


They want to funnel all players through these initial stages as quickly as possible so they land in “The Neighbourhood”, which is basically a main menu with MMORPG pretensions. But it’s all very deliberate on the part of the developers. There’s no peril in these first few hours of gameplay as DJ, and therefore no sense of accomplishment. If the cut-scenes were skippable, it would have taken a whole lot less. This progress from streetball tourney walk-on to NBA rookie took one afternoon.
Nba 2k18 vs nba live 18 series#
After a series of scrappy scrimmages in the Kings’ practice facility, Chip/DJ was offered a roster spot, and soon enough he was getting minutes in the NBA. Yet, Chip/DJ somehow caught the attention of a scout from the Sacramento Kings, the team I’d selected as my favourite when creating Chip (I should have been less honest!). Forgetting Chip’s shitty DJ-ing career, perhaps? I was a little rusty and hardly the best player on court. When I finally got control of my player, I had to impress on the streetball court in the hopes of… well, I didn’t yet know. And the more I got to see of DJ, the more my first impressions of an entitled jerk were cemented. An odd set-up for a character in a BASKETBALL game, for sure. It takes what could be the ultimate immersive experience, a seamless blend of carefully crafted narrative and genuine on-court achievement, and turns it into a nightmare of microtransactions, product placement and inane set pieces.Īs I played through the career of my 6’1” sharpshooter, Chip Pnini (a homage to Tom Sainsbury’s Paula Bennett) my desire to inhabit another hero’s quest was continually undercut by the game’s mechanics.įrom the first stream of unskippable cut-scenes, all of my character- and world-building seemed for naught: I was not humble and undersized Chip Pnini, but “DJ”, a former college hoops star who pursued his music career instead of entering the NBA draft. Nonetheless, here’s my beef with the best basketball video game ever: M圜areer keeps stepping on its own dick.
Nba 2k18 vs nba live 18 tv#
The modes on offer are almost limitless, the gameplay is unparalleled, and it gives many TV broadcasts a run for their money in the looks department. Now, it’s impossible to criticise NBA 2K18 without coming off like a spoiled brat, a fusty dinosaur or some impossible combination of the two. Two years ago, Spike fricken Lee directed the story elements that were interwoven into each player’s quest for stardom.īut I want to talk about this year’s edition, NBA 2K18, which dropped last month. Virtual Concept’s NBA 2K franchise long ago unseated NBA Live as the best basketball gaming experience and its M圜areer mode has been a mainstay since 2010.
