LeBron James has his share of haters.
Critics nitpick at every one of his perceived shortcomings.
They say "he's not the best free-throw shooter." Others cry "sometimes he should take shots late in games as opposed to passing to open teammates," or "he shouldn't have left the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first place, and he certainly shouldn't have done the whole Decision thing."
Many of those critics take James' unparalleled athleticism, conditioning and expansive skill set for granted. He's supposed to be great, and when he is, he gets very little applause. But when he fails, everyone is waiting to throw stones.
The NBA 2K series is a lot like that.
Every year, the game is packed with options, cutting-edge visuals (when compared to other games in the genre) and gameplay that is either good or great. Its best years are like LeBron's three championship seasons. Its worst is comparable to the years when James guided teams to the Finals or Conference Finals only to fall a little short of the ultimate goal.
In examining NBA 2K18 thoroughly over the past month or so, including extensive hands-on gameplay at home and on location, I can tell you this is indeed a championship season. It's not completely free of hiccups, but it's hard not to award this performance with a trophy.
Here's the good, the bad and the bottom line.
As usual, let's start out with the positive.
Gameplay Is Great, Please Don't Patch It
Back in the 1980s, the Association used the slogan, "NBA action..it's fantastic." If this game had a similar catchphrase, it would be NBA 2K18 action is fantastic. I'm not caught up in the moment when I say the gameplay this year is the best it's ever been in the series.
I thought it was really good when myself and a group of journalist got an opportunity to play it during a preview session in July, but it's even better now than it was then. The new movement system takes away the heavy use of elongated, canned animations, but it doesn't sacrifice the natural flow that has always made NBA 2K so attractive on the screen.
The shot make and miss dynamic is ideal and the weight/strength detection delivers another layer of realism. Last but not least, the A.I. on both offense and defense has CPU-controlled players acting and performing as authentically as they ever have in any 2K game.
If you're playing on Superstar level, expect to see great players using their full complement of dribble moves, pump fakes and shot types. It feels like you're playing against a skilled human. Several times during gameplay I've said, "are you serious? Did he really just do that move on me?"
On defense, CPU players will put some respect on the name of deadly outside shooters by rotating to contest long-range shots. They will also leave poor shooters open. Passing lane obstruction and paint protection have also been augmented.
What's even more impressive is that the gameplay enhancements extend to all modes. I've never been a big MyPark (rebranded to Playground), Blacktop or Pro-Am player, but as I evaluated the game, I found myself falling in love with the nuances of these modes that now adhere to a more sensible brand of hoops.
Mike "Beluba" Wang, Zach Timmerman, Scott "SOG" O'Gallagher, Nino "Da Czar" Samuels and others on the gameplay and A.I. teams deserve major kudos for their work this year.
They have found a beautiful mix of fun and simulation and they shouldn't change a thing. Last year's game had gameplay that was almost as good when the game released, but the development team sent it through a number of patches and that left things in less than ideal shape.
Unless someone uncovers some sort of egregious exploit, NBA 2K fans should be hoping that nothing is changed about the gameplay.
Players Look Healthier
The new body types are a major improvement from last years extra healthy or malnourished models. Body proportions are on point, even though a few guys could potentially be a little more muscular, but that's such a small issue it's barely worth mentioning.
The game creates some stellar still shots like this one of Steph Curry.
And it's a great looking game overall.
The Block Is Hot
The biggest addition to this year's game is The Neighborhood. The MyCareer mode is now an open-world, MMO experience that amalgamates Pro-Am, MyPark, character customization and some new elements that hadn't been included before.
If I'm being honest, the mode is overwhelming. It begins with scanning your face on the MyNBA 2K18 mobile app, which works a little better this year than it has for previous versions. There's a story attached to your journey, but thankfully it's not as confining as the one in NBA 2K16.
In fact, if you're not careful, you can forget about the narrative as you get preoccupied with Neighborhood business. That's a common theme with open-world games.
If you played The Prelude, you know your character first makes a name for himself as a streetballer at The Proving Grounds and then gets signed by an NBA team (the organization you listed as your favorite).
You then are given a list of objectives to follow, but you have the option to go off on your own to explore at any time. There's a Pro-Am gym, the Playground, the 2K Zone, a clothing store, barbershop, tattoo parlor and a subway to help you navigate the Neighborhood quickly.
Don't try to absorb it all at once. Pick areas of the map to explore and take some time to experience each of them one at a time. As a took a step back to comprehend the ambitious and mostly successful mode, it was impossible not to be impressed with what 2K has accomplished with this feature.
MyGM Is No Longer An Afterthought
MyGM is now its own separate piece of greatness and totally worth your time. The story and team building blend together like Nancy Wilson’s voice and Cannonball Adderly’s horn, like The Guru’s lyrics over a DJ Premier track, like...well you get the picture.
The mode gets the MyCareer treatment complete with your character receiving a back story and some interesting interactions with players, management and the media. This is not a cookie-cutter franchise mode, it's a full-fledged single-player experience that is backed by the aforementioned gameplay.
MyLeague Is Still Exemplary
MyLeague has been the best aspect of the NBA 2K franchise for years. It didn’t take as drastic of a leap forward this year as it has in the past, but draft-and-stash, G-League incorporation and other moderate to small enhancements are still helpful additions.
In short, it’s still the best franchise mode available anywhere. In fact, MyGM's new direction has made MyLeague even better as it more clearly defines its purpose as a completely customizable legacy league experience.
Spark Up Nostalgia
The all-time teams concept is executed nicely and mostly without flaw. As a person who has created this kind of roster set for years, I appreciate 2K piggybacking off the concept and officially implementing it into the game. There is an All-Time team for every franchise and most of the rosters are filled with the right players.
