Game review: NBA 2K10

NBA2K or NBA Live; A choice that perplexes basketball fans year in, year out. There's little doubt that the frontrunner in recent times has been the 2K series. Being the first out the gate this year, how is that lead going to hold up?It's the 10th anniversary of the NBA 2K series, so one might expect some celebratory additions, but sadly new features are pretty few and far between. The most lauded inclusion here is the 'My Player' mode, where players create their own player and bring him up from the minors to (hopefully) NBA super stardom. The scoring system upon which players are graded by their coaches is great, picking up small details, except for one major one: scoring. While the grading is inconsistent, progressing through the ranks from summer leagues to the big show is rewarding and the create-a-player mode is extremely in-depth.Unlike in previous years, the style of the AI opposition makes this a more run-and-gun style game, whereas the emphasis used to be placed on slow, methodical and precise strategy. This makes for faster and more exciting gameplay, but fans who are looking for a basketball simulation need apply elsewhere.Graphically, the players look fairly decent and the introduction movies are great, but the choppyrate negates these positives. However, in 2K's defence, they have promised a patch to fix this. The commentary, on the other hand, is superbly done, mimicking TV presentation, with insightful and non-repetitive comments from the team, as well as up-to-date stats, thanks to the online updater.NBA 2K10 is a strange animal. At the end of the day, it's the technical errors which mar the excellence that will be remembered. NBA 2K10 is by no means a bad game; it still provides a decent basketball experience, but after years of greatness, mediocrity from 2K is disappointing. The ball this year is truly in EA's court for the basketball title of the year. Let's hope they run with it and produce a stunner.