Basketball fans have to rejoice over the release of NBA 2K23, the famous simulator title for that sport. Although during the review I will analyze the most relevant (and repetitive) aspects, it is important to point out that the value of the delivery (quite high for our Latin American pockets) has a good percentage to do with the “23”. And no, I’m not talking about the weird Jim Carrey movie.
God’s Number
I choose to distinguish this type of game because it is the exclusive one. And of course, the year heralded something special. No, I am not referring to another exterminating pandemic either, but to the fact that ’23 is the jersey number of the best basketball player in all history. I speak of course, of Michael Jordan. Thus, to the regular modes to which nba 2k got us used to a good run of years ago, added to it is the way “Jordan Challenge”, rebooted from its original appearance in the 2011 version, in which Jordan’s story is made available to us through 15 mythical games of his incredible career. In those duels we came into control of the different teams in which MJ participated to try to relive his great moments. Of course, it’s almost impossible, that’s how big Jordan is.
The gameplay is sensational in every aspect. From the different interviews before each challenge with other great basketball personalities (Phil Jackson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar or Dennis Rodman for example), to the visual and sound recreation of the broadcast styles of the time, with optional filters to apply to the image. It is simply a spectacular format that aside, it is challenging while still being very entertaining. Points aside for the obsession with detail with the style of play of each era, as well as some rules and timing systems.
The Rest of the Modes
Now, what happens with video games broadcast annually like the nba 2k, which now has no competition, is that the margin of mutation between version and version is minimal. I have a hard time finding huge differences between the nba 2k15 and the current one.
Let’s start with the career mode. Of course the argument is different, but in reality there is a fairly limited number of plots available if we always depend on starting at the same starting point. There have been versions with greater control of the narrative that end up being more attractive than those simple ones with the “cinematic / party / reaction” construction that have become the norm. The last MyCareer interesting was the one where we drove a PM (MyPlayerthe nickname of the basketball player we control) who is left out of the Draft and is forced to go play in China where he discovers that capable is not as gross as he imagined and discovers modesty.
The story of NBA 2k23 is quite weak and has a simple plot where our character battles on three simultaneous fronts: his career, an unbearable sports rival (when will they make a realistic one?) but more loved by people, and a sphere plot corporate of the club that starts with the draft, at the moment in which PM he is elected one position above his rival.
The biggest drawback is that being successful on the pitch solves all problems off it. However, given the difficulty curve and the fact that we started with a 60 Overall rating, it’s really hard to do ANYTHING right. And this is beyond our experience, capacity or ability in the video game. I had to spend a good part of the 100 thousand coins that they gave me for having the “Michael Jordan” edition so that MP is a less embarrassing basketball player and even so my average is 10 points and 5 assists, being a starting player in the position of base (or PG, or 1). Of course, nothing changed in the plot whether or not he had a good match.
The rest of the modes, both online, friendly and MyTeam are basically the same as always, but it is fair to detail that one of the great flaws of MyTeam mode is gone at least for now. The contracts have passed and when we get that totally broken Doncic, that’s where he stays as long as he’s not a free agent.
There is also an interesting submode within MyTeam called “Defining Moments” with specific objectives and new rules like the 4 point shot.
To be honest, the number of modes and submodes is exhaustive and wouldn’t be enough for a review to satisfy anyone. At the end of the day it is always getting into a little field and hitting the hoop, but before ending the paragraph it is noble to highlight the presence of the WNBA, the development league and something very attractive that the MyNBA mode has where apart from the games, you control the corporate aspect.
in this new nba 2k23, you can move to four different eras and travel to the past to enjoy three other eras apart from the current one: Magic vs Bird in the 80’s, Jordan in the 90s and Kobe in the beginning of the millennium. In this way, they take advantage of the number of classic formations available that the title has had for many years.
The Gameplay
This is where the narrative thickens. It is likely that he could end the paragraph with something categorical like “it’s the same as always”. But it would be missing the truth. No, it’s not the same as always, and in fact a good bunch of modifications are introduced that, like each title, add smoothness or try to solve some previous defect. However, as with many other titles, these mods are often felt by those who have hundreds of hours to put into it (1) and those who are able to master the controls at expert levels (2). Although not always, they are usually the same. For the rest of us mortals who love basketball but may be neither 1 nor 2, those modifications go quite under the radar.
I can say what I noticed: the level of perfection you have to reach to make a triple is unreal. And I say this having taken the indicator corresponding to 78 points and having a triplero badge. Something similar happens with free kicks where apart the player does not always react immediately to the control, but rather a small lag arises that already complicates the shot. Whether this is a bug or something related to development to improve the indicator, I don’t know, but it’s nonsense.
It’s very frustrating that the trigger bar doesn’t have a range.
Team Domain has a slightly more organic setup than in other versions of the game. nba 2k and all team members share a meter. It’s a way to show how the game flows when all the basketball players are hyper-focused.
The defensive section feels improved, a little more realistic with the contacts on the way to the shot, although I would like flagrant fouls and techniques to be common, especially since they are common in modern basketball. A bit like it happens in soccer video games where fouls by hand almost do not exist.
In general, I do not feel huge changes in the raw moment of the game, but I would certainly like the display of the set plays to appear as soon as the ball is given to us and not when we reach the specific point of the parquet. That creates the loss of valuable seconds that adds to the general frustration that we already have with not being able to hit a shot that is not below the rim. And sometimes not even.
the technical
The visual improvements will undoubtedly be more noticeable in the PS5 and XBOX Series versions. I humbly believe that in these previous gen versions (which I assume are the last or almost), an insurmountable ceiling has been reached. The nba 2k23 it looks as good as can be seen, and I say more, with almost no load times, a fact that was quite annoying in previous editions. It’s a remarkable decision that they spared us a longer wait time at half time as if someone wanted to experience the simulation of that sequence. Physics are realistic to a high degree, each part of the basketball players body moves with sensible independence. The sweat, eyes, lips, and clothes also have movements and physics that are as close to perfect as possible. It intrigues me a bit that we always have the same animations (and models) for the referees, among other minor NPCs. There is a gesture that the coach makes before giving an exercise in training that is at least seven years old.
From an audio point of view, they have added presenters from other eras to add realism to the broadcasts. This is likely to go over the heads of any non-gringo (and probably many gringos under the age of 20 as well) but the effort and boutique level of detail is appreciated, supported, and applauded.
It is worth mentioning that a direct criticism from the previous game about the size of the city that we are forced to go through has been fixed, making it less extensive. I think, however, that they should rethink the entire Quest system to RPG that above are a frightful embole, for the next title. They are not wanted by anyone and are likely to be made by very few fans of the game.