Review-NBA 2K22
Each year the late August and early September period kicks of the videogame sports season and this year is no exception with 2k’s latest instalment of their NBA 2K series. It’s always exciting as a sports fan to see how your team is going to gel and what they’ve been working on during the off-season and that is no different when it comes to seeing what the team at 2k has introduced into a long-standing series that dates back to the games initial release in 1999. It is 22 years later and we’re about to jump into the world that is NBA 2K22.
NBA 2K22 offers players the ability to step into a life that they can only dream of in something as glitzy as the world of NBA and this year’s NBA 2K22 offers players the chance to experience it all. Players can create their custom character and experience NBA life as a basketball superstar in MyCareer, through their franchise in MyTeam or MyWNBA or explore the vast surroundings available in The City. With so much to choose from, players will enjoy discovering new things with NBA 2K22 that will keep them hooked for a while.
Straight from the tip-off, players will notice that one of the biggest changes from last year’s NBA 2K21 comes within the MyCareer mode with the storyline-based game mode not only given a fresh new story but completely redesigned in its structure. The story again revolves around the player’s MyPlayer, which is uncreatively called “MP,” with no options to change it to something unique to the character which the player has created. The storyline of MyCareer is set against the backstory of ‘MP’ letting players know that they aren’t just a normal rising star in the basketball world. Rather MP is a social media sensation with hundreds of thousands of followers who has only played organized basketball for a few years before being in a position to decide on college basketball or trying to make it in the G-League Ignite League. Thankfully the player will be presented with the choice of which path they want MP to take and in the case of this review, MP chose to go down the traditional college pathway to the NBA Draft and into the glitzy world that is NBA superstardom.
Previous 2K’s had their own independent Neighbourhood modes separate from My Career in which the player could play pickup games against other players and wander around exploring the sites on offer. NBA 2K22 brings the player a brand-new Neighbourhood simply called ‘The City’ which has formed part of the MyCareer mode for current-gen consoles. NBA 2K22 was reviewed on an Xbox Series X and effectively The City turned MyCareer into an open-world basketball game which felt similar to GTA in which the player was able to choose to either play just the critical path or run around focusing on non-basketball activities like music or fashion or playing pickup against other real players. On previous generation consoles, players will experience the Neighbourhood on a multi-deck ship offering players a vastly different experience to 2K21 and current-gen 2K22.
Matches within MrCareer regularly rely on AI to which is one consistent downside of MyCareer as the game often decides to judge the player for mistakes and turnovers committed by the AI whilst on the court and this causes the player to lose progress towards a higher player rating at the end of the game. It’s a frustrating experience that has long been a part of the MyCareer series and undoubtedly is one that players are familiar with from NBA 2K game in the past.
NBA 2K22’s on-court gameplay has received a lot of attention, and it pays off in most ways, as this is the smoothest, most fluid, and dynamic gameplay 2K has ever had. Controls whilst defending allow the player to be more precise which gives the better defenders more of an edge, but it is still just as easy to accidentally press too hard to one side and create an open lane to the basket. Whilst offensively, the controls feel quicker and more responsive to the player’s input throughout the game. 2K22 also gives the player some new animations within the game that make every step back or dribble feel somewhat different from the last and provide an easy transition between each move.
As with each NBA 2K game, the shot meter has undergone some fine-tuning and the shot meter is more dynamic this time around as the size of the shot meter and its optimal release point being affected by stamina, skill, and coverage. This forces the player to think about how they want to control the game, how they maximize the shot meter for that perfect shot, and the best shot selection to get a better player rating. As with any new sports game, it will take the player a while to get used to the controls and the shot meter, and this year it feels less defined and harder to identify where the optimal shot release point is. Practice, experience, and persistence will assist players with getting the hang of these controls.
With the introduction of the new-generation consoles, NBA 2K22’s presentation has been given both an improvement and a facelift in some areas of the game. The AI character models look as crisp and lifelike as ever, including both the real stars and the fictional ones in the MyCareer mode. The game’s menu and load times have been improved and navigating the menus is straightforward, but there were some noticeable framerate drops within the loading screens. The ease of menu navigation reflects the attention that they have been given by 2K and the need to consolidate some of the game modes to make things look a little sleeker and streamlined. What lets down these improvements, and reflected by the consolidated menu, is the feeling that some of the other game modes once again feel very much unchanged and somewhat neglected from past years when compared to the huge revamping of MyCareer in this year’s version of NBA 2K.
NBA 2K22 sees the return of MyTEAM, MyNBA, and MyWNBA and gives players a similar experience to that of previous games with the collectible cards and booster pack rewards to build the player’s dream NBA team. The new draft mode here also shows quite a lot of promise but it is a situation where players either engage in the long grind to earn credits to buy players and packs, or fork out real money to increase the packs and chances of building that championship-winning franchise. The game mode is what you would expect from this style of mode but you need to prepare for the long grind or prepare for the real-world spend.
NBA 2K22 sees the return of MyTEAM, MyNBA, and MyWNBA and gives players a similar experience to that of previous games with the collectible cards and booster pack rewards to build the player’s dream NBA team. The new draft mode here also shows quite a lot of promise but it is a situation where players either engage in the long grind to earn credits to buy players and packs, or fork out real money to increase the packs and chances of building that championship-winning franchise. The game mode is what you would expect from this style of mode but you need to prepare for the long grind or prepare for the real-world spend.
What is new in MyTeam is a new card-grading feature where the player can get their cards reviewed so that they can sell for higher prices. The same thing is included in MyTeam, which is a nice touch for the fans who love collecting and trading sports cards. If the player upgrades from an Xbox One X to an Xbox Series X/S, the great thing is that any progress in MyTEAM is saved and able to be played on the new console once the upgrade is complete.
Whilst MyNBA and MyWNBA don’t seem to offer anything significantly different, it’s not to say that there haven’t been some changes in terms of the customisation options that players have available. Players are still able to act as powerful executives and test their management skills while utilising the addition custom logos, community uploaded options, and a wide range of settings to adjust the player’s level of control. These are nice touches to an already decent game mode.
NBA 2K22 is a game that’s safe to play in front of the kids but as always, with anything that can be purchased with a credit card, make sure there are safety measures in place to ensure kids do not buy packs by themselves. It’s also a great tool for those new to the game of basketball as it explains the plays and strategies of the game with the ability to turn on calls and routes so that the player can see where they need to be positioned and how to run the route to maximize the chances of winning the game. NBA 2K also offers players the opportunity to play couch co-op as well as an online co-op option which makes it fun to play with friends online.
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J for One More Game
8 – Great – this is a standout game where some minor changes would make it amazing. You could easily justify your purchase of this game.
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This game was reviewed on an Xbox Series X and the reviewer was given a copy by developers to review.