Watching Electronic Arts and 2k Sports duke it out year after year is an entertaining battle of wits and talents. This year’s NBA 2k iteration returns with a respectable performance, one that helps erase the thoughts of the how pitiful NBA 2k8 showed up to the virtual basketball court.

What exactly has improved? Among the countless enhancements, the gameplay alone stands out. They’ve sped it up a little, made lockdown defense feel authentic, implemented better computer AI – both your opponents and teammates – and of course, continued to upgrade the graphics to include highly impressive animations.

Starting off, the lockdown defense is back and it’s been tinkered for the better. Shaq won’t be able to guard Chris Paul in the open court and Steve Nash won’t be guarding Greg Oden in the post. Gamers will activate their lockdown defense by the left trigger. After setting your player up to lockdown the opposition, gamers will have to use the right stick to adjust to the offensive opponent’s moves. Unfortunately, this system only works with guarding players who have the ball in their hand rather then allowing the gamer to deny position to an off-the-ball player who is trying to post or run curls around a screen.

Your computer competition this year has been modified to propose a more challenging game. On top of that, your computer teammates’ AI has significantly been boosted. It’s never been easier to call for screens or ask for your teammates to find their way to an open shot. No longer will you have to try to win the game by yourself as a one man team, rather you have smart teammates to assist you this time around.

The speed of the game has been slightly increased, but not to the level of say NBA Jam or anything similar to an arcade title. Running the fast-break is much more authentic, though there’ll be occasions where players will run too far and catch the ball underneath the hoop. On top of that, the shot stick changes allow players to change their shot in mid-air in case they have Dikembe Mutumbo breathing down their neck hoping to stuff their shot.

An aspect that will have gamers breathing a sigh of relief is that their players won’t miss the shots they usually make in real life. Building momentum is essential, so the more successful you are at making shots, the better chance you’ll have at making a game-winning shot. For all the teams that were victims to Chauncey Billups’ clutch shooting, he will once again be “Mr. Big Shot” at the end of the game, so be prepared to try your best to defend his miracle shots. 

Oddly enough, even with all these superior changes, NBA 2k9 has a few issues that strips the fun factor right out of the heart of the game. Having played through years of the Association 2.0 game mode, it’s apparent that there were a few errors that the development team overlooked. One that is almost a game-breaker is when NBA 2k9 freezes up more often then not when trying to go into the screen to develop my players. Trying to take Amir Johnson, a prospect for the Detroit Pistons, into a routine where he can improve his ball-handling skills, NBA 2k9 stops dead in its tracks and has gamers turning off their Xbox 360 to begin anew. The same problem occurred time after time when I’d try to load my association save file from within the association menu. 

Speaking about the Association mode, it has returned labeled “The Association 2.0.” Among the first attributes that is noticeable that has changed is the addition of NBA.com integrated into its interface. The worst element of the mode this year is that the navigation is painfully hard to navigate. Too many times players will have to back out due to getting lost within the menus and start fresh with the navigation system.

An update that’s great for every dynasty mode is the addition of breaking records over your career. It’s always interesting to try and work towards making your way into the top 10 scoring players of all time. 2k Sports has also implemented a rumors section to stay on top of what your competitors are trying to do to improve their trade; though many computer trades still don’t make sense (Chicago Bulls trading for Michael Conley when they already have Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich doesn’t make sense). Gamers will also have the chance to scout upcoming draft picks, players from opposite teams, encounter players with no-trade clauses to stop your trades from occurring.

Audio and graphics are still excellent with a few upsides and downsides. The animations are still top notch, while the faces of the NBA players could look better. There are also unique free-throw animations for several players and a ton of animations added in for coaches and mascots, but they’ll repeat after a few games are played. As for the audio, Cheryl Miller, Clark Kellogg and Kevin Harlan do a quality job providing commentary, but they aren’t the most exciting trio of commentators. 

Lastly, NBA 2K9’s biggest feature this year is the ability to play five-on-five online. It’s an entertaining romp to enjoy but be prepared for games that play with a frenzy. NBA 2K9 also has ‘Living Rosters,’ a feature that allows gamers to receive updated stats and roster changes. So far I’ve received one update but it wasn’t significant enough to notice what has changed.

Gameplay: 8.6
If 2K Sports can continue to improve the fast-breaks, they might create the most fluid NBA game ever played.

Graphics: 8.5
If it wasn’t for a few faces that don’t look like their real-life counterparts, the graphics would be near perfect. 

Sound: 8.4
The Cool Kid’s are on the soundtrack, that’s enough for me to listen to their soundtrack. If they don’t strike your fancy, then maybe the The Beastie Boys, Gnarls Barkley, N.E.R.D. and many others will.

Difficulty: Easy / Medium

Concept: 8.0
The “Living Rosters” has been done before but the concept of five vs. five online play is entertaining.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The online is fun for the most part, but having 10 players running around with their own ideas how to play through a full game isn’t as intelligent as it could’ve been. Too many times players will chuck up three-pointers for no reason. 

Overall: 8.4
NBA 2K9 is hands down the best basketball title this year. Aside from its few technical flaws, you can’t get go wrong with adding NBA 2K9 to your collection.