I'm going to start this off by saying that my purpose in doing reviews for games, music, movies and other media, is to give a perspective for what has become an archaic mindset- that of the intellect. I've come to notice that when browsing reviews today, as someone who is not a millenial thinker, I'm often dissuaded from projects and pieces of work that are actually great. The other day, I was flamed on Gamefaq's message board for saying that due to the limited roster in the latest DBZ game, it was glaring that the last boss of the last series, who as I stated in my review, was transcendent to the series, is not in the game, which is supposed to be an all star cast. These days, when the average person wants insight on a subject, they want it from someone superficial who they can relate to, not a scholar of the discipline. It's become more about who than what to people with music, movies, games, literature etc. But for those who have not sunk into that thinking, it's important to have some outlet where you get an explanation and analysis of something that doesn't make you feel insane.
I had a similar experience when I looked at reviews for NBA 2K18. I played this series in spots back in the mid 2000's. I was primarily an NBA Live player. In fact, I can recall the war that went on between the 2 franchises for years, until Live was just about phased out. I always loved how much work 2K put into the soundtrack for the games. Then, as I played it more, particularly 2K7, I noticed that there was more artistry and control to the game that Live didn't quite have. It was also a more personal and immersive experience. That stuck with me, even though I played Fight Night and Madden primarily for the next decade.
When it was announced that 2K18 would have a neighborhood mode, with tons of things for your character to do, I was immediately intrigued. It boasted the story of an undrafted rookie who works his way up from the hard courts to the pros, getting the opportunity of a lifetime. 2K always had a similar take on career, but this was much more fleshed out. It had the usual well done soundtrack, and commentary. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get back into the series, and purchased it for the Nintendo Switch.
When I read reviews, I heard about control issues, and online criticism. The problem with games today, and fans, is that everything is overly focused towards online interaction. I appreciate those modes, but not only do fans no longer care about single player presentation, but developers are, in light of that, focusing less on that themselves. However, with this game, they did not let that go.As I mentioned, the game has an open world neighborhood to explore, which is equipped with a barbershop, clothing stores, tattoo parlor, ESPN Zone, basketball arenas and parks, your apartment which can be customized, your sports agent's office, a fully functional gym, the team practice facility, etc. It is loaded! And it allows seamless interaction for online play, where the problems start.
The biggest issue I have with the game, is that the campaign is run in the neighborhood, and requires you to establish an online connection before starting. So basically, if you don't have, or lose internet connection, not only can you not play with other players in the neighborhood- you don't get the neighborhood at all, and you don't get the single player campaign at all either. That was the biggest and most idiot blunder I have ever seen done in a game. The problem, is that it isn't seen as a blunder at all. Everyone today accepts forced online connectivity in gaming, not giving any thought to the possibility of being offline. I've been in locations where I can't connect to the internet, or have an unstable connection that keeps dropping. If your connection drops, you are exited to the main menu, where you can choose to play career games, but any campaign progress is stopped. Not a single reviewed complained about this.
The other issue that does exist is the input lag. That is one problem that was actually complained about. Especially on the Switch, there is jerky framerate and fluctuating lag that can make execution very frustrating. Often times, I go to make a double move on the court, and shake my defender. Then my player freezes in place, the defender catches up, and my player does another delayed move, putting himself out of position, robbing me of countless flashy scoring opportunities. It even affects your execution in workout and practice activities. However, it is not always so apparent, and the game for the most part is still effective.
Visually I was at first unimpressed on the Switch. Then I started noticing that the nuances and textures were well rendered in their own way. It isn't as smooth as the console versions, but at times the gap seems to close considerably. I would wager to say they could have done better, as the characer modes are very well done and detailed at times as well as the arena, and at other times it can look like a sharper version of a PSP era NBA game.
The soundtrack is awesome, with a wide range of musical genres and old and new tunes. You will find yourself putting on your headphones in the game to just go to the gym, or run to the court listening to the tunes. The commentary for NBA games is absolutely amazing. It felt life like. In fact, is wasn't for a very long time that I started hearing some commentary said again. There was so much naturalness to the way it was done, it makes you shudder at thinking of the work that must have went into it. There are even times when Shaq and Kenny begin going at it in a heated debated during pregame or half-time discussions. Oddly, Charles Barkley isn't present at the desk, which would have been beyone amazing. For those who are real OG's, not the new millenials, you will by laughing out loud alot during the commentary, and even chiming in with your own comments at time, mistaking it for real banter.
