For the plop-and-go, no-time-to-learn, just-want-to-play crowd, NBA 2K9's new/improved tweaks to the franchise don't make it much different from past titles, but you can look forward to a bucket full of game modes, consistently solid gameplay and expectedly awesome graphics throughout.

Much like that tasty fake butter spray, NBA 2K9 looks delicious, amazing... almost to the point that if you were to casually stroll past a TV with a game was in progress, you might miss the fact that it's a videogame and not the real deal. The player animations, the animated crowd, coaches and stadiums have all endured the expected visual improvements as sequels of sequels of sequel are wont to do. Now a few years into the new generation consoles and the proliferation of affordable HDTVs, everyone expects a game like this to look good, but 2K9 has outdone itself even so.

But like football, hockey and soccer, both 2K Sports and EA Sports have their perennial hoops games, and dropping $60 on a new version of an old standby seems ridiculous to all but the ardent -- though there are a ton of basketball fans out there, so on it goes. Anyway, as for $60-worth of new stuff, "living" rosters with real-time updates keep your players up to date with their real life counterparts, which is a little freaky but really cool.

The real showpiece of this year's release, however, has to be NBA 2K9's freakish attention to realism: everything from player animations to A.I. interaction to play calling on offense and defense, simply put, is unmatched.

On top of that, The Association management mode has been tweaked and beefed, and a 5-on-5 online multiplayer sports a new ranking system, from Bench Warmer to Rookie to Pro to Superstar, that shows how you match up against opponents.

For serious fans, NBA 2K9 has some seriously nuanced play mechanics that will play to your seriousness. But for the more casual sports gamer, the plop-and-play set, NBA 2K9 serves up quality basketball gaming that's fun from the get-go. The fact that it retains the depth and replayability you’ve come to expect from this series is a bonus.