NBA 2K9 provides a realistic version of basketball and has plenty of replay ability even 5 years after release.
-My main gripe with sports video games in general is that they usually are too unrealistic when it comes to statistics and overall gameplay. Frustration usually arises when for instance I'm playing an NBA game and manage to put up 130+ points in a single game. However, with NBA 2K9 I've never really felt that the game has had an arcade feel at any single point of my playing. During my association season, with 10 minute quarters, I manage to get realistic looking scores, three point percentages, and overall field goal percentages. Meanwhile, injuries appear on your players at the appropriate times. Sometimes when a player dives for a ball or gets run over by an opposing player injuries occur. Injuries don't just appear randomly once you finish the game. Props go to the 2K Sports developers for this closeness to realism in regards to statistics and injuries.
-Meanwhile, the difficulty in the game feels just right. The computer AI is capable of proposing a difficult challenge should you not play a realistic version of basketball. Rush your shot too much and you'll end up just shooting a brick or get blocked by the defender. On defense, you have to stick to the game plan or the computer will destroy you in your own end. When playing man-to-man defense, not sticking to your assigned defensive matchup will result in the computer running up the score on you. However, the AI can sometimes provide instances where it feels like it is cheating in order to win. Although rare, there were instances late in the game where the AI would hit a three point at the last minute in order to win the game. Instances such as this just make me feel like the AI is cheating but I have no evidence to back up my claim.
-The gameplay is supported by fairly decent looking graphics that make me sometimes believe that I am watching a real game. The stadium has depth and actually has rendered fans in the stands that react differently and appear like actual humans. Players feel like they are weighted correctly on the court and their moves correspond accurately with the controls. However, when you are playing the game I highly suggest you turn down the disruptions to the game in the options menu. Replays happen way too often if you do not change them in the options. In addition, I found the crowd noise to be insultingly loud when first firing the game up. Crowd noise was easily remedied by turning the slider down in options. Meanwhile, the soundtrack of the game is fairly well. The menu music is very catchy and in game music appears at appropriate times.
-Association mode is the main draw for fans looking to purchase NBA 2K9. This mode enables you to basically run your team of choosing from the already provided rosters or following a fantasy draft. Each player has unique attributes that makes them act differently when it comes to contracts and free agency. Importance put on team loyalty and financial securities put a unique aspect to the dealing with player contracts in the game. Additionally, history of players involved provided a unique feel to the game. Being able to click on a player and view his family background made me appreciate the details that were put into the game.
-Overall, I highly recommend NBA 2K9 if you are looking for a realistic simulation of NBA and are interested in playing through an entire season of singleplayer games. If you can look past the rosters that are not up to date, Lebron still being a Cavalier, then this game is for you. The isomotion controls provide unique control of your players through the joysticks that are lacking in the previous versions and aren't all that much different in the most recent NBA releases. My only gripe with the game are that the menu system is terrible and the interface in association mode is somewhat clunky. It will take some time for you to recognize what you are looking for under way too many option menus. Association mode, in particular, suffers from this problem. I commonly have trouble finding the trading block menu, confuse simulation menu with the myNBA menu, and simply getting into rosters is a chore. However, in the end the gameplay is what is the main focus and it is superb. When you have no desire to upgrade to the newer versions of the same game, then the developers did a superb job in my opinion.