NBA 2K16 REVIEW
A historic hoops sim.
great review from ign.com
NBA 2K16 bring this year’s iteration of the long-running basketball sim another title. Due to some big AI upgrades, the offensive tactics that I had been accustomed to using simply no longer work, so I was forced to think like a coach and constantly adapt. Running pick and rolls and calling plays finally felt like it was necessary, as opposed to a tougher option I had to enforce on myself. NBA 2K16 is a great representation of the sport of basketball, and it plays like a dream – both online and off.
Defense wins championships, and the improvements to AI defenses in
“
Player models are upgraded with new, more detailed body scans, and that has a profound effect on the overall experience.
Not that it was suffering visually before, but NBA 2K16 looks better than ever. The player models are upgraded with new, more detailed body scans, and that has a profound effect on the overall experience. Faces, hair styles, body types, and even wingspans are true to life, but the wide variety of new signature animations bring it all together. In fact, the presentation in general has received a lot of love this year, and brand new game-opening sequences, from team introductions to the national anthem, did a good job of distracting me from the lengthy load times.
In the studio, Kenny Smith joins Ernie Johnson and Shaq in entertaining, chemistry-led, semi-contextual pregame, halftime, and postgame shows, and Greg Anthony replaces Steve Kerr as the color commentator. The interactions between the commentators is fun, and there are far fewer misplaced reactions than in previous years – although it does still happen from time to time. Player interviews have returned as well, but disappointingly some have been reused from previous years. The addition of stunning new in-studio interviews more than makes up for it, in the grand scheme of things.
Upping Its Game
The big reason to show up this year, though, is that NBA 2K’s gameplay has been completely upgraded in nearly every way, resulting in a more true-to-life simulation experience. In previous years, I always found it easy to score by cheezing my way past AI defenders, running in circles and forcing them to make unrealistic mistakes. All of that is gone this year. Zig-zagging will result in steals and frustration, and attempts to drive the baseline will end up in terrible or blocked shots. The only reliable way to score is to use real basketball concepts, so if you’re a student of the sport you'll find yourself being rewarded for your knowledge.
You have to improvise, because opposing AI coaches will start to learn your tendencies and try new ways to stop you. For example, defenders had been going underneath screens, allowing me to step back and take open jumpers; after a few successful attempts they started going around screens, forcing me to drive the lane instead. This constant game of cat and mouse kept me on my toes, searching for new ways to make plays.
Additionally, the controls have been adjusted and streamlined, adding dedicated buttons for lobs and bounce passes. The most meaningful change, however, is to the post game, which is now initiated with L2 (or LT). Backing a defender down feels much more responsive, since you no longer have to wait for animations to settle before making your next move. But I learned quickly that even perfectly timed shots won’t always go in, which is much more realistic than before.
Whose Career Is It, Anyway?
“
You can relocate and completely rebrand your team with a mind-boggling amount of options.
There are a staggering amount of ways you can play NBA 2K16. All the game modes I expect of the series make their triumphant return, some with interesting new wrinkles. The new Play Now Online mode makes head-to-head matches matter a bit more, since it features a promotion and relegation system. MyGM and MyLeague modes are now both fully featured management sims, allowing you to go so far as to relocate and completely rebrand your team with a mind-boggling amount of options. That same team editor can also be used in MyTeam, the card-collecting game, which has new challenges and ways to earn virtual currency.
But the most notable and popular game mode is MyCareer, which has been taken in a completely different and unfortunately static direction. Spike Lee wrote and directed this mode as a documentary-style movie entitled Livin’ Da Dream. Once you create your character (whose unchangeable nickname is Frequency Vibrations, by the way) you’re dropped into the life of a high school phenom from Harlem with dreams of the NBA. Those early high school games are a bit dull, without commentary or any real challenge, since my player was a 6’7” point guard and the tallest guy on the court. But being recruited by officially licensed colleges and universities is extremely well done.
Even if a heated conversation was all about a choice I needed to make, I was never allowed to make it myself.
The story itself is mediocre and the dialogue is a little corny, despite being well acted. Some interesting moments were emotionally charged and kept my attention, but its movie-style plot made it a poor fit for a game that’s supposed to be about our players. The catch phrase for the mode is “Be the Story,” but even if a heated conversation was all about a choice I needed to make, I was never allowed to make it myself. The most jarring example happened when my friends and family were all giving me advice about whether I should stay in college: Each character ultimately told me that “only you can make the choice.” But then a second later, the NBA draft started. Apparently my mind was made up for me.
Even looking past the lack of choices, the story became disjointed during my rookie season. The cutscenes led me to believe that I was a special player, but my overall rating was 55, since I was unable to earn any virtual currency up until that point. The AI improvements carry over to MyCareer, which made it extremely difficult to make any positive plays with a weak player. As a result, on the court I felt like I kept letting my team down... but off the court, I was signing shoe deals. Another flaw that can’t be overlooked is that your family, including your twin sister, is black, even if your created character is not.
