NBA 2K13's new control scheme, presentation, and continued realism make it a slam dunk for basketball gamers everywhere.
For the last several years, 2K Sports has dominated the sports gaming world with their annual basketball entry, NBA 2K. Each year, new and great innovative gameplay concepts have revolutionized not just how a basketball sim should play, but how all sports sims should be played. 2K12 and 2K11 were the largest jumps between years that 2K Sports had ever had as far as improvement, and the question is, can they go for a three-peat? Well, taking a page out of Shaq's book during one of his four parades, "CAN YOU DIG IT?"
The gameplay has received a number of enhancements, improvements, as well as control changes. For the last several years, everyone has known the shot-stick to be the way to shoot in previous entries in the series. Well, that has received a slight change as the right stick now controls your dribble moves to give you more control over what you want your player to do. You can combo a bunch of moves together, fake out your opponent, and pull up for a jumper by pressing the left trigger on Xbox simultaneously with the right stick to get the score. At first, I thought this might become difficult, but after growing used to it the past month, it is definitely the way to go.
MyPlayer has also received a number of improvements that all work really well. First off, the name, now titled MyCareer, as you truly feel in control of your player's career, and that it isn't staged or predicted in any way. You can demand trades with your GM, get your coach fired, or get a player traded off of your team, and it can be a lot of fun. Early on you also get to choose your "brand" path, between Nike and Jordan. You can donate money to NBA Cares, boost your player's attributes, and much more. MyCareer features the fresh enhancements needed to keep this mode "in the game".
Online has also featured mass improvements as far as gameplay and lag are concerned, but I don't want to come off like it is perfect or anything. There can still be the occasional game where lag can downright ruin the experience. Online also features a new mode titled MyTeam, where you build your own team and play online against others. You start with a basic booster pack of players, an arena, coach, and playbook. The new Virtual Currency you earn can then be used to add signature skills, new players, and more. Though this mode does have a drawback, because players can buy VC points with Microsoft Points to quickly gain access to the best players in the league, in which their prices range between 10,000 and 21,000 at the time of this writing.
Speaking of Virtual Currency, it is an amazing addition to the series overall. You can earn VC points through any mode in the game, and use it in any mode in the game. With my experiences, it seems Association games with 12 minutes quarters net you the most at 750 points per contest.
The largest drawback to the game does come in the form of the game's initial slider settings, as well as how it affects online play. Three-point shots are almost the only shot that some opponents take because they are so easy to make. I played several opponents online who took over 30-40 three-point shots and connected on over 50% of them. It ruins the experience for sim gamers like myself, and I am hopeful the first patch will fix this.
The overall presentation of 2K13 is stellar, and clearly promoted Executive Producer Jay-Z lent a huge hand in a number of areas. First off, the soundtrack is easily the best ever seen in a sports game to date. Also, Jay-Z lent a hand in the graphical and presentation areas, involving camera angles and giving feedback on how animations should look and feel. The game more than ever feels like a NBA game should both on and off the court.
Overall, NBA 2K13 is still another solid entry in the series. Both the minor and major enhancements combine to keep 2K Sports on top of the sports world. Many hope that EA Sports lets go of their exclusive NFL License deal so that 2K could also return to making football titles as well. Who knows when that could happen, but if there is one sports game that you need to play this fall, it is NBA 2K13 hands down.
Overall Score: 9/10