2K Sports is a master of digitally re-creating the sport of basketball, with last year's NBA 2K franchise selling well over 5 million copies. Like any defending champion, it’s returning once again. NBA 2K13 hits stores Oct. 2 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and soon afterward for the upcoming Wii U.
NBA 2K13 isn’t just a cosmetic touch-up. Visual Concepts, the series’ developer, is going to great lengths to make things look even truer to the sport. Transitional animations have been added, so players don’t appear to awkwardly move from hitting a pull-up jumper to pumping their fist in the air. It’s much smoother now.
There are also new offensive and defensive options, making NBA 2K13 a more wide-open game. On the offensive side, you’ll have more options to reach the basket. When you play on defense, you’ll find prime opportunities to go for a steal and fast break.
Finally, 2K will provide NBA All Star Weekend for free to those who pre-order NBA 2K13 or buy it on the first day. (It’ll be available for download as well, we assume.) All Star Weekend features three activities that you can take part in with any current or legendary NBA player – the Rising Stars Challenge, the Three Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest. Of all these, Slam Dunk is the most interesting, as you have to engage in a Guitar Hero-style button-pressing contest while your player goes up. The better you perform, the better you dunk.
2K will be revealing more about NBA 2K13 over the next few weeks, so we’ll have a follow-up report that goes into more detail with it. For now, though, you can rest easy knowing that the team is still doing what it does best – slamming it home.