Racking Up Ws
Livin’ Da Dream reaches its conclusion after your rookie season, which only has eight playable games. After that, it opens up and plays more like the mode I was expecting, with 82-game seasons and new and exciting ways to improve your player on off days. That’s why I can enthusiastically recommend NBA 2K16 even with MyCareer’s failure to properly contextualize my player’s rise to stardom: at the end of the day, it’s all window dressing for the gameplay underneath – and in this case, that gameplay is spectacular.
“
For the first time in several years, I’ve only experienced a few online hiccups.
It’s important to note that NBA 2K16 continues to heavily rely on its online servers, since microtransactions are present in most of the game modes. But for the first time in several years, I’ve only experienced a few hiccups since they’ve been turned on. The 2K Sports Store, where you spend VC on vanity items, has been hit or miss, and the ProAm mode, a 5v5 MyPark with NBA rules, has been completely inaccessible. But the online experience is generally pretty consistent in every other connected mode, with no significant interruptions to my online play. What a relief.
The Verdict
NBA 2K16 is one of the most complete packages I’ve ever seen. Developer Visual Concepts continues to raise the sports simulation bar by completely retooling its silky-smooth gameplay, adding brand-new physics systems, and refining its traditional game modes. Not all of the changes work as well as others, most notably the Spike Lee-themed MyCareer mode, but it doesn’t take away from the impressive overall package.
great review from ign.com
NBA 2K16 bring this year’s iteration of the long-running basketball sim another title. Due to some big AI upgrades, the offensive tactics that I had been accustomed to using simply no longer work, so I was forced to think like a coach and constantly adapt. Running pick and rolls and calling plays finally felt like it was necessary, as opposed to a tougher option I had to enforce on myself. NBA 2K16 is a great representation of the sport of basketball, and it plays like a dream – both online and off.
Defense wins championships, and the improvements to AI defenses in
“
Player models are upgraded with new, more detailed body scans, and that has a profound effect on the overall experience.In the studio, Kenny Smith joins Ernie Johnson and Shaq in entertaining, chemistry-led, semi-contextual pregame, halftime, and postgame shows, and Greg Anthony replaces Steve Kerr as the color commentator. The interactions between the commentators is fun, and there are far fewer misplaced reactions than in previous years – although it does still happen from time to time. Player interviews have returned as well, but disappointingly some have been reused from previous years. The addition of stunning new in-studio interviews more than makes up for it, in the grand scheme of things.
Upping Its Game
The big reason to show up this year, though, is that NBA 2K’s gameplay has been completely upgraded in nearly every way, resulting in a more true-to-life simulation experience. In previous years, I always found it easy to score by cheezing my way past AI defenders, running in circles and forcing them to make unrealistic mistakes. All of that is gone this year. Zig-zagging will result in steals and frustration, and attempts to drive the baseline will end up in terrible or blocked shots. The only reliable way to score is to use real basketball concepts, so if you’re a student of the sport you'll find yourself being rewarded for your knowledge.
You have to improvise, because opposing AI coaches will start to learn your tendencies and try new ways to stop you. For example, defenders had been going underneath screens, allowing me to step back and take open jumpers; after a few successful attempts they started going around screens, forcing me to drive the lane instead. This constant game of cat and mouse kept me on my toes, searching for new ways to make plays.
Additionally, the controls have been adjusted and streamlined, adding dedicated buttons for lobs and bounce passes. The most meaningful change, however, is to the post game, which is now initiated with L2 (or LT). Backing a defender down feels much more responsive, since you no longer have to wait for animations to settle before making your next move. But I learned quickly that even perfectly timed shots won’t always go in, which is much more realistic than before.
Whose Career Is It, Anyway?
“
You can relocate and completely rebrand your team with a mind-boggling amount of options.But the most notable and popular game mode is MyCareer, which has been taken in a completely different and unfortunately static direction. Spike Lee wrote and directed this mode as a documentary-style movie entitled Livin’ Da Dream. Once you create your character (whose unchangeable nickname is Frequency Vibrations, by the way) you’re dropped into the life of a high school phenom from Harlem with dreams of the NBA. Those early high school games are a bit dull, without commentary or any real challenge, since my player was a 6’7” point guard and the tallest guy on the court. But being recruited by officially licensed colleges and universities is extremely well done.
Even if a heated conversation was all about a choice I needed to make, I was never allowed to make it myself.
The story itself is mediocre and the dialogue is a little corny, despite being well acted. Some interesting moments were emotionally charged and kept my attention, but its movie-style plot made it a poor fit for a game that’s supposed to be about our players. The catch phrase for the mode is “Be the Story,” but even if a heated conversation was all about a choice I needed to make, I was never allowed to make it myself. The most jarring example happened when my friends and family were all giving me advice about whether I should stay in college: Each character ultimately told me that “only you can make the choice.” But then a second later, the NBA draft started. Apparently my mind was made up for me.Even looking past the lack of choices, the story became disjointed during my rookie season. The cutscenes led me to believe that I was a special player, but my overall rating was 55, since I was unable to earn any virtual currency up until that point. The AI improvements carry over to MyCareer, which made it extremely difficult to make any positive plays with a weak player. As a result, on the court I felt like I kept letting my team down... but off the court, I was signing shoe deals. Another flaw that can’t be overlooked is that your family, including your twin sister, is black, even if your created character is not.
