Teams run play sets to get their best NBA 2k17 players involved

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Teams run play sets to get their best NBA 2k17 players involved

2016-03-14 10:50:03

There was a time when sports titles used to really wow us. NFL 2K did it in 1999 and Madden in 2004. The iterable release schedule means that seldom do we get to see major leaps in quality, and the small improvements over time get lost in the shuffle. NBA 2K’s first opportunity on the current generation brought over the acclaimed look and gameplay from previous years but stumbled hard in delivering stable online servers. This time, despite a few dubious directions in MyCareer and microtransactions, NBA 2K17 valorizes itself as a year when it all came together.

If you’re not familiar with the NBA 2K franchise, it aims to be the most accurate and realistic recreation of basketball available in the form of a video game. All of the NBA teams and their players are present - complete with their mannerisms and on-court tendencies. It sounds silly, but I honestly lost track of the number of times the game had been mistaken by someone else for a real-life game of basketball. Someone would say in passing, “Oh, the game’s on right now? I thought they didn’t play until…oh, wait. Is that 2K? Wow, it looks just like real life!”

Not only do you have to out-play your opponent, you have to out-think them, too. Popular game modes such as MyGM and MyLeague have been refined and upgraded, and could bring you all you ever want, while online play still shines. In addition, 2K’s improved many of its core game modes in subtle, yet very effective ways. MyPark is arguably the greatest benefactor, with smoother matchmaking and more reliable gameplay, but other modes like MyTeam and MyGM aren’t left in the wind, with tweaks and improvements abound to keep players engaged through another long winter of NBA double-headers.

And then there’s Spike Lee, who nearly single-handedly ruins MyCareer, NBA 2K17’s signature single-player mode. The Spike Lee-directed MyCareer mode is one of the game’s most anticipated features and elevates the cinematic presence of the franchise despite being too story-driven. Its ability to place anyone in the shoes of a basketball prodigy seeking legendary NBA status has its entertainment value. Though Lee’s talents would have been better suited for retelling (or expanding) the coming-of-age stories of the game’s cover athletes similar to what 2K did with Lebron’s Path to Greatness mode.

In the MyLeague game mode there are two sections. The first one is online. In this one, you can form a team with your friends or other users that goes from one to thirty human players, so users can experience a full thirty-team league. When you’re done with the team, you can trade and sign other players. There is also the playoff race and the champion team at the end of the season. The second section is offline play. When you start a team in this mode you have two options, franchise and season. You can also do everything that is part of the online section but it’s a single player mode.

You will need all the tools at your disposal to keep up with the impressive A.I. in NBA 2K17, which is the best I’ve seen in a sports game to date. Each team employs different strategies, making every game feel different. Teams run play sets to get their best players involved, attack quickly in transition, and react to your tactics on the fly. This dynamic gameplay translates across NBA 2K17’s strong collection of game modes.

NBA 2K17 is the most amazing sports game on the planet, remaining a complete and superb option even for those who aren’t huge fans of NBA basketball. The on-court gameplay is amazing, but that’s to be expected from this franchise of games. What really sets this game apart is it's unbelievable effort to set itself apart from any other sports game on the market by delivering an unmatched, revolutionary MyCareer game mode.