Tiki Towers

Tiki Towers is a game by RealNetworks division GameHouse for WiiWare, BlackBerry, iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad), Android, Windows Phone and SymbianS60. The game has been likened to the similar puzzle game World of Goo.

Gameplay

Based around a tropical Tiki culture-theme, the game involves players directing a troupe of monkeys to retrieve bananas by building towers of bamboo scaffolding to reach the fruits, with the ultimate goal of collecting all bananas and having all monkeys reach the designated "exit". This adds conflict as the player usually is tasked with building towers on a limited bamboo budget and if a tower falls it may prevent the monkeys from completing the level.

On the Nintendo Wii version of the game, while much remains the same (with regard to the mobile versions), one significant difference is that the player must also fend off "evil monkeys" trying to sabotage the player's towers while the "good monkeys" (player's 'troupe') are working toward their goal.

Tiki Towers
Publisher(s)	RealNetworksGameHouse
Platform(s)	Wii (WiiWare), iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Release date(s)	·         NA December 22, 2008
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player, multi-player
Rating(s)	·         ESRB: Everyone

Too tall a task

At first glance, Tiki Towers 2: Monkey Republic seems to follow its predecessor's blueprint.

The goal of guiding your gaggle of monkeys from their box on one side of the stage to the 'finish' line on the other by building a series of structures with a set number of bamboo sticks naturally remains.

The controls, thankfully, also hold no surprises, with number keys '2', '4', '6' and '8' on hand to guide your pointer around the screen. Hitting '5' then places a node that, if in range, links up with the rest of the building to form what amounts to a chain of triangles.

It's only when the monkeys are finally let loose that your engineering skills are put to the test, many a tower simply crumbling under their weight.

Going ape

All that was true in the original. What makesMonkey Republic different is the sheer size of the levels at hand, as well as the slew of objects that you're tasked with picking up along the way.

While the first Tropical Towers was no pushover, it gave room for experimentation and exploration. The design of the stages undoubtedly handed out pointers towards an ideal route, but if you found your own path.

Much of that sense of endeavour has regrettably been lost in Monkey Republic. So far apart are the 'start' and 'finish' lines in some cases – and, just as importantly, so restrictive the number of bamboo sticks on offer – that doing as the game instructs is the only way to play.

Tiki Towers mark II is still a great-looking game - the sequel hasn't lost the sparkling graphics and sound since its last outing - and the excellent physics engine is still intact, meaning it's rare to find yourself blaming the game for a collapsed bridge.

But these are aspects that were also true of the original. Of course, if Progressive Media had failed to make changes Tiki Towers 2: Monkey Republic would have been more or less the same package as its predecessor.

But by fencing off much of the experimentation and thrilling exploration of the original, Tiki Towers 2 ends up a bamboo bridge compared with the original's steel girders.

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Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios. It is the sequel to the 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum, based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The game was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The game was officially announced during the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards and was released worldwide for consoles, beginning in North America on October 18, 2011, with the Microsoft Windows version following on November 22, 2011. A Wii U version is set to release in 2012. An iOS game, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, was developed by NetherRealm Studios and released on December 7, 201

• Atmospheric, fascinating world rich with details and secrets  
• Satisfying, varied, hard-hitting combat  
• Grappling and soaring around the city is thrilling  
• Great assortment of involving side quests  
• Makes terrific use of a host of Batman characters

Batman: Arkham City
Developer(s)	Rocksteady Studios NetherRealm Studios (iOS ver.)
Publisher(s)	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Square Enix (Japan)
Director(s)	Sefton Hill
Writer(s)	Paul Dini
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Wii U, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 AUS October 19, 2011 NA October 18, 2011 EU October 21, 2011 JP November 23, 2011 Microsoft Windows NA November 22, 2011 EU November 25, 2011 Wii U NA 2012 EU 2012 iOS December 7, 2011
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, beat 'em up, stealth
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ACB: M BBFC: 15 ESRB: T PEGI: 16 USK: 16+
Media/distribution	Optical disc, download