Racking Up Ws
Livin’ Da Dream reaches its conclusion after your rookie season, which only has eight playable games. After that, it opens up and plays more like the mode I was expecting, with 82-game seasons and new and exciting ways to improve your player on off days. That’s why I can enthusiastically recommend NBA 2K16 even with MyCareer’s failure to properly contextualize my player’s rise to stardom: at the end of the day, it’s all window dressing for the gameplay underneath – and in this case, that gameplay is spectacular.
“
For the first time in several years, I’ve only experienced a few online hiccups.
The Verdict
NBA 2K16 is one of the most complete packages I’ve ever seen. Developer Visual Concepts continues to raise the sports simulation bar by completely retooling its silky-smooth gameplay, adding brand-new physics systems, and refining its traditional game modes. Not all of the changes work as well as others, most notably the Spike Lee-themed MyCareer mode, but it doesn’t take away from the impressive overall package.NBA 2K16 Review: MyCareer mode as absurd as it is addicting
In NBA 2K16, things were taken a step further with the introduction of "Livin' Da Dream," a storyline attached to MyCareer mode courtesy of Spike Lee. If you're familiar with Spike's many films during his incredible directing career, then you may be able to anticipate a lot of the stories and plot points thrown your way. If you haven't familiarized yourself with what Spike does with his stories, the early parts of MyCareer may blow your mind.
In last year's version of this mode, your digital self went undrafted and had to impress in a workout to earn a 10-day deal. Then you'd try to keep impressing NBA teams before carving out your spot in the NBA. The newest edition is quite different. You're introduced as a high school prospect and your family is as much a part of the story as the basketball early on.
It's possible you'll end up feeling like Steve Martin in "The Jerk," but you're a Harlem-native with a twin sister named Cece. Your nickname is Freq (pronounced freak) and it's short for Frequency. You earned that nickname in your mother's womb because of the way you kicked and moved around, which is apparently something you can differentiate between kids when you're having twins.
You even have an Antoine Walker-esque shimmy and shake celebration that's called the "Freq and vibe."
You're also introduced to the character of Vic (short for Victor), who is your longest non-related friend. And that's where the story really gets complicated. (WARNING: There are spoilers from here on out, which sounds like an insane thing to warn about a basketball video game.)
High School
Early in this mode, you're navigating the stardom of high school. You get to play three games of your career (one in your home gym, one in an opposing gym, and the state championship in a bigger arena) after choosing between three different high schools.
I was a Parkside Dragon and quickly after my first game (they only give you two-minute quarters so it doesn't take much time), I'm approached by three different real colleges. It's similar to the recruiting monologues in "He Got Game" when coaches are speaking into a camera to tell Jesus Shuttlesworth about their college. Georgetown tells me about their NBA tradition, Villanova tells me about how their style of play is similar to the toughness of streetball, and Louisville is promising me the possible titles and awards available.
Arizona hits the NBA alumni angle hard as well after my second game, and Kansas throws around flashy names like Wilt Chamberlain, Kirk Hinrich (seriously, he's the second guy they name), Andrew Wiggins and Paul Pierce as the reasons to be a Jayhawk. Connecticut lets me know this isn't their "first rodeo" with recruiting stars and the fit should work because "navy blue runs deep."
Michigan offers up the tradition of the Fab Five and breaking Glen Rice's records, but eventually UCLA woos me with the promise of sun and their "banner of excellence" -- whatever that means. With Vic recording on a camcorder that they imply he stole, I deliver my decision to the world that I'm tired of New York snow and want the warm beaches while I study.
U-C-L-A! Fight! Fight! Fight!
College Season
In college, you're given four games to play with each game consisting of two five-minute halves. While your play on the court matters (you'll get to face off against Kelly Oubre when you face Kansas or Frank Kaminsky when you face Wisconsin), the real story comes from the announcers telling your background during the game and the headlines on the loading pages letting you know that your draft stock is falling.
They call you a Top 5 pick prospect before your first game. No matter how you play (because I dominated the first game), your stock takes a dip. At a certain point, they wonder if you'll stay in the Top 10 or even the first-round altogether. However, in the fourth and final game, I beat Wisconsin in the National Championship game, which presumably saves much of my future selection placement.
Before the draft, you're introduced to agent Dom Pagnotti, who is trying to convince you to jump ship (you don't actually get to decide; you're out of college after your freshman year). You may remember the name Dom Pagnotti -- he's the agent from He Got Game. In fact, they brought back that particular actor to do the voice for his character. Your parents are on speakerphone while you and your sister talk to Dom.
Dom starts doing the Freq'ing and Vibin' celebration. He's preaching how much money you can get and the concerns about getting injured in college. Your dad is preaching education while your mom lets you know to stay true to your decision. But you don't get a decision because staying another year would be boring. You're headed to the NBA, but not before your new agent informs you that your best friend Vic is bad company to keep and you should cut ties with him. That's where we really start going.
