With four weeks until launch, NBA 2K16 is offering longer looks inside the gameplay it expects to offer then, as well as assurances that there's still a lot to add to a game long praised for comprehensive realism.
Taken out of context, some of the things this trailer mentions seem almost like self-parody — a system where the game knows when the player's foot has touched the ground and when it leaves it sounds like the kind of pointilistic stuff that makes people roll their eyes at sports. But given the difficulty video game basketball has faced in giving players understandable momentum, I'll take it at face value that this will help NBA 2K16's basic feel and control.
Some of the other stuff sounds like it will take a long time with the sticks to see the effect of. The difference between an AI Gregg Popovich's Spurs showing a user nothing in a regular-season game, then coming back with an unexpected defense in the postseason sounds great. But would Pop do something as obvious as sit all his ancient starters against you in December? That'd be the ultimate.
The physics-based collisions should help with the jostling and the fighting through screens (though I'm now inclined to just take LeBron and ram him through the perimeter defense). NBA 2K16 launches Sept. 29 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, though preorders will get their game five days early.
Also, Operation Sports noted that 2K has revealed two more historical teams being added to the game's lineup of greats. This is in addition to the old guard. A dozen new classic teams will be in NBA 2K16, with the final two sides announced next week. See the current list at this link.