Arkham City is an open world action video game that incorporates elements of stealth and predator tactics. All of the gadgets previously obtained in the first game are present at the start of Arkham City (with the exception of the Line Launcher and the Ultra Batclaw, which is replaced with the regular Batclaw and Remote Batarangs). Most of them have improved or boast new capabilities; for example, the Cryptographic Sequencer can also track signals, the line launcher now can be deployed as a tightrope and has a feature that allows Batman to flip over and launch another zipline, switching directions. The remote control Batarang now has a built in brake and boost, and the grappling gun can now be used while gliding to boost Batman further up into the air. Four additional gadgets have been revealed: smoke pellets to confuse armed enemies when spotted by them, the Remote Electrical Charge which is a sniper-like taser gun used to power generators and shock enemies, ice grenades used to freeze enemies and make pathways through water, and a balled rope for tying up enemies. The game incorporates more puzzle elements; the use of Batman's "Detective Mode", which highlights elements such as enemy skeletons and clues on-screen, is used to perform forensic activities such as tracing the origin of a sniper round.

 Gotham City. This crime-infested metropolis has been famously imagined and reimagined in comic books, cartoons, and films. Now, we have a new vision of Gotham, and it stands not just as one of the most unforgettable incarnations ever of the city that Batman is devoted to protecting, but as one of the most richly detailed and exciting environments ever seen in a game. Building on 2009's outstanding Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City sets you free in the intoxicating neighborhood of North Gotham, now a sealed-off superprison for the city's worst criminals. As the Caped Crusader, you struggle to bring some semblance of order to the chaotic streets, foiling the plots of supervillains and protecting the victims of those who prey on the innocent. With its atmospheric setting, thrilling movement, immensely satisfying combat, and tremendous assortment of secrets to discover, side quests to complete, and other attractions, Arkham City is a fantastic adventure game.

The player also has access to a criminal database that tracks several investigations across the city and the forensic puzzles much like the first game, as well as an extensive communications interception and tracing network. However, Rocksteady's art director David Hego described the new detective mode as an "augmented reality mode", and game director Sefton Hill has also stated that although enemies and evidence can be seen more clearly, the navigational part is toned down as they found that some players completed Arkham Asylum using detective mode almost throughout the entire game. Optional challenges from the Riddler to collect hidden trophies placed around the city are also present, but require additional effort to locate, such as interrogation of men loyal to the Riddler, and the use of nearly all of Batman's gadgets to disable "traps" and barriers placed around them. After a certain number of trophies are found, Batman must go rescue a hostage that the Riddler has captured, which requires him to disable death traps set by the Riddler.

As you win battles, you earn experience points and periodically level up, which lets you upgrade your suit, gadgets, and combat skills. These upgrades have a real impact on gameplay and create a rewarding sense of growth as you advance through the game. Purchasing the batclaw disarm move, for instance, lets you yank weapons from enemies' hands, while the critical strikes upgrade rewards precise timing in battle with more powerful attacks that let you build up to special combo moves more rapidly. There are an impressive number of upgrade options to choose from, and you'll probably still be leveling up and unlocking upgrades well after finishing the main story.

In addition to his trophies, the Riddler has a new set of environmental riddles for you to solve. Some of these take the form of questions or statements, such as "Do you have Strange thoughts? Maybe you should seek help?" and "I am an actor who can transform a film with the final cut. Who am I?" Answering these requires you to locate the sign, storefront, or other environmental detail that contains the answer. The richness of the world already makes exploring it a pleasure; tracking down these solutions makes doing so even more engaging. Each of these that you solve unlocks an Arkham City story, which offers some textual background on the people associated with that particular riddle, deepening the neighborhood's sense of history. The Riddler's perspective puzzles also make a comeback. These are question marks painted in the environment that need to be viewed from just the right place to appear correctly. Working out the proper vantage point from which to solve these puzzles is as enjoyable as ever.

The player controls Batman, making their way around Arkham City to complete mission objectives. In addition to the primary mission, the game introduces secondary missions featuring a number of key characters and their stories. The player can opt to move silently, avoiding inmates and other enemies using a combination of gadgets to sneak up on enemies to incapacitate them. Batman's gliding ability has also been upgraded, allowing players to dive downward and pull themselves back up, making it much faster to move through the air.