My NBA career
The insanity of your rookie season is the real story you're unraveling with this mode. While you may wonder how you build up your character on the court (that comes later), you're learning about the debacle that is his life off the court. Everybody around you is trying to tell you how to be a professional.
I get drafted 13th by the Phoenix Suns (who still ended up with Devin Booker too and I'm not sure if they got to pick two guys at 13). In your rookie season, you get to play eight games and they pick the games for you (you finally get to choose how long they are). You'll face various tests from your conference, a homecoming they mention when you go to Brooklyn for a road game, and a match-up against LeBron James at some point.
If you had dreams of turning your rookie self into the Rookie of the Year, you're not in control of that. You get just the eight games.
Here are the storylines that you experience with a new cut scene after each of your eight allotted games, and I'm not making this up:
• Your girlfriend, Yvette, is feuding with your twin sister Cece, who is also feuding with your agent over control of your image.
• Everybody wants you to cut ties with Vic.
• After your first game, the team owner bans Vic from traveling with the team and going to games because he's such a bad influence. The owner mocks the way you talk, and after he unearths a TMZ-like video of Vic drunkenly talking about an alleged incident in front of a cop car, we find out that the owner once had a card-counting gambling friend who died, and you are urged once again to part ways with Vic.
•One game into your career, your agent wants to put you in movies and turn you into a marketing darling. Remember the "platinum and diamonds" speech from Dom in He Got Game? It's in here.
•Vic wants to remind you you're from the streets and should act accordingly.
• Vic is secretly a rapper named Boss-Key-Yacht and wants you to fund his album.
• Oh by the way, when you were in high school, you killed a guy while fighting him in a stairwell and Vic covered it up. He reminds you of this so he can force you to let him use your car.
• The team owner threatens to release you because your refusal to part ways with Vic has made you a liability. How airtight are those rookie contracts?
Once your rookie season is over, you're a free agent (I guess not that airtight). You get to pick three teams to negotiate with and every team has a different level of interest in your services. After negotiating how much virtual currency (a.k.a. VC) you get per game (that's how you buy attribute upgrades) and how long your contract is, you celebrate with your family.
This is when you find out Vic died in a car accident and wrote you a letter before he died. Seriously, this happens.
After all of this madness, you're finally given the normal MyPlayer experience. Your second season is similar to previous installments. You play games, earn more VC through good, smart play, and buy clothes, personal gym upgrades, and better attributes with your money. The big difference in this year's version is you have to manage your off-days to how you want your career to go.
You have three basic choices to make on these days:
1. Go to practice and do drills to earn more VC.
2. Hang out with one of your 10 connections.
3. Fulfill endorsement requirements set up by your agent.
You get to pick your 10 "connections" and choosing to hang out with them gives you different rewards for various modes. As you become more popular, you'll get to connect with more important people around that world. Your endorsement appearances can lead to even more endorsements and fulfilling those requirements will earn you extra VC.
The way they tie the story of the first season into the rest of your career is by talking about it during pre-game shows and with in-game commentary. Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith will discuss how hard it must be after your tumultuous rookie season. You may be coming out of a timeout and Kevin Harlan will talk to Clark Kellogg about you overcoming the death of your good friend Vic. The main story steps aside and you get to just build the career of your player, but it's always a lingering side story.
From there, you're just trying to manage your time and build your player. Maybe you want to focus on building his brand and letting the on-court attributes build gradually. Maybe you want to skip the endorsements and risk your marketing growth to concentrate on practice or league relationships with other players. However you want to build your player is up to you.
MyGM Mode
The franchise mode of NBA 2K16 is as robust as it has ever been, and the theme appears to be connectivity. 2K Sports has been building its MyGM mode for years and adding little touches here and there. Whether you're checking the wear-and-tear on your players, handling conversations with guys wanting to guarantee they won't be traded or want more playing time, or making sure to build trust with your coaches and staff, 2K is always trying to find ways to build relationships within this mode.
This year, you're diving more into player motivation and evaluating potential assistant coaches by finding out what their goals are (does the assistant coach you're interviewing really want to be head coach?), what they think of your roster, and how they view the state of the team. You can hire staff members away from other franchises if they don't block the hire (the Golden State Warriors never let me hire Ron Adams). You have to meet demands of the important staff members and pray a better team doesn't wrestle them away.
The same logic is applied to free agency, where your status as a franchise matters. Established players are unlikely to sign with a team that is rebuilding. Teams that are "buyers" and "contenders" will likely catch their eye instead. And aside from some wonky restricted free agency (I signed Harrison Barnes to a cheap one-year deal in RFA and the Warriors didn't match) time to time, your franchise isn't getting top players if they're not a desirable location.
Market can also play a factor into this. Where your team is located may not be favorable to someone you're pursuing as a staff member or free agent. So if you want to relocate your franchise, you can do that. You need to design a stadium, design uniforms, pop in a logo, and have a good enough plan in place (downtown or suburbs, what kind of amenities, etc.) for the Board of Governors to approve it.