The additional classic teams are another great addition. Teams like the 2001-02 Sacramento Kings and 2013-14 Oklahoma City Thunder are a blast to control. There are some issues with the incomplete rosters, but we’ll talk about that later.
MyTeam Takes A Massive Leap
MyTeam finally has a draft mode and a salary cap function. Group this with all of the new challenges, exciting card reveals and smarter pack contents, and the mode is finally in a position to challenge the MUTs and Diamond Dynasty as one of the best card collecting concepts.
Pack and Playoffs is the new draft mode and it delivers a new spin on the concept pioneered by EA Sports' Draft Champions. In PAP, you're drafting only five players, as the games have no reserves or stamina. You have to try and put the most complete lineup on the floor to battle competitors online in something of a playoff structure.
Winning four games advances you to the next round. Losing four gets you eliminated.
Super-Max is the salary cap mode and it is boosted by two features that make coach selection appropriately important. System proficiency is key in pushing your players to perform to their capabilities. If your system doesn't fit your roster, then your team will underperform.
Also, coaches have perks based on their gem level. You can use these perks during timeouts to give your team a boost. That's the perfect way to make top-notch head coach cards valuable.
Servers Mostly Good
UPDATE
Upon further review and more consumer accounts, this can no longer be called an early strength. The loss of entire MyPlayer and MyCareer progress is a major error that proves 2K is still more ambitious than it is capable in certain areas of their product.
While I won't change my overall score on the game because of these struggles, as I believe a resolution will ultimately come, it's imperative these problems are discussed as it has become a habitual annual misstep for the franchise.
END OF UPDATE-------------
I waited a little longer to publish this review than I normally would because of The Neighborhood's constant use of online resources. I wanted to see how well 2K's maligned servers would hold up.
While there have been some issues (small group of players have lost their characters, and I've had a few instances of crashing at certain points of MyCareer, but with no data loss) the server stability has been strong for an early release.
2K has already acknowledged the character loss issue and based on the otherwise strong server performance, I'm inclined to believe this problem will be rectified. It’s not flawless, but it’s better than what we’ve come to expect from 2K immediately after launch. Considering the Neighborhood’s server reliance, this is a double-edged sword, but more of a strength than a weakness.
Overall, the online connectivity isn’t flawless, but it’s better than what we’ve come to expect from 2K immediately after launch. Considering the Neighborhood’s server reliance, this is a double-edged sword, but more of a strength than a weakness.
The Create-A-Player Options Are Turrible
I had to borrow Charles Barkley's pronunciation to describe the CAP system. It's pretty bad. 2K elected to go with scanned faces as a template and that has apparently limited the customization options.
While there are a number of new hairstyles to choose from and even some new body types, even more, has been subtracted. Facial sculpting is gone. You can no longer change the eye color of your created players, and you are chained to the skin tone of the preset head you choose when you start the creation process.
The facial hair is perhaps the worst of all. Some of the mustaches actually look as if they were scribbled on by a five-year-old. Also, there's still no way to add tattoos to offline CAPs.
These issues impact a variety of modes.
It obviously has some impact on MyCareer, though not as much if you use face-scanning, but it really hurts MyLeague most of all. Gamers like myself have long created players and rosters that have added to the longevity of each 2K release.
These limited creation options not only remove tools from the community, they also discourage anyone from using the creation suite.
Fans use this option to bridge the gap created when 2K and some players are unable to reach agreements for licenses or to simply put themselves and friends in the game. The rosters create can be uploaded into MyLeague, but now the results simply aren't as good.
I believe 2K made this decision in an effort to make the CAPs look more in line with the other scanned players in the game. However, having control over every feature of a players face still beats a scanned head that looks like a real person, but nothing like the guy you're trying to create.
MyCareer Cutscenes Are Not Accurate
I made my character 7'2", so why is he like 5'11" in cutscenes. This is an unfortunate presentational misstep in MyCareer that is hard to ignore.
Presentation Could Still Use Some Work in MyGM, MyLeague, and MyTeam
In Play Now games, the presentation is fine, but in modes like MyGM, MyLeague and MyTeam, there is room for improvement. In MyGM and MyLeague, the pre-game interviews, pre-game show, halftime show and post-game wrap-up should be more specific to your current season and the events that have taken place.
Madden 18 does a great job immersing you in their franchise mode games. It feels different than a regular exhibition game and NBA 2K could stand to incorporate a little more of that.
The Classic Teams Are Great, But No Barkley, Reggie Miller, And Others Still Hurts
I obviously love the idea of having classic and all-time teams, but without stars like Barkley, Miller, Carlos Boozer, Gilbert Arenas, Moses Malone and Rasheed Wallace, the impact is slightly dulled. This was less consequential with the previous CAP system, but as it is in NBA 2K18, these absences are felt even more.
Classic Team Presentation
The classic teams from other eras don't have uniforms that match the time they played. For example, teams from the 1980s still wear the longer shorts. It's a small detail, but again it adds to the authenticity and immersion.
Just when it appears as though NBA Live has closed the gap, the sheer immenseness and refined quality of the 2K experience shows us that there are levels to this game. The development team and visionaries in charge of the creative direction of the franchise have created a new layer where they alone rest in the sports video game universe.
Just like LeBron James, NBA 2K18 isn't perfect, but with its ambitious new additions, refined gameplay, and a truckload of options, there's no question, it's still the best in the world.
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC (PS4 version reviewed)
- Developer: Visual Concepts
- Publisher: Take-Two
- Release Date: September 15, 2017
- Price: $59.99
- Score: 9.1 out of 10
Review code provided by 2K.