Catwoman is also a playable character with her own heist-focused storyline at specific points in the game. Her combat is more acrobatics-oriented and features her claws, whip, and bolas. She has her own version of Detective Mode called "Thief Vision" to locate items for stealing. Dax Ginn recently revealed at Gamescom that the game has about 40 hours of gameplay with the main campaign lasting 25 hours and 15 hours for the side missions. The game also contains 436 Riddler challenges, which make up one of the multiple side missions that players can embark on at any given point in the game. Rather than rely on maps, the player can mark Riddler puzzles as they are found, if the player does not have the necessary equipment to complete them. A portion of the puzzles are also specific to Catwoman, and can only be completed by her.

Batman's assortment of gadgets plays a bigger role in combat than it did before. In Arkham Asylum, you could throw batarangs and keep your combo going; here, you can quickly fire off many of your wonderful toys in the heat of battle. A blast from your remote electric charge device can make an enemy involuntarily swing his hammer at surrounding thugs, and a quick placement and detonation of explosive gel can knock nearby foes off their feet. The variety of "quickfire" gadget options and other special moves that Batman has at his disposal can actually be overwhelming, and you may occasionally find yourself pressing the button combination for one gadget when you want to use another. But the game does an excellent job of easing you into the finer points of the combat system, displaying button prompts when you have a good opportunity to use a particular technique. And if you don't quite grasp a move the first time, you can go into your upgrade menu and re-enable its tutorial for a refresher. The addition of quickfire gadgets gives you a number of new options, and skilled players can benefit a great deal from the smart use of these techniques, but you never need to rely on these abilities. If you prefer to keep things simple, you can certainly get by relying primarily on your fists.

The game's boss fights look dangerous and spectacular, but they're disappointingly easy, and on occasion, context-sensitive actions may thwart your efforts. You might intend to evade an enemy attack, for instance, but instead your button press makes Batman slowly disable some device as bullets are shredding your health. But these criticisms are nitpicks in a game that does so much so well.

Watch Batman: Arkham City trailer.

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Rocksmith

Rocksmith is a music video game produced by Ubisoft similar to Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString and Offbeat Guitarist, and based on the technology in Guitar Rising. The game's main focus is the unique feature that allows players to plug in virtually any guitar and play. It will be released on three platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Rocksmith
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360
Release date(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 NA 18 October 2011 EU 2012 Microsoft Windows NA 13 December 2011 EU 2012
Genre(s)	Music video game

Rocksmith's light campaign mode eases you into tunes by having you practice small groups of songs to get a feel for them before playing the more advanced versions back-to-back in concert at packed venues. It starts you off at the ground floor with simple licks, single notes, and slow pacing to get you accustomed to the basics of guitar playing and how to decipher the elaborate note runway. Each guitar string is associated with a different color, and the numbered fretboard onscreen indicates the corresponding location you're supposed to play on the guitar. The gameplay is reasonably lenient, since you can't "fail" mid-song for performing poorly. You may have to replay a tune if you don't reach a certain minimum point score by the end, but repetition is required for learning, and it's a common theme across much of Rocksmith. You're good to go as long as you hit the right notes or chords when prompted when they come down the runway. What's awesome is that you're not docked points for noodling. For folks who already have some level of guitar skill, this is one element that Rock Band and Guitar Hero sorely lacked. Even better: the game scales to your playing ability automatically. If you start nailing power chords instead of single notes, you'll level up the phrasing and soon start seeing chords coming down the screen at you. The reverse happens if you mess up too much, giving you a chance to recover if things get too busy for you. It's a very cool, dynamic system that's forgiving without gutting the challenge.

 Every note, chord, pick scrape, or sound you make is played through the game in real time, and it's amazing how Rocksmith essentially turns your TV or stereo into an amplifier. Thankfully, there's a built-in tuner you can access from the menu, and you're prompted to check your tuning between songs. Reverb and distortion are added to your guitar's sound on a song-by-song basis too, but you also unlock different amps, effects pedals, and guitars to fiddle around with in the game's absorbing sandbox-style amp mode. Here you can customize your guitar sound with tons of different layers of tones and effects. It's easy to spend hours testing all the sounds out and free-form jamming through the TV.