After two years of trying to build up the Brooklyn Nets, I decided to move them away from New York and into Seattle. I wanted to recreate the SuperSonics, and it was pretty easy. Going into the BOG vote, it let me know the New York Knicks were voting in favor of the relocation, the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers were against it, and the other 26 teams were undecided. It passed with a vote of 28-2 and the only remnants of my Brooklyn roots came during those in-game interviews with players still wearing Brooklyn Nets T-shirts.
The cool thing about the move was the league automatically realigned with the Sonics in the Northwest as the Oklahoma City Thunder headed to the Southwest, the New Orleans Pelicans went to the Southeast, and the Washington Wizards joining the Atlantic. It's all connected.
Gameplay
The modes are great, but what about the game on the court? For the most part, you're going to get a suped-up version of the 2K experience you're used to. Passing is smoother, more intuitive, and you have better options. When you run a pick-and-roll, you can not only choose whether the screener rolls or pops, but you can also decide which side of the defender gets screened. Post play is now activated by holding down the back left trigger (L2 on PS4) and it's easier to put together moves out of it.
Once you get a hang for the changes in PnR, post play, and passing controls, everything else falls into place. You'll get a couple of rough patches here and there. Whether it's a good challenge or not, a rim protector being in the vicinity of the rim is likely to result in a miss. Getting around screens is both given more freedom and feels a little stickier because of it. It's hard to move sloppily past players in general if they're trying to prevent you from moving.
Everything else provides a very good representation of video game basketball. Role players matter in executing play, and stars can take over (Anthony Davis is a God). No doubt you'll kill hours playing this game and discovering new little touches all the time.
• Everybody wants you to cut ties with Vic.
• After your first game, the team owner bans Vic from traveling with the team and going to games because he's such a bad influence. The owner mocks the way you talk, and after he unearths a TMZ-like video of Vic drunkenly talking about an alleged incident in front of a cop car, we find out that the owner once had a card-counting gambling friend who died, and you are urged once again to part ways with Vic.
•One game into your career, your agent wants to put you in movies and turn you into a marketing darling. Remember the "platinum and diamonds" speech from Dom in He Got Game? It's in here.
• Vic is secretly a rapper named Boss-Key-Yacht and wants you to fund his album.
• Oh by the way, when you were in high school, you killed a guy while fighting him in a stairwell and Vic covered it up. He reminds you of this so he can force you to let him use your car.
• The team owner threatens to release you because your refusal to part ways with Vic has made you a liability. How airtight are those rookie contracts?
Review: NBA 2K16
For all of the hype surrounding NBA 2K16‘s revamped MyCareer mode, it seems downright shocking that Visual Concepts would forget the most exciting part of its signature mode. Sure, the latest iteration of the number one basketball simulation in the world is still mechanically sound, loaded with features that will keep NBA fans busy for months and fun to play, but letting Spike Lee have such a large role may have been a mistake. While there is a level of intrigue that comes with playing a Spike Lee Joint as opposed to watching one, the best part of MyCareer came from the childlike wonder players experience when they live out their personal NBA dream. Instead of having a sense of agency over the proceedings, players will find that MyCareer feels a bit more like Spike’s Career. NBA 2K16still feels like the best basketball game in the world, though this year’s version feels like this series’ first hiccup in quite some time.
Visual Concepts clearly took a risk letting Spike Lee, a man known for his movies, direct an “in-game feature film” about your player’s journey from high school through his rookie season in the NBA. As time has gone on, this particular mode has been looking towards giving players a real sense of participation in an actual NBA story. However, earlier iterations, most notably last year’s NBA 2K15, never swayed away from the idea that this is your journey, and you’re allowed to handle it in whichever way you please. From the moment you begin “Livin ‘Da Dream,” the section of MyCareer that is written and directed by Spike Lee, it’s clear that you are merely a participant in someone else’s narrative. No matter how perfect your face scan is, you’ll always grow up in Harlem’s projects, always have the same twin sister, the same parents, the same agent, the same team owner and the same friend in Vic Van Lier that is always up to no good.
This does create an awkward situation if you’re any race other than African American and use the face-scanning technology to create your own player, as the idea of having a biological cross-racial family with no hint of genetic relation whatsoever makes for some awkward moments whenever your birth comes up in conversation. There’s something to be said about the ludonarrative dissonance that comes from being forced into a storyline that doesn’t give the option for any semblance of real racial diversity. This was likely an oversight resulting from Spike Lee’s relative inexperience with the video game medium, but it’s a clear example of how NBA 2K16 removes a lot of MyCareer’s customization features in favor of Livin ‘Da Dream. Outside of picking which college you go to from a limited pool of schools and which NBA team you’ll sign with after your first year, there are quite literally zero choices to be made, which gives MyCareer the impression that you’re simply along for the ride rather than being the one driving the car itself. Oh, and as an Ohio State alumnus, it’s painful to see the ability to attend The School Up North with no option to be a Buckeye.
