NBA 2K11 : It's in the game!

Back in the second half of the 90s, basketball was nascent to the average Indian sports fan. And then, Electronic Arts’ sports arm (EA Sports) went ahead and created the epic NBA Live series. This franchise grew year after year, churning out classic after classic that made us school-going brats clamour for more. Never before could we execute that killer ankle-breaking crossover and leave Tim Duncan crumpled in a heap in your wake. It was glorious!

Over the years, bass-pumped beats and jingles running the background, while you played 1-on-1 with David Robinson or Steve Francis or competed in the Slam-dunk competiton during All Star Saturday, either in Phila or Cleveland, depending on the year and game version.

Its a no-brainer that these EA’s NBA games contributed, atleast in part, to the slowly growing NBA craze among us then-youths. At a time when NBA games weren’t always aired on television, our NBA thirst was amply quenched by PC games.

Now, sadly, EA Sports has ceased to make its NBA Live series for the PC, focussing solely on console games. But, now, EA’s rival – 2K Sports – has created a masterpiece – NBA 2K11 (read the review in today’s Mumbai Mirror – 1st Nov, 10′). It’s the best basketball simulation game to-date, that recreates the NBA atmosphere to the T. I’m just glad that we can continue to get that pseudo-proximity to the NBA hardcourt and if not in reality, atleast within the confines of your desktop, sit beside Jack Nicholson, and cheer on that Laker blowout!