For everything Rocksmith does right in terms of delivering an authentic guitar-playing experience married with enjoyable gameplay, it's still lacking in some areas. Compared to other rhythm games, the presentation is far less flashy or interesting. While that makes sense, given the focus is on playing a real guitar instead of hitting just a few colored buttons, it could have used a more upbeat, engaging way to draw you into the experience. Venues are dark, drab spots populated small seas of realistic-looking fans who are equally lacking in personality. The campaign structure itself feels pretty weak too. There are a lot of tunes to rock through and some great content to unlock, yet there's precious little about the experience that makes you feel like you're rocking out onstage or making real progress through your virtual career.

There's definitely room for improvement down the road, but Rocksmith's debut has one thing going for it above all else: it's the real deal. This ambitious guitar game delivers on its promise of intense rhythm gaming action tied to the act of actual guitar playing. It has something to offer players of all skill levels, whether you're picking up and learning the guitar for the first time or have been playing for ages. After years of Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and a slew of imitators, it's refreshing to see someone finally make the big leap and succeed. 

Soundtrack

As of the day of release, the full list of songs is available on Rocksmith's website
Radiohead's Bodysnatchers and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird are included with pre-orders of the game.

Song	Artist(s)
"House of the Rising Sun"	Animals, The !The Animals
"When I'm with You"	Best Coast
"I Got Mine"	Black Keys, The !The Black Keys
"Next Girl"	Black Keys, The !The Black Keys
"Song 2"	Blur
"Step Out of the Car"	Boxer Rebellion, The !The Boxer Rebellion
"Sunshine of Your Love"	Cream
"We Share the Same Skies"	Cribs, The !The Cribs
"Boys Don't Cry"	Cure, The !The Cure
"Rebel Rebel"	David Bowie
"I Want Some More"	Dan Auerbach
"I Can't Hear You"	The Dead Weather
"Run Back to Your Side"	Eric Clapton
"Take Me Out"	Franz Ferdinand !Franz Ferdinand
"Do You Remember"	The Horrors
"I Miss You"	Incubus !Incubus
"Slow Hands"[7]	Interpol
"Well OK Honey"	Jenny O
"Use Somebody"	Kings of Leon
"Are You Gonna Go My Way"	Lenny Kravitz
"Surf Hell"	Little Barrie
"Sweet Home Alabama"	Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Unnatural Selection"	Muse !Muse
"Plug In Baby"	Muse !Muse
"In Bloom"	Nirvana
"Breed"	Nirvana
"Where is My Mind?"	Pixies
"Go With the Flow"	Queens of the Stone Age
"High and Dry"	Radiohead
"California Brain"	RapScallions
"Number Thirteen"	Red Fang
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"[8]	Rolling Stones, The !The Rolling Stones
"The Spider and the Fly"	Rolling Stones, The !The Rolling Stones
"Play with Fire"	The Rolling Stones
"Gobbledigook"	Sigur Rós
"Panic Switch"	Silversun Pickups
"Outshined"	Soundgarden
"Me and the Bean"	Spoon
"Between the Lines"	Stone Temple Pilots
"Vasoline"	Stone Temple Pilots
"Under Cover of Darkness"	The Strokes
"Mean Bitch"	Taddy Porter
"A More Perfect Union"	Titus Andronicus
"Good Enough"	Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Slither"	Velvet Revolver
"Burnished"	White Denim
"Icky Thump"	White Stripes, The !The White Stripes
"Chimney"	Yellow Moon Band, The !The Yellow Moon Band

Watch Rocksmith Game Trailer for more details.

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Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is a WWII themed first-person shooter video game developed and published by Tripwire Interactive. It is a sequel to Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45. The title focuses heavily on the Battle of Stalingrad.The game was released on 13 September 2011. The developers have stated that the game is a PC exclusive and have no plans to bring it to the consoles. The game contains many new features including a new first person cover system combined with blind firing, first person collision detection as well as an entire new system of statistics tracking and enabling player development.

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Orcs Must Die

Orcs Must Die! is a strategy video game developed by Robot Entertainment. It is a tower defense game that eschews the traditional top-down view of similar games, instead using a 3rd person action-oriented viewpoint.Orcs Must Die! is planned for release on Windows and Xbox Live Arcade in October 2011 and was demonstrated at Penny Arcade Expo East 2011.