It’s as clear as the day is long what Visual Concepts, 2K and even Spike Lee himself were going for here. This was meant to be a mode in which you feel immersed in an NBA story loaded with hardship, difficult choices (that again, you don’t actually get to make) and genuine drama. Sadly, thanks to an engine that, while initially breathtaking at the beginning of the generation, is starting to feel its age, Livin ‘Da Dream feels little more than corny and tiresome by the end of its six hour run. Because you aren’t getting to make the choices that you’re accustomed to making in an NBA 2K MyCareer mode, there’s no sense that this is anyone’s story other than Spike Lee’s. While there’s little doubt that Mr. Lee could take the material in this in-game film and turn it into something entertaining on the big screen, the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t make for a very good video game story at all. This isn’t necessarily Spike Lee’s fault, after all, he isn’t a video game developer, but inserting long diatribes about death and relationships into a story riddled with characters that the main player doesn’t have any desire to care about makes for a slog of a narrative experience. There’s simply far too much ludonarrative dissonance floating around here to consider Visual Concepts’ gamble on Spike Lee to be a success.
Even though MyCareer, which is blatantly being billed as the reason to by this year’s version of NBA 2K, starts off on the wrong foot, there is still a great deal of agency over your MyPlayer after the conclusion of Spike Lee’s self-indulgent in-game film. While you still have to listen to, and answer questions about the highly scripted events of your rookie year, you’ll have the option to decide exactly what you’re going to be doing with your free time during your career. Whether you want to work on establishing sponsorship deals, make friends with some of the best players around the NBA or simply attending a Live Practice to hone your craft(which, despite what Allen Iverson might suggest, is actually pretty fun inNBA 2K16), you’ll have the option to do so once MyCareer turns into the mode that it was supposed to be all along. While this late increase in RPG mechanics don’t entirely make up for the oddity that is Livin ‘Da Dream, it’s nice to know that the best aspects of this franchise haven’t fallen by the wayside in favor of Spike Lee. The only real issue with off-court time management is that if you’re the type of player looking to become a gym rat and not worry about anything going on outside of basketball, you’re going to be missing out on a great deal of currency that can be earned (which is used for, you guessed it, to upgrade your stats). Whether intentionally or unintentionally, these new mechanics drive players towards a more all-around celebrity status, which removes a bit of agency from a mode dependent on it.
Though MyCareer certainly stumbles this year, the fact of the matter is that NBA 2K16 continues the mechanical excellence that this franchise is known for. With the addition of dedicated bounce pass and lob buttons, which each have double tap functions that allow you to throw flashy passes or alley oops, respectively, players feel more in control of their players than ever before. Though EA has been striving to convince the public that there is a real rivalry between NBA Live and NBA 2K, these new mechanics, as well as the addition of over 1000 new animations (including 32 post moves that make this technical gameplay style even more fun to master) will likely end that discussion even more. If you’re looking for a basketball video game that feels awesome to play, NBA 2K16 is certainly the game for you. The idea that NBA 2K16 improves upon an already solid gameplay foundation makes it all the more awkward when the features that it’s being advertised for fall short.
Though a great deal of players will sink ungodly hours into MyCareer mode, there are a great deal of other methods to get your basketball fix. If you’re a member of the contingent that Spike Lee’s foray into AAA sports game narrative scripting is frankly sub par (and not in the good way that Need for Speed‘s full-motion video cutscenes have the potential to be), you’ll probably find yourself pouring time into MyTeam. NBA 2K‘s version of the popular “It’s a Card Game and a Sports Game” mode that pretty much every other sports franchise has, MyTeam allows you to earn NBA 2K16‘S second currency through every move you make across a number of frankly intriguing game modes. From Challenge mode, which places restrictions on your team in exchange for the chance at extra currency to The Gauntlet, a new mode in which players have to win consecutive 3-on-3 matches against other online users to survive, the loop of earning currency to buy better cards and constantly upgrade your roster is absolutely addictive. Combine MyTeam with the always popular custom MyLeague and MyGM modes, which are always exciting for those who are looking to fantasy draft over and over, and it’s pretty impossible to say that NBA 2K16 is short on content.
The one major blemish of the NBA 2K series has been its inability to host stable online play. From dropped matches to long connection times to constant framerate drops, playing online in the NBA 2Kfranchise is basically borderline functional. As every year passes, this becomes more and more disappointing, and the fact that the biggest change to the series fell short this year only serves to highlight NBA 2K16‘s online difficulties. While the new system for matching players of similar experience in Play Now Online is a fantastic change, the fact that latency and framerate drops seem to occur far too frequently outweighs any matchmaking improvements. The idea of a tension-filled climb up a ladder of online players in The Gauntlet is outstanding, but if the gameplay suffers from online deficiencies, this new addition is little more than window dressing. We may be arriving at the point where NBA 2K might have to start focusing on stability a bit more than glitz and glam.
It’s weird to think that visuals can go from looking awesome to slightly underwhelming in a matter of two years, but that does seem to be the case with NBA 2K16. When NBA 2K14 came out on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch dates, it was arguably the best looking current generation launch game outside of Killzone: Shadow Fall and Ryse: Son of Rome, but these visuals haven’t really changed much in the two years that followed. On-court play is still impressive as a whole, as flowing jerseys, animated crowds, dynamic sweat and an awesome lighting system that makes every inch of the court pop, but once you dive into the details, these visuals start to show their age. There are a number of re-used lower resolution assets present, most notably the locker rooms that teams enter at halftime, and the visual dichotomy that this presents makes for an occasionally awkward visual experience. Clipping has grown to be a major problem in the NBA 2K16, with the most awkward moments appearing during timeouts and menus that feature more than one character model. Livin ‘Da Dream is probably the worst offender in the lackluster graphics department, as awkward character models and low-detail environments make for cutscenes that seriously give off some Tony Hawk’s Underground visual vibes.