This leads to another criticism that makes me shake my head. This was the biggest inspiration for me to do this review. The writing. As good as the commentary from the crew is, as well as the 2K TV series that ran in real time, covering real life tournament, and game events, which I thought was cool, the writing for the campaign was as good, if not better at times. I saw, in just about every review, people completely dismissing the single player campaign and writing completely, or going off on riffs calling it the worst thing they have ever experienced. This is where the difference between those from the age of intellects, and the millenials today becomes extremely apparent. I hate to hammer that so much, but it can be frustrating, because if you go by what has been said, you will get the completely opposite impression. Just like as an old school anime fan who grew up on many classics including Dragon Ball and Dragon ball Z, I saw the ups and downs of the series. If you come from my era, you know that DBZ was iconic, but didn't have the depth and emotion of a Rouroni Kenshin. When you saw the potential in the last part of the latest Dragon Ball series, with some emotional parts and very awesome last boss, if you are from my generation, you sat up in your seat keenly tuned in to see what could have transcended the whole story arch. If you're a millenial, it was annoying nonsense to you, and nothing more. You can't really say anything to fix a rift like that. It is what it is.
Not to get off topic, that is what you have here in the NBA 2K18 story. You play as yourself in the shoes of a character nicknamed DJ, who worked as a DJ while pursuing NBA hopes. You participate in a street tournament, where you get noticed by NBA scouts who try you out. Eventually, you work your way onto an NBA roster. You have a few friends who stick with you the whole way. Mainly it's B-Fresh, an Asian American girl you grew up with, who is extremely funny and down to earth. She becomes an indirect manager of sorts a times. You also make friends with the veteran on the team who takes you under his wing. You make other friends in the NBA and the neighborhood. The staff at the team facility, including security, and maintenance also build a rapport with you. I can't explain fully how wrong the reviews are. The writing is absolute gold. I could have been in my worst mood, or the most angry at how a game went, and the dialogue from teammates, coaches, facility staff like Boo Boo the security guard, friends, etc is so dynamic and real and funny, I can't help but either smile or most times be rolling in laughter. It is so natural and flowing. It doesn't feel like a limited script at all, In fact, at one point, I started to think it updates in real time. It's the kind of funny banter the real ones with a sense of humor would have, just chilling, or after a tense game. There was one time Kyrie Irving, who you make friends with, sneaks into your place, which he does a few time, and you make an Uncle Drew joke, which is what I would have done in real life myself. I know people rag on it, but in my opinion, Uncle Drew is a legendary hallmark basketball movie. The thing is, that Uncle Drew came out this year in 2018. NBA 2K18 dropped in mid 2017. That's how thoughtfully the writing was done. That's mind boggling.
I'm currently in the post season stage, and I'm working on leveling up to 99 OVR. That is my last huge issue with the game. You are micro-transactioned to death!!! You increase your parameter limits by leveling up and training at the gym and research center. These workouts and activities gain you fractions of percentages towards parameter increases, like .2%-.3%. That's astronomically low. You gain a few slots of parameter limit increases once you reach 100%, and then it starts over. You have to increase several of these slots before it raises your characters level. To do that requires in-game currency in the thousands. You get about 500 coins for each NBA game as part of your salary. The most experience comes from team practice drills at the facility which are limited to when it closes. You get around .5%-.8% for drills, and the drills also raise several skill sets at once. These skill sets are labeled as badges that improve your performance overall in areas like defending, fast break ability, and quick reflexes. When you consider it all, between getting the slow exp points and then the revenue from playing games, or getting the ridiculously small checks from sponsors, it could take almost forever to level up substantially. That was a mistake. Before long, you will either give up in that regard, or break down and spend. And you will spend. I spent overall close to $50 just buying VC which is the games currency, in order to level up. Then you have to grind to raise your limits so that you can level up more. It's ridiculously tedious.
All things considered, I truly have complained at times about the execution of the game, but I've loved the story and atmosphere. It isn't without its flaws, and the charm will win old heads over for sure. The glaring issues I mentioned are the only things keeping this game from being an all time Legend. Still, it's one for the real ones. Salute!!! 8.3/10