The Tower Defense genre is getting a bit stale. Let's be honest, how many times can we play the same type of game, where our main objective is to lay down offensive and defensive towers in hopes of clearing any monsters that come our way? That's where Robot Entertainment's Orcs Must 

Die! differs. It throws out familiar tower defense mechanics in favor of a more action oriented game that still relies on strategy to keep things challenging.

Orcs Must Die!
Developer(s)	Robot Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Studios
Engine	Trinigy's Vision Engine
Platform(s)	Windows, Xbox Live Arcade
Release date(s)	XBLA October 5, 2011 Windows October 12, 2011
Genre(s)	Tower defense

You take on the role of the War Mage, a member of the Order with an extremely chiseled chin and a brawny build that looks like something out of a pixar movie. He also has extreme prejudice to Orcs, and with good reason. Orcs are big, dumb creatures that crave destruction, so it's only natural that he wants to dispose of them as inhumanely as he can. The goal is simple; stop any invading Orc from reaching the Rift at the end of each level by any means necessary.

Characters

The main character is known simply as the War Mage, a member of the Order. War mages are persons that use magic, swords and crossbows in combat. The War Mage is a stubborn and impulsive human that is not the smartest person in the Order. If he was to be the last and the best hope, then people would be described as hopeless. The War Mage does, however, love to kill Orcs.

You'll start with only a few traps in the beginning, only to keep unlocking more and more devastating traps as you go. There is an underlying strategy to laying down traps as well, such as placing a Tar trap right before a Spike trap, which will slow down Orcs, maximizing the damage once they set off the spikes. Barricades will force the horde to squeeze through narrow passages, well-placed Boom Barrels can take out a whole crowd, and Dart Walls shoot out deadly darts of death.

Traps and defenses alone won't do the job, however. Armed with various weaponry, you can get right into the action and dispose of Orcs yourself. A few well placed crossbow shots to the head will take down enemies from afar, while a slice from your trusty sword keeps the Orcs at bay when they're a little too close for comfort. A word of caution: The War Mage doesn't have the best defense, so don't expect to dive into a group of Orcs and expect to get out of it alive. These weapons should mostly be utilized to take out any stragglers. However, a quick sprint to the Rift will replenish any lost health.

 Setting

The game is set in a fortress of the Order. Fortresses are situated in the dead world, the homeland of the Orcs, with only one purpose: to stop the Orcs from entering other worlds. Each fortress contains magical rifts that connect the worlds, the Order's duty is to stop the Orcs from entering the rifts and destroying the worlds beyond the dead world.

The War Mage has some nifty magical items aside from his standard weaponry. These items work off the War Mage's mana bar, so constant use is impossible. However, when timed right, these items can make all the difference. The Wind Gauntlet, for instance, pushes the Orcs back or sends them flying off ledges to their doom, and the Ice Gauntlet shoots bursts of icicles that are great for slowing Orcs down or taking out pesky flying enemies in an instant.

Speaking of flying enemies, the game does throw a slew of different Orcs at you to keep things interesting and most of all challenging. You have the standard, easy-to-take-down Orcs, the archer Orcs that keep their distance and try to damage you from afar, swift little Kobolds quickly run through the level, and various flying enemies bypass most of your traps and need to be dealt with personally. To further increase the challenge, various boss Orcs make an appearance that tend to be tougher to take down as they have increased health and damage.

Each stage has various layouts that will first have to be scouted out to see which traps will work best in what areas. To aid you in your strategies is a thin, blue line that shows the trail that the Orcs will take from the initial door (or multiple doors) that they bust open from, all the way to the rift. This lets you scout narrow walkways which can be utilized effectively to maximize damage, or even more open areas that your Archers can unleash their arrows at, not to mention various other level hazards that you can use to your advantage. See a chandelier hanging above the walkway? Shoot it down to squish the Orcs below it. How about a cauldron filled with acid? Shoot it over to melt your green enemies away.

Much like Plants vs. Zombies, you need to pick the traps and defenses you want to use from your Spellbook before the Orcs come barging in, meaning you can't just take them all into battle. Each Orc kill nets you points which you can then use to lay down even more traps and do some more damage.

