NBA 2K24: the review of the new sports basketball simulator

NBA 2K24 is not a revolutionary game. It doesn’t reinvent digital basketball and it doesn’t change our concept of competitive virtual basketball. What he does is significantly improve his experience on the pitch compared to previous years by eliminating some automatisms and adding depth, especially in the defensive phase. However, all these improvements are overshadowed by the ubiquitous system of microtransactions that makes competitive forms accessible only to those willing to open their wallets.

NBA 2K has never been more immersive

The news that surprised us the most in NBA 2K24 was the new feature Pro game allowing 2K to translate memorable actions that take place on the pitch into in-game animations almost instantly. This not only makes the gameplay extremely varied, but also gives you the feeling that you are in the company of basketball legends. At a simulation level, the title is certainly solid, the opponents’ passes, markings and throwbacks are agile and the artificial intelligence knows how to hinder you at the right point: enough to make you feel like you have the winning strategy and the players to get it to bring home. In terms of game flow, they were some barriers have been removed so the game feels much more authentic and personal: LeBron really looks like LeBron even when he’s moving, and not just in the cinematic recaps of winning plays.

On the defensive side, NBA 2K24 has taken quite a few steps forward: the actions revolve around the strengths and weaknesses of each player, exploiting the right ones will guarantee you victory, if you leave the wrong spaces open, it will be given to your opponent datum. However, what makes defending a much more pleasant experience than in the past is the complete reworking of the adrenaline that is no longer infinite (allowing unlimited dribbling), but punishes the player if his movement is interrupted. By doing this you will take a much more active role in protecting the basket than in the past, when the defense was halfway between hoping for the best and waiting for the opportunity to return to the offense. However, at the expense of all this is the fact that both the players and the crowd celebrate some of the most memorable moments of the matches in an extremely quiet (or even absent) manner, leading to a strong discrepancy between what the player feels. and what happens in the field. It’s a real shame, because the game builds the tension well, but fails to visually reward success as it should.

Time wallet

NBA 2K24 is an example of what not to do when it comes to microtransactions in a video game. If it were up to us, the world of gaming would be completely free of these commercial practices, but since this is the business model, especially for athletes, whether we like it or not, there is at least a threshold of decency to allow that impossible. exceeded, and 2K did it: use real money as in-game currency, even in single-player mode. For those unfamiliar with NBA 2K, in the game there is a currency called VC that can be earned both by playing and obtained by spending real money. In one of the title’s most popular game modes, My Career, this currency is used to improve the player’s performance. Here the game puts you in the shoes of a promising basketball star whose starting attributes are ridiculously low (60), so to succeed on the court you have to upgrade yourself with VC, no matter if these are ground by playing or bought by your open wallet.

Instead of rewarding good on-court performance and good strategy, NBA 2K24 is a game where whoever has the highest number in some parameter wins, causing mountains of frustration. And we haven’t even mentioned the very expensive customization options, as they seem to only be there to convince you to spend more money. To make matters worse, there is the fact that there are no mechanisms to help the player in the event of repeated defeats, so you can get stuck in a game or in front of an objective simply because you don’t have enough VC to upgrade your skills. character: However, all this frustration could disappear by simply spending a few euros on microtransactions, a bitter disappointment. We repeat: this is all within a single player modenot in the online multiplayer which, again this year, is nothing more than a showcase of further microtransactions to remain competitive.

Few poorly told stories

The character the player plays is not only very poor, but also has no interesting stories to tell, both on the field and in the Miami-esque setting, which acts as an open world to explore for this chapter. The one aspect that saves this title from both a story and gameplay perspective is the Mamba moments, a revival of last year’s format with Michael Jordan and this year puts you in the shoes of the legendary Kobe Briant. You relive the most iconic moments from his career, even if the passion we saw for Jordan is a bit lacking. Fans of LeBron will also be happy to know that you can take on the role of the 2011 Miami Heat in My NBA mode, one of the few safe places in the game that’s safe from microtransactions.

NBA 2K24 has a solid gameplay foundation and will put a smile on the faces of Kobe or LeBron fans as it puts them in the shoes of their heroes at moments in history when they were at their peak. All this is in no way sufficient to… such an aggressive and obstructive microtransaction model both progress and customization. In fact, several game systems seem designed to actively hinder the player in the hope that he will spend money. Unless you’re a basketball athlete whose competitive circuit will inevitably move to 2K24, ignore this year’s edition. Kobe and LeBron fans only have to wait 8 months for it to depreciate to get the best experience NBA 2K24 has to offer.

– by Riccardo Lichene