NBA 2K21 offers the best virtual basketball experience out there, even if it still needs some tweaks to polish the gameplay and microtransactions are, once again, everywhere.
It's pretty much unchanged from last year, however. That's the deal with NBA 2K21. If you can find a way to deal with the new shooting mechanism and you don't mind some pretty bad storytelling, NBA 2K21 is great… because it's largely unchanged from last year. Or the year before. Or the year before that.
It loses a point because of
its Virtual Currency (VC) obsession, a
recurringissue in 2K games. It’s supposed
to ensure that all your actions in every
mode – career, MyTeam, even watching
2KTV – secure rewards, but they’re often
someagre that the entire game comes
across as a grind, aimed at funnelling
you towards the PS Store to part with
real cash.Please don’t do that. The only
way games like this and FIFA will change
in the next gen is if their players make a
sustainedeffort not to exchange any of their
hard-earned dosh for digital
trading cards. Otherwise this
is solid, but on that front 2K
(and EA, and the rest) must do
better. [Issue#181, p.94]
NBA 2K21 is a solid update of NBA 2K20... but with a strange and unpredictable twist. The new shooting meter is made for online competition and, in the end, follows the metagame rather the basketball flow. Maybe it's good for the pro gamers, but it feels unbalanced and frustrating for the basketball lovers.
It’s hard to escape the feeling that the current-gen version of NBA 2K21 is merely a rushed appetizer before the next-gen main course. Yes, NBA 2K21 can still be a great time, but stagnant presentation, copy-and-pasted modes and features, and new mechanics that clearly weren’t fully worked out combine to make the game feel like a half-hearted buzzer beater throwaway.
I know not to expect the world from a yearly sports title but NBA 2K21 feels like a backward step. As good as the passing and defence remains, the shooting has an unreliability the series just hasn't delivered before. Practice makes better but it doesn't seem to make perfect. The rest of the package remains fairly sound with great presentation and a swathe of modes to digest. Unfortunately, my time on the court felt compromised whenever I approached the net.
I think 2K needs to adapt to a new model, I believe that they need to stop launching the same game every year, and instead start to push towards updating the existing game every year. 2K21 is the best basket sim you’ll get to play, but I could’ve said the same on 2K20.
Hello everyone and welcome back to another exciting review from ICE at Gamers of the Round Table. 2K is back at it with another year of NBA action, does this year edition make a slam dunk impression or does it just become another air ball flop? Lets find out.
I want to talk about the development team for this generations version of the game, (PS4 & X box one). The developer only had half a team working on that while for next gen they had Two or Three teams working on it.
Game play: The overall game play remains the same as it did in NBA 2K20, it feels more like a patch than a new game with some minor differences. First thing that is new is the shot meter which I feel like is a downgrade compared to 2K19 and 2K20 shot meter; it feel more like an arcade version which is rather disappointing you do have the option of turning it off though. Not only is the shot meter disappointing but the shooting is not as good as it was in 2K19 and 2K20 what I mean by that is it does not feel as good as it did in previous instalments, the only thing 2K added was new shot animations and more pie charts for your my player build. The game play itself is solid though but unfortunately it’s the only thing that is solid on this generations version.
Controls: The controls are the same with a few minor tweaks such as the aiming stick for the shooting, which is really annoying because we did not need that in the first place it can mess up the ball handling. I myself went in to the controls and made them classic by taking the aiming stick off and using the right stick for the handling. The classic controls are what work if something is not broken 2K please do not fix it.
Modes: There are many modes in this years installation of the NBA2K franchise, my favourite to this day is still my career. In this years my career you start off in high school and make you way through college and in to the NBA which is something I have wanted for a long time in a career mode.
My Team: This year really is no different when it comes to this mode accept you can transfer your team and the virtual currency over to the next generation.
The Neighbourhood: The neighbourhood got a huge cosmetic overhaul but that is all it got, it still takes about 10 minutes to get an actual game going, mostly people just stand around and it is incredibly frustrating, but that is OK I still enjoy it when I do get a game.
NBA 2k21 just feels like a patch from NBA 2K20 in some areas it is good some areas is bad, but it is still fun.
NBA 2K21 7/10
I'm going to give 2k Sports the benefit of the doubt here, NBA 2k is honestly better than Madden NFL 21 and other sports games out there despite not being the most popular sport in the world. But other than that, this game doesn't have anything new here to offer (besides MyCareer and the new Neighborhood). MyLeague and MyGM are still the same but nothing new is added. The gameplay feels much like the same except the shot meter is way different and much harder to master. There also new historic teams added including the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors and 2018-19 Toronto Raptors, but there are some players on the historic team's missing. So overall, this game is pretty much the same as last year. I only recommend this game if you are a hardcore NBA fan and want to play some MyPark with your friends or if you want to play with your favorite NBA team online or in MyCareer. Or just you pass on this version and wait for the PS5/ XBOX Series X/ XBOX Series S comes out.
the worst version of 2k20. The shooting is terrible. No changes at all. The only good thing about the game is the mycarrer prelude with college and high school, the rest it isn't worth it
SummaryWith extensive improvements upon its best-in-class graphics and gameplay, competitive and community online features, and deep, varied game modes, NBA 2K21 offers one-of-a-kind immersion into all facets of NBA basketball and culture - where Everything is Game.