as some of the artists in the soundtrack.

Reception
The game has received critical acclaim. Several game review websites have praised NBA 2K11 for its developed controls, online multi-player, and Michael Jordan features. IGN Editor-In-Chief Hilary Goldstein proclaimed, "This isn't just the best basketball game ever; it's the best sports game of this generation." Mike D'Alonzo of G4tv.com echoed these sentiments in his review and stated that 2K11 "is not only the best basketball game I've ever played, it's one of the best sports games I've ever played, and a serious contender for Game of the Year."

The Wii version was praised for its good graphics, classic controller support, and having all of the same features as its console counterparts (even including a chat system with Wii Speak). In its sixth month of release NBA 2K11 continued its sales dominance by topping all of the high profile new sports titles that arrived in March.

Since its release, the game has sold 5.5 million units worldwide.