I'm not sure what to say about NBA Elite 11, and that speechlessness doesn't have to do with the game being great.
I've spent the afternoon playing the demo some, thinking what I was playing was an aberration, but at this point it's becoming very clear: NBA Elite 11 is a resounding and very clear step backwards from NBA Live 10.
Name an area of the game, and it feels like it has taken a step backwards. The game doesn't play nearly as smooth, the controls are potentially revolutionary but really they're just going to end up being a bad attempt to emulate the success of NHL's controls, even the graphics are a clear step behind last year's NBA Live.
I actually feel bad for Kevin Durant being put on the cover of the game.
The control scheme has potentially revolutionary aspects to it, but I think these controls will ultimately go the same direction as the vision cone: hotly debated and ultimately toned down or scrapped altogether. Yes, having this much control is refreshing, but the controls are also geared towards stick skills people. A few tweaks to the ideas behind the control, perhaps meeting NBA 2K in the middle in terms of analog controls, would probably go a long way for the survivability of the controls.
As they stand right now, the controls are going to be very polarizing. People who are good on the sticks will love them, people who aren't will loathe them. As for me, I think the idea was good but the execution seems to be off and with time, I think more people will agree with that sentiment.
However, where the game really falls flat is where it matters: realism. Player movement on the court is decidedly sluggish and it's not fluid at all. If you aren't moving, neither are your teammates for the most part. Correct player spacing, jockeying for position: none of it is in NBA Elite.
Shooting seems a mixed bag with the controls. I like the idea behind shooting, but I think it's going to ultimately either limit or give no restrictions to offense. Someone who is good on the sticks might not miss a shot, I doubt it'll happen....but I won't be surprised to hear about it. Shot variety seems to be miss or swish, hardly any middle ground. That's not good at all.
Passing is jerky, as are animations. It really feels like the game is very static and moving from step a to step b at any given point. There's no real dynamics to it.
As things stand right now, roughly one week to release, there is literally no reason to consider NBA Elite 11 for your NBA gaming. NBA 2K does a better job at almost everything, and in most areas, the two games aren't even close. In my opinion, Elite 11 is a title that was best left unreleased. The Elite experiment is a multi-year process and EA would've done themselves a favor by making sure the game was ready for prime time by giving the guys an extra year.
I don't fault the developers for this, they were dealing with the equivalent of the Clippers organization hiring a new coach, trading the entire roster for undrafted practice squad members, and then being expected to deliver a championship team. They didn't have a chance here. The fault here lies with the people up the corporate food chain who decided to give unrealistic demands to a development team which was already battling from behind. As it stands, Elite 11 will most likely do the brand irreparable harm.
Unless of course the suits at EA were going for the irony factor with the name NBA Elite, then I completely understand their intentions.
