TheXboxLife

Alright all you 2k series fans, prepare yourself for the 2k Insider, because he’s going to have a lot to do with this next release. The 2k Inside, who is an employed individual by the 2k Series, has the job of realistically updating player attributes as the season goes on. This will work with the “Living Rosters” idea, which is similar to the DNA attribute in NBA Live 09. The “Living Rosters” will involve all rosters and players being updated throughout the season. That way, if a player isn’t playing so hot in real life, he won’t be stepping his game up on the game either. This is a wonderful feature because it will prevent players with good ratings whom are having busted years from playing like All-Stars in the game, when their season is below par. Now, the difference between Live and 2k9 is the “human touch” factor. Considering the 2k Insider is a real-life human being, instead of the PC controlled DNA feature in Live 09, the new 2k9 release will have a much more realistic feel because the players will be as good as we think they are, not how good a computer does.

Don’t be expecting everyday roster updates though. Rather then having updates every day, they will be released when warranted. Of course when there is a big time injury or trade the updates will be made immediately, but don’t think after King James has a few bad games there going to immediately update the roster. The changes will be made when they will have an effect on the gaming experience.

The 2k Insider comes into play when your able to read his online blog, as well as view the new updates to players he gives on a regular basic. Another cool feature of the 2k Insider is his ability to add new animations to players who are excelling throughout the year. For instance, if O.J. Mayo begins to dominate during the season, NBA 2k9 Development Workers will work on new animations for him for the game. That’s right, you won’t be unlocking new animations, you’ll be downloading brand spanking new ones. In the case that O.J. Mayo reveals his NBA signature move, you’ll be downloading it in a roster update during the season.

Besides the addition of the 2k Insider, the biggest change will be a remodeled version of the Franchise Mode, dubbed Association 2.0. This new Franchise Mode will mimic the NBA.com design with a front page full of NBA news. From big trades, to injuries, and even news that is true to real life, and true to your personal league. Overall, it will be filled with tons of new content, and viewed upon as a giant NBA.com blog spot. A big new addition to Franchise mode will be the Ambition player attribute. This will measure 3 things: financial security, loyalty and player for winner. These 3 factors will create the level of ambition a certain player has. For instance, a younger player will probably be more concerned about money then winning games. A veteran, on the other hand, will be much more concerned with winning a championship.

The player ambitions will be an important aspect of the game because it will relate to how they handle free agency. In past versions, you were able to re-sign any of your players at any time. In the case of the new game, you will only be able to sign players who have been with you for 3-straight seasons, otherwise you will be competing with every other team and let the player decide which team/option is best for them. This really adds to the realism factor of the game that the 2k series Developers have been working on.

My favorite new feature to the game is the 5 on 5 online play, which every avid XBOX Live player has been waiting for. The Oklahoma City Thunder will also be renamed from the original Seattle Supersonics (to be Seattle fans — you had your chance). Along with this will come smaller changes involving new crowd animations and a much cleaner, less confusing, player profiles and menu interfaces.

Overall, NBA 2k9 seems to be the future for console basketball games by introducing brand new, never before seen features, and a new, slick menu interface. Look for NBA 2k9 to hit stores October 7, 2008.

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