I finally finished up the last Jordan Challenge earlier tonight. I saved the 90-91 NBA Finals for last...not because I thought it would be hard, but just due to it being lengthy. It was almost sad finishing it because I actually had the same feeling as when I complete a game. That "Aww man...that's it. The End" feeling. The Jordan mode could basically be a standalone game for me, and I would have bought it, haha.
Maybe it's because I grew up as a kid idolizing Jordan during the 90s, but this game is everything I've ever dreamed of in a basketball game. I've recreated Bulls championship runs on Tecmo NBA Basketball for the NES to NBA Live 97 (featuring Mitch Richmond on the cover, dammit) on SNES, but what NBA 2K11 does is fill in all the blanks that I used to have to supply with my imagination back then. It's unbelievable how enjoyable it is.
I've probably spent 40 minutes with current players and 9 hours with my 90s heroes thus far, and playing through the past teams has reminded me how big a fan I was of some of the role players too. Bombing 3's with BJ Armstrong or Steve Kerr when the defense tries to double Jordan is awesome. Just dagger after dagger. And holy crap! 97-98 Toni Kukoc is a mother
er! I almost think he's better than Pippen. He hits from everywhere!
On the flipside, it was also uncanny how quickly my bitter hatred for certain rivals flared up again. I seriously had forgotten how much of a pain in the ass Danny Ainge was. That little
er was on every damn team Jordan came up against! There's not even a Jordan Challenge for the 92-93 Finals when he was on the Suns, but he was on Boston in 86 and Portland in 92...and that son of a bitch never misses! I just want to punch him in the face!
Even unlocking the damn Air Jordans is addictive as hell (I think I've got 17 of 40 now...still no XI's though
). I guess now that I've finished the Jordan Challenges, I can finally give the modern portion of the game some attention. Pretty amazing that a "side feature" can distract you so much from the main game. How the hell did EA ever think they were going to compete this year? lol