Each of the various traps and defenses can be upgraded using skulls that are awarded after each level depending on how you do, of which there are five skulls per level to attain. Some of the upgrades include having your Spike traps do poison damage, your Dart Wall have increased range, or defenses costing less amount of required points to purchase.

In a genre that's becoming all too crowded, Orcs Must Die! is a refreshing take on it. Its perfect blend of action and strategy make it a game that's worthy of playing over just to see how many more ways you can mangle those green beasts.

Watch Orcs Must Die trailer for more details

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NBA 2k12

NBA 2K12 is a basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released on October 4, 2011 for Xbox 360,PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, PC, Wii and for the first time on iOS iPhone and iPad. For the first time there will be three different covers to choose from when picking up the game, with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan being the cover athletes of the game. Each will appear on a different version of the game. NBA 2K12 is the successor to NBA 2K11.

The first thing you are going to notice in NBA 2K12 is the the presentation. I must say, this is the most flawless presentation in a sports game I have ever seen. It captures the NBA feel perfectly. Other sports games should take out a pen and paper and jot down some notes on how to add a little passion to their game. As soon as you hear “We're playin' bas-ket-baaaall,” from Space Jam in the opening video, you're going to be like, “Oh heck yea!” As a matter of fact, the game bleeds Jordan. He's on the cover, you can wear his shoes, and in My Player he sends you letters about how the Jordan brand is keeping an eye on you. Maybe if Lebron went and played baseball for a year then he could finally get some attention—am I right, Heat fans that are reading this and getting so mad?

Continuing, before every game there is a little montage of the two teams, their players, and some cool highlights set to one of the game's songs. It looks just like something that would play on ABC or TNT before a real basketball game. Even player introductions are handled with care. It just seems like 2K has a robust library of dialogue that will always be in the middle of the action.

Gameplay

§  NBA's Greatest mode: For the first time, gamers will be able to take control of some of the most iconic players in NBA history, such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan and put them against other classic and modern-day teams to create NBA dream matchups. Each of these 15 basketball legends has been meticulously recreated with an uncanny level of detail, including period-specific depictions of their arenas, team uniforms, signature moves, and historically accurate broadcast presentation styles in NBA 2K12. Gamers will now tap into the legacy of these legendary athletes by utilizing their signature moves, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's unstoppable sky-hook and Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake, to rule the virtual hardwood. These 15 legendary athletes, plus more that appear on the team that each one plays (ex. in the Jerry West game, you play against Pete Maravich's Hawks, and after you win you unlock both teams), will allow sports fanatics to create the NBA's most storied matchups - and lock in bragging rights for their favorite teams in NBA 2K12. "NBA's Greatest" legends in NBA 2K12 include^:

§  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar §  (86-87 Los Angeles Lakers) §  Larry Bird §  (85-86 Boston Celtics) §  Wilt Chamberlain §  (71-72 Los Angeles Lakers) §  Julius Erving §  (84-85 Philadelphia 76ers) §  Patrick Ewing §  (94-95 New York Knicks) §  Magic Johnson §  (90-91 Los Angeles Lakers) §  Michael Jordan §  (92-93 Chicago Bulls) §  Karl Malone §  (97-98 Utah Jazz)

§  Hakeem Olajuwon §  (93-94 Houston Rockets) §  Scottie Pippen §  (95-96 Chicago Bulls) §  Oscar Robertson §  (70-71 Milwaukee Bucks) §  Bill Russell §  (64-65 Boston Celtics) §  John Stockton §  (97-98 Utah Jazz) §  Isiah Thomas §  (88-89 Detroit Pistons) §  Jerry West §  (70-71 Los Angeles Lakers)

 
Gameplay is only as 2K Sports can deliver it. You can control all of your shots with the right stick, but I found myself going back to buttons to deliver my sweet jump shots. It's almost like you can do too much with the shot stick, if that makes any sense. I still find it a little difficult to pull off a crossover or drive past an opponent to the paint, but that's probably more of my lack of skill and improved defense than it is the controls. The defense is much improved this year, so you'll have to work to get open shots. However, I shouldn't have to be on a fastbreak with no one around me in order to dunk it. Players do a jump shot three feet away from the basket or go for a layup instead of just slammin' it down a little too often for me.

