Look, we know basketball is slightly less popular in the UK than asylum seeking fat-cat bankers who smoke. We get that. At the same time, we genuinely think NBA 2K13 is one of the best games we've played all year, and while it takes nothing away from the likes of FIFA and PES, it can definitely teach our preferred sports titles a few tricks.
Sadly, the barrier to entry is high. When you first start, it isn't even obvious how you play a quick game, and the menus (accessed by pushing the Left Stick) seem designed to squirrel much of the best content away behind layers of swooshes and button presses. Never mind, at least the pleasingly eclectic soundtrack, hand-picked by executive producer Jay-Z, keeps you amused as you hunt for the goodies.
A star is born
However, behind the menus lurk several individual modes that are each worth the price of admission. My Career sees you creating a custom player from scratch, choosing everything from appearance to animations of every possible shot you can take on court, before playing a Rookie Showcase game and getting drafted by an NBA team.
The depth of My Career is phenomenal it's as deep as an RPG and additions like the ability to chat with your General Manager, and the integration of 'money' and 'skill points' into a single currency used to boost your stats and your popularity only enhance an already great concept. Mid-game, you get comments from your coach on how happy he is with your performance, and post-game you'll get messages from fans via a generic social media feed (it's basically 'fake Twitter'). The comments here are eerily astute, often reflecting your own thoughts on your performance.
If anything, My Career feels even more punishing than 2K12's equivalent mode, better reflecting the evolution of rookie players as they go from role player, to starter, to star. Sure, that makes for a better simulation, but it also means putting in more grind before your player is good enough to make meaningful contributions to games.
Outside My Career, other modes have been tweaked, but to a lesser extent.
Comments
12 comments so far...
timtimity on 2 Oct '12 said:
The 2K sports games are always the best. I loved NBA 2K1 and NFL 2K1 on my Dreamcast. I wish the NFL and NHL 2K games were still going.
The Icon on 2 Oct '12 said:
Most people who play NBA 2K already know what they are going so instructions on how to play the game arent needed. If you are new two the game it dosent take to long to learn, it helps if you have an interest in basketball.
Cazy008 on 2 Oct '12 said:
Awesome! Loving the heading as well, making sure footy fans don't dismiss you guys right away. I love basketball and the NBA 2K series, pre-ordered and ready!
Reegeee on 2 Oct '12 said:
I wish 2k would make a footy game, but I'll give this a go if there's a demo. Haven't played a Basketball game since the PS1.
Barry316 on 2 Oct '12 said:
I've been wanting an NHL game just lately, bit randomly, but i was thinking about the old ones where you could get into punch ups.
I read NHL 2013 was a bit too hardcore to casually jump in and play though.
Reegeee on 2 Oct '12 said:
It is. Even on the easiest setting I got battered.
It was still good, but it's not like playing it on the megadrive. You could get into fights though, I'm pretty sure it was first person too.
Noobsaibot on 3 Oct '12 said:
I can't wait for next year's NFL/EA exclusivity licence to expire. Then NFL 2K14 will be a reality. 2K5 is STILL the best American football game going and while roster/franchise downloads are fine, I'd love to have a bang up to date football game I can take online. Not that 2k5 is terrible looking - still looks great even today.
Even if the licence is extended by EA or the NFL, hopefully 2k sports will just make a game with no licences but with a lot of editing options.
jeffery6803 on 3 Oct '12 said:
Before today I always assumed basketball was just as huge in the UK as it is in the US, but I was incredibly wrong according to the comments up here. Now I know China really is the second most basketball crazed nation and only trails the USA.
toaplan on 3 Oct '12 said:
So they've managed to significantly improve on last year's edition... I still think I'll wait for next-gen NBA2K, since I already own '11 & '12.
NHL 13 is more tempting to me this year, because " True-performance skating" is a big addition to the series. Hopefully, it'll now actually be more "ice-hockey" than just "hockey" (with super-grip on ice).
ensabahnur on 3 Oct '12 said:
Yeah i always preferred the 2K NFL games to Madden as well but the latest Madden is actually brilliant and well worth a purchase if your into gridiron games.
But i haven't really played a decent Basketball game since the Dreamcast.
nologo on 3 Oct '12 said:
i just try to do the alley oop all the time.. it takes the fun out of it. cos i just try to do it none stop
Sleepaphobic on 3 Oct '12 said:
I don't think 2K would be able to compete with the new Madden or NHL but if it was still going on you can bet that it wouldn't have taken a billion years for EA to completely overhaul those franchises.