NBA 2K21 Review Same Game Better Sweat

NBA 2K21 Review: Same Game, Better Sweat

NBA 2K21 is the same basketball simulator from 2K and NBA fans have come to know and love with a few slight improvements and a couple unfixed issues.

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NBA 2K21 Review Same Game Better Sweat

There isn’t a lot that can be said about NBA 2K21 that hasn’t already been said about its predecessors. It’s the same virtual basketball experience fans of the series have come to know and love but with a very thin layer of new paint. NBA 2K21 is a technical feat showcasing some of the greatest lifelike movements in gaming, but the immersion is broken by its outdated graphics and bugged animations. However, those picking up a copy of NBA 2K21 are most likely returning players who are familiar with the elite basketball simulator’s difficulty and lack of polish, so those may not be big factors in the grand scheme of a new basketball court.

First, let’s address the elephant in the room. NBA 2K21 features some of the most realistic sweat gamers have ever seen on their television screens, but the issue is that it’s only featured in cutscenes layered on top of character models that look like they belong on the Xbox 360. From a graphical standpoint, it is hard to tell that much has changed from previous NBA 2K games. The NBA’s biggest stars have been digitally sculpted to best mirror their real-life appearance, but NBA 2K21’s outdated graphics still make the characters look unsettling. The courts clearly have a fresh coat of polish, but with gangly polygonal characters traipsing around, it takes away from the impressive scenery.

One aspect of NBA 2K21 that stands out as a rather impressive feat is the range of movement the characters have. The realism within NBA 2K21’s random character movements is what makes the game feel like a next-gen title. Characters will accidentally bounce the ball off their shoes or fumble to pick the ball up off the ground. There are little sequences that make the characters feel as if they are real people playing an actual game of basketball and it is a level of detail that is rarely seen. Sadly, this is also an issue for NBA 2K21 as the character animation can bug out and break the game’s realism. A player’s arm will pull a Michael Jordan in Space Jam and stretch to complete a ludicrous pass. Every characters’ shorts shake uncontrollably as they battle the game’s physics engine. Some players will fly across the court as if their shoes have been enhanced with Flubber. While these instances are humorous, they are also frustrating.

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NBA 2K21 Review Same Game Better Sweat

On top of technical and graphical frustrations, NBA 2K21 is a very difficult game to understand for anyone who isn’t familiar with basketball or who hasn’t already spent a ton of time playing the previous NBA 2K titles. NBA 2K21 tries its best to emulate the feeling of playing basketball by giving every minor button press and joystick flick a different purpose. If a player is new to the NBA 2K franchise, they will need to spend a lot of time in practice before they attempt a real game. There are alternative methods of shooting, passing, dribbling, and defending, and each facet of the game has multiple layers of technicality. This is not a knock on NBA 2K21 but is actually roundabout praise for the attention to detail when mapping a character’s movements to a controller. Much like Super Smash Bros. or Tekken, players who want to get really good will need to sink a lot of time into learning what each button does and when to use the right moves, but there’s a tangible payoff for those who do so.

NBA 2K21 also features a story mode called MyCareer in which the player gets to create their own basketball star from the ground up. They start by customizing the player’s appearance, name, number, stats, and potential, and then start playing ball in high school and gradually make their way to the NBA. MyCareer is arguably the hardest mode in NBA 2K21 as the player starts with bogus stats and only controls one character. In the modes where the player controls an entire team of elite athletes, it is easier to dominate an entire court. It also doesn’t help that the player is a former football player whose basketball legend father passed away – he’s constantly compared to his dad even as he’s stumbling to learn the game, and it can genuinely feel frustrating. MyCareer is fun, but it is definitely not for new players. All too often, MyCareer makes NBA 2K21 feel unfair with constantly missed shots, AI teammates who make awful decisions, and a storyline that badgers the player with a frustrating come-up story.

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NBA 2K21 Review Same Game Better Sweat

MyCareer also does a poor job of reflecting NBA 2K21’s core gameplay. The meat of the game is within its online and exhibition games. When players are granted the opportunity to take control of their favorite teams or create their own team of all-stars in MyTEAM, the enjoyment of NBA 2K21 shines through. These modes are more enjoyable because players are no longer controlling a character with poor stats that misses shots even when they are deemed “excellent.” They are controlling the world’s greatest basketball players competing against players on the same level. These players can perform fancy dunks and snazzy crossovers. They complete passes and sink buzzer beaters, and these moments are what make NBA 2K21 the definitive virtual basketball experience. Yet, these moments, and the entirety of NBA 2K21, are squandered by its last-gen graphics.

The issues found within NBA 2K21 aren’t new to the series. The game has had very minor graphical enhancements since its conception and bugged animations are expected with the amount of movement available to characters. These issues don’t matter to NBA 2K21’s main player base. NBA 2K fans will pick up this year’s copy of the same game knowing full well there are very few enhancements, but that’s not the reason they continue to buy into the franchise. They continue to come back for the adrenaline pumping plays and high-level of competition. NBA 2K21 is not perfect, but it is the best basketball game on the market. Is it for everyone? No. NBA 2K21 is a basketball simulator built for die-hard fans of the game, and, much like real-life basketball, players have to put in the time to be the best on the court.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/nba-2k21-game-review/

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