Evaluating NBA 2K16 as a whole is actually an interesting challenge. On one hand, this is arguably the most mechanically sound sports game on the market and the gameplay improvements that Visual Conecpts made are downright superb. The issue here lies with the decision to make Livin ‘Da Dream the focus and backbone of MyCareer falling flat. There are some moments throughout Spike Lee’s in-game film that might bring a smile to your face, but this story doesn’t lend itself to this franchise’s gameplay or the video game medium itself. Yes, basketball fans will likely have a great time playing NBA 2K16 for hours on end, but there are too many small steps back here that can’t be ignored. The good news for fans of sports games is that the first misstep in this great franchise is still a very good game, which speaks to how truly fun its gameplay is.
For all of the hype surrounding NBA 2K16‘s revamped MyCareer mode, it seems downright shocking that Visual Concepts would forget the most exciting part of its signature mode. Sure, the latest iteration of the number one basketball simulation in the world is still mechanically sound, loaded with features that will keep NBA fans busy for months and fun to play, but letting Spike Lee have such a large role may have been a mistake. While there is a level of intrigue that comes with playing a Spike Lee Joint as opposed to watching one, the best part of MyCareer came from the childlike wonder players experience when they live out their personal NBA dream. Instead of having a sense of agency over the proceedings, players will find that MyCareer feels a bit more like Spike’s Career. NBA 2K16still feels like the best basketball game in the world, though this year’s version feels like this series’ first hiccup in quite some time.
Visual Concepts clearly took a risk letting Spike Lee, a man known for his movies, direct an “in-game feature film” about your player’s journey from high school through his rookie season in the NBA. As time has gone on, this particular mode has been looking towards giving players a real sense of participation in an actual NBA story. However, earlier iterations, most notably last year’s NBA 2K15, never swayed away from the idea that this is your journey, and you’re allowed to handle it in whichever way you please. From the moment you begin “Livin ‘Da Dream,” the section of MyCareer that is written and directed by Spike Lee, it’s clear that you are merely a participant in someone else’s narrative. No matter how perfect your face scan is, you’ll always grow up in Harlem’s projects, always have the same twin sister, the same parents, the same agent, the same team owner and the same friend in Vic Van Lier that is always up to no good.
This does create an awkward situation if you’re any race other than African American and use the face-scanning technology to create your own player, as the idea of having a biological cross-racial family with no hint of genetic relation whatsoever makes for some awkward moments whenever your birth comes up in conversation. There’s something to be said about the ludonarrative dissonance that comes from being forced into a storyline that doesn’t give the option for any semblance of real racial diversity. This was likely an oversight resulting from Spike Lee’s relative inexperience with the video game medium, but it’s a clear example of how NBA 2K16 removes a lot of MyCareer’s customization features in favor of Livin ‘Da Dream. Outside of picking which college you go to from a limited pool of schools and which NBA team you’ll sign with after your first year, there are quite literally zero choices to be made, which gives MyCareer the impression that you’re simply along for the ride rather than being the one driving the car itself. Oh, and as an Ohio State alumnus, it’s painful to see the ability to attend The School Up North with no option to be a Buckeye.
It’s as clear as the day is long what Visual Concepts, 2K and even Spike Lee himself were going for here. This was meant to be a mode in which you feel immersed in an NBA story loaded with hardship, difficult choices (that again, you don’t actually get to make) and genuine drama. Sadly, thanks to an engine that, while initially breathtaking at the beginning of the generation, is starting to feel its age, Livin ‘Da Dream feels little more than corny and tiresome by the end of its six hour run. Because you aren’t getting to make the choices that you’re accustomed to making in an NBA 2K MyCareer mode, there’s no sense that this is anyone’s story other than Spike Lee’s. While there’s little doubt that Mr. Lee could take the material in this in-game film and turn it into something entertaining on the big screen, the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t make for a very good video game story at all. This isn’t necessarily Spike Lee’s fault, after all, he isn’t a video game developer, but inserting long diatribes about death and relationships into a story riddled with characters that the main player doesn’t have any desire to care about makes for a slog of a narrative experience. There’s simply far too much ludonarrative dissonance floating around here to consider Visual Concepts’ gamble on Spike Lee to be a success.
