2K Sports adds historic modes to NBA 2K12

It%26rsquo;s not often that we directly influence big-time sports games around here, but clearly that%26rsquo;s what happening now. After years of begging (here and here for starters), NBA 2K12 is going full-on historic on us. The eagerly anticipated follow-up to last year%26rsquo;s amazing game is introducing %26ldquo;NBA%26rsquo;s Greatest%26rdquo;, a new mode that puts us in the sneakers of 15 all-time hoops legends in their proper contextual setting.

In other words, this ain%26rsquo;t just a bunch of %26ldquo;legendary%26rdquo; players all ballin%26rsquo; it up on the same court like we%26rsquo;ve seen a million times. We%26rsquo;ll get Dr. J in short-shorts flying over a hapless Paul Mokeski (look him up, people) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar grumpily tossing sky hooks past Robert Parrish. According to 2K Sports, there will be era-specific rules and television-style presentations that%26rsquo;ll make it feel even more old-school.

Details are still sketchy, but just like last year%26rsquo;s epic Jordan Challenge, completing each legend%26rsquo;s tasks will unlock him, his team, and other classic squads to be used in the bigger game at large. Specific features have yet to be named (we desperately hope to take these teams online, set up seasons and tournaments, and play current teams vs. legends) and the only players we know of so far are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The remaining roster of legends will be revealed between now and the release date of October 4.

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This is great news for several reasons. Old-school hoops fans finally get a (hopefully) much more realistic experience of classic teams, kids can develop an appreciation for players they%26rsquo;ve never seen, and in the event of a long NBA lockout, NBA 2K12 will have an appeal that doesn%26rsquo;t depend on having updated rosters and a few slick new tweaks to the game. Not to mention our lawyers are going to call up 2K Sports to make sure we get a cut of the royalties.

Aug 5, 2011