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GAME REVIEW: NB2K18 – When The Game Imitates The Real Game

 
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NBA 2K18_20170918031742
NBA 2K18_20170918031742

 
Overview
 

Published by: 2K Sports
 
Developed by: Visual Concepts
 
Platform(s): Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch (to be released)
 
Genre(s): Sports Simulation
 
Mode(s): SIngle, Multiplayer
 
Game Type: ,
 
FG RATING
90%
90/ 100


User Rating
7 total ratings

 

Raves


Solid gameplay mechanics, Inclusion of All Time All Star and Classic Teams, Improved graphics, Open World My Career Mode

Rants


My Career relies to heavily on microtransactions/ pay to win format


Bottom Line

As they say, “Ball Is Life”, a statement that holds true for basketball fans around the world. The annual release of NBA2K is a tradition for fans of the sport and the video game. The NBA2k franchise is a longstanding video game running for 17 years and running. Even before I started writing for FlipGeeks, […]

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Posted October 3, 2017 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

NBA 2K18_20170918031742

As they say, “Ball Is Life”, a statement that holds true for basketball fans around the world. The annual release of NBA2K is a tradition for fans of the sport and the video game. The NBA2k franchise is a longstanding video game running for 17 years and running. Even before I started writing for FlipGeeks, I’ve been a longtime fan of the NBA2K franchise. I treat each game release as how I would treat my Final Fantasy, Metal Gears, Resident Evils, it’s a game that is in my must have list. Even before I start the review, I already know that it’s going to be a great game. What we’re going to look at is what’s different this year and what does it take for it to remain the great game that it is.

STORY

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The My Career story mode is back and it’s better compared to the previous versions of the game. This year, you play in “The Neighborhood” and play the role of DJ, who is actually a DJ/baller. You get discovered in the streets and is signed by the NBA team of your choice. You no longer need to go through college or try to get drafted in the NBA, this year NBA2k18 made it easier for you to get into the big league.

Now that you’re in the leagure, that’s where the real challenge begins. You begin with the lowest possible rating of 60 as you make the Road To 99. I tell you this ain’t a simple task, this year earning VCs to increase your overall rating is a grind.

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You can increase your VC by playing NBA games, going on training and earn badges, and working out at the Gatorade gym. What separates The Neighboorhood from previous iterations of My Career is it’s open world aspect. This year, you can actually move around the block and do different kinds of stuff such as get a haircut at the local barbershop, a tattoo at the tattoo parlor, get official team merch at the NBA store, cool sneakers at footlocker, and ball up with other players at the local street court.

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Unfortunately, as good as these may sound, there’s a bit of downside to it, these additional stuff don’t come free. Each feature would cost you a corresponding VC. A haircut would cut you down at least 1000 VCs and kicks would go as high as 2000 VCs. So, it’s up to you decide whether you want skills or swag.

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If you don’t feel like living the life of an NBA player, you can try playing as an NBA executive in MyGM. You start off MyGM showing a glimpse of your previous career as an NBA player and how it all went down after you had a career ending injury but that is not the end of the road for you as you take the role of the General Manager, again for the team of your choice. In my GM, the gameplay is similar to the franchise mode wherein you play an 82 game season with the addition of the My GM storymode.  In My GM, you try to run the team as the General Manager, interact with the team owner, players and coaches, try to make them happy, manage the team roster and at the same time trying to win a championship. It’s actually more fun playing the game than trying to manage it.

VISUALS AND PERFORMANCE

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Once again, NBA2K18 has surpassed our expectations with how beautiful the visuals are this year! The game has always looked good year after year but what I loved is that they were able to fix the players appearances this year. Last year, we saw how some of the players have huge heads with thin bodies, right? Now, all the players looked like their real life counterparts this year! Another feature worth mentioning is the improvement of the face scan. Last year, players posted on social media how weird the face scans were. Some players turned up with one eye, two lips, or something that looks totally ridiculous. However, this year, I haven’t seen any complaints about the face scan since I played the game and they actually got my face right, on the first try!

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The NBA broadcast team also had new additions this year. Aside from 2K regulars Kevin Harlan, Steve Smith, Chris Webber, Brent Barry, Doris Burke, Greg Anthony, David Aldrige, Kenny Smith, Shaq, and Ernie Johnson, we’ll also have the greats, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant! Watch out for them when you play as or against the Lakers or the Timberwolves.

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NBA2k18 also improved the game’s animations. This year, they even added player handshakes on top of the existing pre-game rituals and signature player animations. You can now see Russ’ signature handshake prior to the game or Steph Curry turning around and pointing his finger upward even before the shot goes in, adding another sense of realism to the game and makes you feel like your watching an actual broadcast rather than playing the game.

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GAMEPLAY

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There’s not a lot of changes when it comes to NBA2K18’s gameplay but the few changes they did are actually noticeable and is an improvement to the game. First would be the shot meter, it’s no longer underneath your player but above the player’s head. AI is better and is contesting most of your shots depending on the difficulty. It adapts to your play style so you would no longer have much success just doing a run and gun. You need to learn how to set effective screens, know at least a play or two and just like in real life, play defense! In case you don’t know or how to do these things, thankfully there’s a training mode to help you hone your 2K skills, as they say, practice makes perfect. The interface for play calling and substitution also looks better now.

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There has been no changes to the usual play options such as Play Now, Franchise, Season, MyTeam, they’re all still there. However, a new change that I really love this year is the inclusion of the All Time All Star Roster that features all of the NBA Greats that play for each of the 29 NBA Teams (with the exclusion of Reggie Miller and Chris Webber due to contract disputes from what I learned via Google). Aside from that, NBA2k18 has a more complete line-up of the classic NBA teams. Finally, I got the chance to play the 00-01 New Jersey Nets. They were my favorite team during the early 00s that weren’t included since NBA2k14. To whoever included them this year, thank you so much!

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VERDICT

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Undeniably, NBA2k18 is still the undisputed, hands down, best basketball sports simulation video game out right now. NBA2K18 is just following the franchise’s formula to success, don’t fix it if ain’t broken. NB2K was able to establish a solid basketball simulation game that even if you take away all the additional features, it’s still a great game to play. NB2K18 continues to adapt to the ever changing basketball world and create a culture of it’s own when it comes to video games.

 This review was written based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.


Ryan Villanueva

 
Your resident all around Flipgeek, from comics,movies,games,toys,music and even sports. A big Spider-man fan raised in the ways of the Jedi,who listens to punk rock and a sucker for chick flicks.


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