Each year, I set a goal to use the NBA2K Indiana Pacers to beat each CPU team on hall of fame difficulty, simulation sliders, 12 minute quarters and have fun doing it. I originally embarked on this goal because so many people would make the assertion that while you could certainly win on HOF level, you just couldn’t have fun, you couldn’t get realistic stats and basically you had to cheat to do it. After I read those things, I decided that the best thing for me to do was to find out for myself if indeed all of the complaints were true. And, because of that my annual Coach2K’s Hall of Fame Project was born.
How The Hall of Fame Project Works
The first thing I do is take all of the teams in the NBA and rank them from 1-30 and then start playing the worst team in the league and put together a game plan to beat it. Once I beat the worst team in the league, then I move up to the second worst team in the league and repeat the process. Eventually I started finding success playing the HOF CPU and notching some pretty impressive victories versus teams like the Spurs, the Knicks and the Heat. Not only that, I put out some pretty good defensive efforts like holding the HOF CPU 76ers to 85 total points. I’ve included complete footage of that game just below and it was played on hall of fame, simulation sliders for 12 minute quarters. I purposely didn’t do anything fancy in this game to show you that you can keep it simple and still beat the HOF CPU. Being an isomotion expert or awesome on the sticks isn’t required.
What I’ve Learned Playing On Hall Of Fame Mode
While I’ve shared most of what I’ve learned in other places, I thought it would make a lot more sense to organize and share what I’ve learned right here at Coach2K.com. So let’s get into what I found out.
- Are the complaints about hall of fame mode true? The answer is that the complaints that people make about the game can be true. The CPU can cheat, everybody can play like Michael Jordan, it will get all the lose balls, recover every block and it can shoot 70 percent from the field. But it’s also NOT true at the same time.
- Can you get good games versus the HOF CPU? Yes, I’ve had some great games versus the HOF CPU. In fact, I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t really feel the difficulty level anymore. You can definitely get great games, the CPU doesn’t cheat, you can hold the CPU under 50 percent shooting if you get good enough and stop all of those “supposed” Michael Jordans and even get realistic stats with realistic play. So I am also right (and yet I’ve also experienced what everyone else complains about).
- How can the HOF CPU cheat and not cheat at the same time? You might wonder how everyone who complains that the HOF CPU cheats can be right and that I can also be right at the same time. The answer is that the game mirrors the game you bring to the table and that is what is responsible for the kind of game play people experience and why I can report good games and yet still others can have a lousy experience (and yes that includes me too at times).
- Beating the HOF CPU does NOT make me the greatest player in the world. The HOF CPU is a single user just like anyone else who just happens to play every team. Once you beat it, you can be considered a good player, but all you have really done is beat ONE player. Beating one player doesn’t make me or you if you do it, the greatest player in the world. Every player is different and each opponent requires a certain mindset and gameplan. Who knows in order to beat you, I’d probably have to go through the same process I did to learn how to beat the HOF CPU! People often confuse my belief on the ability to get good games vs the HOF CPU with me somehow proclaiming I’m the greatest which is not the case.
What Does It Take To Beat The HOF CPU?
While I can tell you that you can definitely have great games vs the HOF CPU, I can’t sit here and tell you that it’s easy to do. I thought I would spend some time going over exactly what it takes to do it.
- The right mindset. The first thing hall of fame level play takes is the right mindset. If you have any anger issues, a short fuse or want the game to go your way on every possession, I can tell you right now that it’s not going to happen. The learning curve to get from Pro level player to HOF level player is steeper than many might expect. You will have to deal with some frustrations and let downs in the process. If you get mad at the first sign of trouble and just quit, then most likely you don’t have what it takes to beat the HOF CPU.
- You have to admit that you can get better even if you don’t think so at the moment. I’ve always encouraged people to adopt the philosophy that there is always room for improvement in your play. In order to beat the HOF CPU, you’ll have to become sharper with the controls and make better decisions on the court (in particular in the area of shot selection and taking care of the ball).
- You have to have some perseverance. I think really what it boils down to is that you have to keep taking punches until you figure out how you are making mistakes so you can correct them. You’ll often find yourself down early and need to fight your way back into the game which you can do. All to often people quit before they find that out. You can’t do that.
- You have to practice. NBA2K hall of fame level play isn’t something that you can pick up and just do. It takes some thinking and preparation. You have to game plan for you opponent and study their tendencies.
- You have to know the team that you use and your CPU opponents team really well. A complete knowledge of your team and how to defend the other team is a must and so you have to take time to figure that out.
So if you think you have what it takes to become a hall of fame level player or you just want to follow along, then put your email in the box below and click the button and I’ll start letting you in on how I approach the game in more detail.