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The 2017 edition of NBA 2K offers gamers an amazing NBA experience with stunning graphics and enhanced gameplay. A more accurate face-scan and key improvements to the dribbling, and shooting mechanics have made NBA 2K17 even better than last year’s game.
What Stands Out?
This game is all about the My-Park feature. My Park allows gamers to play against opponents using their own custom ‘My-Player’.Players can compete in games as from small as a two-on-two, all the way up to 5-on-5. Gamers in this mode (and the Pro-Am mode) will love to team up with friends online and compete against other users from around the world. People love to show off their skills in this mode; you can tell just based on how people deck-out their players in the gear in the My-Park.
Don’t wait too long to play this mode or you will fall way behind! People will be maxed out at 99 overall and your My-Player will be struggling in the 70s or 80s to score on or defend your opponents. Each week you get a chance to watch highlights from My-Park games that people have submitted to 2KTV. I love that 2KTV has returned in NBA 2K17; it keeps you in touch with what the game’s community is up to. They often hold contests, and provide tips each week, helping to improve your skills in the game.
The Pro’s
One thing I noticed when using the NBA teams, is how each arena has a different sound. The volume of the crowd is different in each stadium, which is a very cool feature added this year. When playing in franchise mode it actually feels like you’ve have become that particular player. The player tendencies are perfect; each particular player plays how they would play in real life.
The face-scan feature has finally been fixed! Last year so many gamers struggled to use their Kinect or PlayStation camera to scan their face and play as themselves in game. This year, however, 2K has come out with the My-NBA 2K17 mobile app that allows players to scan their face through your phone. I watched a YouTube tutorial on how to get it as close as possible. I got an “Above Average” result, but some people I know where able to get “Great” and their My-Player looks exactly like them.
This year, the gameplay is a lot faster paced, and it’s easier to score just about anywhere on the court. The shooting bar has also been improved; last year so many full bars and open shots would miss but this year that’s not the case and it seems like a more offensive-minded game.
Key additions have been added to the My-Player mode. You team up with actor Michael B. Jordan who plays your teammate, Justice Young. He becomes your friend and mentor as you build your player to stardom. They have added a lot of practice modes in-between games (you don’t have to do them all, but you’ll have to do some to keep upgrading your player’s attributes).
I bought the Kobe Bryant Gold Edition of the game and I think it’s totally worth the extra $30. Go out and buy this edition for $99.99. You receive about 100,000 VC (Virtual Currency) coins, Kobe branded shoes and apparel (which you can wear with your my player), the 1992 Dream Team and much more! During My-Career, your player starts out as a 55 if you don’t spend any VC on them. He’s pretty terrible starting out, as Charles Barkley would say, and it takes a while to build him up; so I spent some of the VC improve him. I spent about 75,000 on him, buying all of his clothes and improving his attributes and he’s already an 80 overall.
The Con’s
There is no practice mode to learn the mechanics of dribbling. The only thing that I saw was a small 5-on-5 tutorial game mode, but it doesn’t give you the breakdown of how to do each dribble move with a specific player. Dribbling can still get a little tricky, as each player has their own signature dribble move. You almost have to know how to play with specific players in order maximize their full capability. An example would be Steph Curry; and his signature cross-over move into a shot; or KD, who has an awesome cross-over to help him beat his opponent off the dribble.
I wish the quarter length in the Play-Now Online mode was longer! The games take about 20-30 minutes and you only play six minute quarters,. This means the box scores at the end of the game are not going to be realistic at all This just doesn’t make sense because the rest of the game plays like a basketball game.
Overall this is a fabulous basketball game that has a ton to do in it… go out, get it and hit the sticks!