Even though MyCareer, which is blatantly being billed as the reason to by this year’s version of NBA 2K, starts off on the wrong foot, there is still a great deal of agency over your MyPlayer after the conclusion of Spike Lee’s self-indulgent in-game film. While you still have to listen to, and answer questions about the highly scripted events of your rookie year, you’ll have the option to decide exactly what you’re going to be doing with your free time during your career. Whether you want to work on establishing sponsorship deals, make friends with some of the best players around the NBA or simply attending a Live Practice to hone your craft(which, despite what Allen Iverson might suggest, is actually pretty fun inNBA 2K16), you’ll have the option to do so once MyCareer turns into the mode that it was supposed to be all along. While this late increase in RPG mechanics don’t entirely make up for the oddity that is Livin ‘Da Dream, it’s nice to know that the best aspects of this franchise haven’t fallen by the wayside in favor of Spike Lee. The only real issue with off-court time management is that if you’re the type of player looking to become a gym rat and not worry about anything going on outside of basketball, you’re going to be missing out on a great deal of currency that can be earned (which is used for, you guessed it, to upgrade your stats). Whether intentionally or unintentionally, these new mechanics drive players towards a more all-around celebrity status, which removes a bit of agency from a mode dependent on it.
Though MyCareer certainly stumbles this year, the fact of the matter is that NBA 2K16 continues the mechanical excellence that this franchise is known for. With the addition of dedicated bounce pass and lob buttons, which each have double tap functions that allow you to throw flashy passes or alley oops, respectively, players feel more in control of their players than ever before. Though EA has been striving to convince the public that there is a real rivalry between NBA Live and NBA 2K, these new mechanics, as well as the addition of over 1000 new animations (including 32 post moves that make this technical gameplay style even more fun to master) will likely end that discussion even more. If you’re looking for a basketball video game that feels awesome to play, NBA 2K16 is certainly the game for you. The idea that NBA 2K16 improves upon an already solid gameplay foundation makes it all the more awkward when the features that it’s being advertised for fall short.
Though a great deal of players will sink ungodly hours into MyCareer mode, there are a great deal of other methods to get your basketball fix. If you’re a member of the contingent that Spike Lee’s foray into AAA sports game narrative scripting is frankly sub par (and not in the good way that Need for Speed‘s full-motion video cutscenes have the potential to be), you’ll probably find yourself pouring time into MyTeam. NBA 2K‘s version of the popular “It’s a Card Game and a Sports Game” mode that pretty much every other sports franchise has, MyTeam allows you to earn NBA 2K16‘S second currency through every move you make across a number of frankly intriguing game modes. From Challenge mode, which places restrictions on your team in exchange for the chance at extra currency to The Gauntlet, a new mode in which players have to win consecutive 3-on-3 matches against other online users to survive, the loop of earning currency to buy better cards and constantly upgrade your roster is absolutely addictive. Combine MyTeam with the always popular custom MyLeague and MyGM modes, which are always exciting for those who are looking to fantasy draft over and over, and it’s pretty impossible to say that NBA 2K16 is short on content.
The one major blemish of the NBA 2K series has been its inability to host stable online play. From dropped matches to long connection times to constant framerate drops, playing online in the NBA 2Kfranchise is basically borderline functional. As every year passes, this becomes more and more disappointing, and the fact that the biggest change to the series fell short this year only serves to highlight NBA 2K16‘s online difficulties. While the new system for matching players of similar experience in Play Now Online is a fantastic change, the fact that latency and framerate drops seem to occur far too frequently outweighs any matchmaking improvements. The idea of a tension-filled climb up a ladder of online players in The Gauntlet is outstanding, but if the gameplay suffers from online deficiencies, this new addition is little more than window dressing. We may be arriving at the point where NBA 2K might have to start focusing on stability a bit more than glitz and glam.
It’s weird to think that visuals can go from looking awesome to slightly underwhelming in a matter of two years, but that does seem to be the case with NBA 2K16. When NBA 2K14 came out on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch dates, it was arguably the best looking current generation launch game outside of Killzone: Shadow Fall and Ryse: Son of Rome, but these visuals haven’t really changed much in the two years that followed. On-court play is still impressive as a whole, as flowing jerseys, animated crowds, dynamic sweat and an awesome lighting system that makes every inch of the court pop, but once you dive into the details, these visuals start to show their age. There are a number of re-used lower resolution assets present, most notably the locker rooms that teams enter at halftime, and the visual dichotomy that this presents makes for an occasionally awkward visual experience. Clipping has grown to be a major problem in the NBA 2K16, with the most awkward moments appearing during timeouts and menus that feature more than one character model. Livin ‘Da Dream is probably the worst offender in the lackluster graphics department, as awkward character models and low-detail environments make for cutscenes that seriously give off some Tony Hawk’s Underground visual vibes.
Evaluating NBA 2K16 as a whole is actually an interesting challenge. On one hand, this is arguably the most mechanically sound sports game on the market and the gameplay improvements that Visual Conecpts made are downright superb. The issue here lies with the decision to make Livin ‘Da Dream the focus and backbone of MyCareer falling flat. There are some moments throughout Spike Lee’s in-game film that might bring a smile to your face, but this story doesn’t lend itself to this franchise’s gameplay or the video game medium itself. Yes, basketball fans will likely have a great time playing NBA 2K16 for hours on end, but there are too many small steps back here that can’t be ignored. The good news for fans of sports games is that the first misstep in this great franchise is still a very good game, which speaks to how truly fun its gameplay is.