NBA 2k15 Review

Written by Raine Yang, Year 13

After last year’s revolutionary release introducing true ‘next-gen’ graphics and gameplay to the sports genre, NBA 2K15 has lived up to most expectations, albeit with a few glaring issues.

Graphics
2K gets somewhat of a pass this year in the graphics department because there isn’t much to build on from last year’s work. However, most players that the company glaringly messed up in previous renditions have been more accurately re-scanned into the game.

Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers NBA 2K14 vs. NBA 2K15

As a whole, players closely resemble their real-life counterparts, which compared to last year’s players, have more scaled-back minute details such as facial hair, sweat and overly shiny surfaces. Aside from some minor issues like the nets still looking stiff and the basketball remaining bland, 2K15 still has some of the greatest graphics on the market.

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder:

Audio/Presentation
The developers of 2K15 have also made attempts at improving presentation. Veteran players diving into the action will quickly notice two recognizable individuals making an appearance. Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal, part of TNT’s broadcast team, provide gamers with pre-game breakdowns and, while watching these two can sometimes be an awkward affair, this is clearly a step in the right direction. Hopefully, 2K takes their partnership with TNT even further in following iterations.

Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal

Meanwhile the arenas remain true-to-life and the crowd is more noticeable than ever. Pre-game introductions have been expanded even further and new cutscenes have been added, including starting lineup intros and a portion of the national anthem being played. In-game commentary is still as solid as ever despite the blatant error of keeping Steve Kerr, now the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, in the commentary team. Overall, 2K performs very well in the presentation with some noticeable areas for improvement.

Oklahoma City Thunder Court

Gameplay
From a gameplay perspective, bar none 2K15 is the best portrayal of the sport there has ever been. New additions such as the shot meter and implementation of signature team-specific offenses, including the New York Knicks’ Triangle Offense and the Miami Heat’s Pace and Space, have made playing on-the-ball more realistic. Slight changes in passing and the addition of new animations make offense more fluid and exciting. However, this is not to say the less glamorous side of basketball has been neglected. Defense in-game has been tweaked to make sticking by your man easier and more rewarding while setting player-specific defensive adjustments returns, creating a more in-depth experience on that end. Gameplay-wise, 2K is the gold standard in providing definitive simulation basketball to its audience.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Cleveland Cavaliers:

 Game modes
While 2K14 gave fans a taste of what ‘next-gen’ had to offer, the 2K developers have reached that potential, impressing us with the range and depth of its game modes. MyCareer, 2K’s create-a-player mode, is better than ever with a whole new storyline and easier access to the teams you want to play for. The voice acting from NBA players showcases the developers’ desire for authenticity, although the players’ poor performance in this department certainly brings it a notch down. The ability to scan your own face into the game makes this mode more enticing, or repulsing if you’ve seen how flawed the scans were. However, 2K says there is a patch coming out soon to address this.

NBA 2K15 MyCareer

MyTeam, 2K’s equivalent of EA Sports’ Ultimate Team mode, now offers new legends, new offline modes and the Auction House. Along with cheaper pack prices, getting the players you want is now easier than ever. MyLeague and MyGM allows you to take the reins of an NBA franchise and make moves to create a championship contender with unique offerings from each mode, providing realistic and in-depth salary caps, player progression and team customization. 2K will definitely keep fans occupied throughout the year with its plethora of game modes.

MyTeam

MyLeague/MyGM

Online
However, online gameplay, perhaps the most important inclusion in any game in recent years, is definitely a letdown, especially after 2K promised that they would address the server issues last year. Unstable servers and severe lags hinder MyPark, a mode in which you bring your player online to play with others around the world. These issues extend past this mode as well, affecting regular online and MyTeam matches, hindering shot release timings and on-ball defense and making the game almost unplayable online. For such a great release offline, you can only wonder how groundbreaking this game would be with proper servers, which we’ll hopefully get next year.

Conclusion
Despite a massive contrast between offline and online gameplay, along with a few minor hiccups, NBA 2K15 is still the gold standard when it comes to basketball simulation. With beautiful and lifelike gameplay incorporated in a number of deep game modes, 2K has set the bar high for sports gaming.

Rating: 9/10

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