Also, while the AI defense is sharper than ever, it is tough to hang with your opponent when you're on defense. They consistently put up a 63% or better shooting percentage against me—and I'm pretty damn competitive at sports games. The offense consistently gets open and drops in shots from behind the arc with ease. Then again, it's the NBA, which doesn't really like playing D that much anyways... Knicks. What's good about the defense being tougher for you and against you is that every game is a potential nail-biter.

§  My Player mode: Returns from NBA 2K10 and NBA 2K11. There is no more Draft Combine or Summer Circuit, but instead they are replaced by the Rookie Showcase. Hire your very own agent. After that, 3 G.M.s interview a basketball player before the draft and good conversations can increase his Draft stock. Another new feature added to My Player and The Association is that NBA Commissioner David Stern will read all the 1st round picks^[4] and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver will read the 2nd round picks. Other improvements are more endorsements where a player can be on billboards be on magazine covers, create shoes and even an NBA "Where Amazing Happens" commercial. Players receive paychecks to use on skill points or new things like a basketball clinic to raise their local fan popularity. Instead of playing every game of the season, users can choose to only play Key Games, instead of the 82-game grind. The point of this is so players can make it through their career. Press conferences are upgraded and now you can see your players status on League Popularity, Team Chemistry and Fan Support. Players can now get inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as well.

§  Creating a Legend mode: also returns from NBA 2K11 with improvements of its own. Now instead of taking a rookie Michael Jordan onto any team, players take control of any current NBA player and play out the rest of his career. It has all the same features as "My Player mode" except the fact that players use a current NBA player rather then a custom player. Players may be able to have press conferences in this mode.

The Association is back, and while it remains unchanged, it has an enormous amount of depth. It would be silly to mess with an amazing mode. What's new is that online, you and 29 other people can form your own NBA league and play through a season. All the bells and whistles are still there. Nothing is dumbed down. So this addition to the game is much appreciated.

NBA Legends join Michael Jordan as you play as 15 of the NBA's best players ever. You take their teams and go up against other talented teams in epic match-ups. Some of these players are Karl Malone, John Stockton, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. I took Jordan and his Bulls against the '91 Hornets and got schooled by MuggsyBogues, Alonzo Mourning, and company.

Development

2K Sports had a gameplay presentation with Kobe Bryant at E3 2011. The game will be released on October 4, 2011. The first official teaser commercial for NBA 2K12 debuted on May 31, 2011 onABC at the beginning of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks. The demo for the game was released on September 20, 2011 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, featuring a rematch of the 2011 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.

The best part of the game is My Player. I could, and did, spend hours creating my player, taking him through a rookie game, pre-draft interviews, the NBA Draft, and finally into real games. Unfortunately, it was with the Milwaukee Bucks. They asked if it was a city that I could see me spending my whole career in, never leaving for the big markets. Are you kidding? Milwaukee? Anyways, if you’ve never played the mode or a game in the NBA 2Kseries, then consider it the RPG of basketball games.

Your player is assigned goals every game. You’ll start off as a role player off the bench, but if you continue to meet your goals and be a good teammate (the teammate rating is a lot more forgiving this year), then you’ll get skill points to level up numerous ratings, such as ball handling, three-point shooting, and rebounding. You can also spend this points to level up abilities, like fade-away shots and crossovers. Not only do you manage skill points, but you manage your money too. You get paid every two weeks (they’re people just like us!), and you have the ability to donate your money to charity and take your team out to dinner or bowling. You also get drills to perform; one of my personal favorites is the schoolyard game of knockout.

Your ultimate goal in My Player mode is to become a hall of fame player, which you can accomplish by scoring 20,000 points, among other difficult goals. However, I played for the endorsements. When I got drafted, Milwaukee put me on a billboard with the phrase “The future has arrived.” After my first game, Air Jordan sent me a letter saying that they are keeping an eye on me. Forget the hall of fame, get me the shoe deal!

Minus a few annoyances with handling the player on offense and defense, NBA 2K12 is a blast and a must-have for any NBA fan. Heck, it’s probably the closest you’re going to get to an NBA game this year. If 2K keeps this up, they’re going to have to insert their own game into their NBA Legends mode next year. A NBA 2K game inside an NBA 2K game—2K-ception!

Watch NBA 2k12 trailer for more details.

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