With such a frantic pace as that of producing an episode every year, Visual Concepts had to show signs of fatigue. The Californian studio, which gives us a lesson in basketball simulation with each new NBA 2K, disappointed in 2020. We could have hoped that this drop in speed would call into question the production time necessary to develop real novelties, but the money don't wait, especially when you know that the franchise regularly reaches 10 million copies each year. Money is what is often pointed out in the game for several iterations, 2K Games and Visual Concepts having decided to integrate a pay-to-win system which has caused a lot of ink to flow . If it is true that the last episodes tended to push the player to let loose on the CB, for NBA 2K22, an effort has been made, with a balance that has been found so as not to screw up the player's experience too much. In Career mode, for example, it is no longer possible to exceed the score of 84, even by wishing to blaze the VC (for Virtual Currency, the in-game currency), a limit threshold having been imposed by the designers. To continue to move forward, it will be necessary to make the beautiful game speak, going through the training box or chaining the matches. Afterwards, NBA 2K22 retains other bad habits and will always try to push you towards nervous and compulsive buying with increased difficulty from the start of Career mode, just to make us understand that we are not at the level and that spending a few real dollars can be a great shortcut. Of course, we are not going to play the startled virgins and pretend not to know that capital has settled in our favorite basketball game, but it is also good form to put things in their place.
SECOND LIFE
Since we are talking about Career mode, let's go straight to the point and talk about the big news in this NBA 2K22 which wants to be forgiven for its elder. We can see this year again that Visual Concept is pushing the RPG aspect even further, with a more open city, quests to carry out, points of interest to follow and a rather absurd novelty: the possibility of moving around on a skateboard to go faster. Of course, in order to go to the end of their delirium, the developers have also set up a whole grind system to have fun like in a Tony Hawk. Why not, but the system being ultra limited, we can only be frustrated not to be able to do more tricks. A little further in the adventure, it is even possible to unlock a pair of rollerblades, and many other bonuses so that travel is no longer a bore. That said, with a game area that keeps getting bigger, one of the main criticisms we could make of previous episodes was the time wasted walking around the city to get from point A to a point B. Visual Concepts has therefore rectified the situation by integrating more sympathetic means of transport, and in connection with the world of sport. But who knows if in 10 years, we won't be able to use a car to go to our training session? Considering the speed at which the developers push the plug, it is not forbidden that the Career mode of NBA 2K ends up becoming a GTA RP. We are trolling today, but we still have to analyze the intentions of the creators who no longer hesitate to show us their intentions, namely to create a second game in their basketball game. A kind of life simulator that continues to solidify over the episodes, to the point that it is possible to spend more time taking care of the image that your avatar sends back than playing basketball. It's both unprecedented, but also terrifying, especially since this year, the story of Career mode is based on influencers.
INFLUENCER INFLUENCED
There are indeed so many additional things to do that it is obviously possible to stop playing basketball at all in Career mode. Not only is the city now teeming with life, with lots of NPCs, shops and quests everywhere, you can clearly devote your time to your little person. The game also wants to be quite close to the culture of social networks, we will often be watching our phone, seeing the number of likes we have had, especially since there are also challenges to do. with his smartphone. In short, you have understood it, Visual Concepts wants to make its Career mode a game in its own right, even if it means going off topic. It will take a little more know-how, however, for the social aspect of NBA 2K to take off and deploy genuine interest. For the moment, although we salute the motivation to go further, everything remains moderately done. The NPCs are often inert and lack varied dialogues, the staging was maddeningly flat and the collision system clearly needs to be reviewed. Let's close this parenthesis and move on to the heart of the gameplay, since it's time to talk about real basketball this time.
Always with the aim of offering the best game rendering with a controller in hand, Visual Concept goes even further in simulation, to the chagrin of novices who will land along the way and eat the ton of possibilities and information. that must be stored in order to perform beautiful gestures. Yes, NBA 2K22 is a game with demanding gameplay and again this year, the developers are not here to make it easy for you. The big novelty in the gameplay is the importance of the stamina bar which turns the game upside down and the success of the shots. The more a player gets tired, the less efficient he will be in his throws, with shots becoming shorter. This management of the fatigue of its players on the ground has been accentuated in this NBA 2K22, which will undoubtedly annoy those who chained intense actions followed by a perfect shot. From now on, each dribble performed will empty your stamina gauge which will literally impact your shot right after. Suffice to say that during the first parts, it's quite confusing, limit incomprehensible. But since NBA 2K22 aims to be the most realistic simulation, the idea is to get closer to real life. Yes, but to the point of ruining the fun in the games? The debate deserves to be posed.
MORE REALISTIC, LESS ACCESSIBLE
The shift to ultra simulation may leave some players on edge and divide, but if there's one thing NBA 2K22 is unassailable about, it's its execution. On next gen consoles, the game enjoys really good graphics, with beautiful player modeling, ever more natural animations, even more realistic details on the players (sweat, reflections on the floor, fluttering jerseys depending on the animations) which prove once again all the care taken by the developers. As for the physics of the ball, it also reaches a fairly exemplary degree of finish. Certain football games should clearly ask NBA 2K for advice, to avoid being constantly criticized. This immersion is also not only visual, it is also sound, with comments always rich in anecdotes and successful. So yes, everything is still in English and only purists who watch NBA games at 3 a.m. will love it, but at least they can enjoy guests who enrich the subject. A small bonus this year in this regard: the arrival of Public Announcers, which can generally be heard during real games and which have been integrated into NBA 2K22. The thing that direct atmosphere.
Impossible not to mention the MyTeam mode which continues to grow in popularity and has only one objective: to do as well as FIFA's FUT mode which has even become a selling point for the purchase of each episode. In NBA 2K22, one of the novelties is the season system that many have been waiting for for a while. Each season lasts 6 weeks and all the objectives offered allow you to earn XP, but also jerseys and logos to win. It is also recommended to focus on the Pick-up challenges (there is one per day) and allows you to collect additional cards quite simply, without having a super strong team. In any case, we feel that Visual Concepts has filled the MyTeam mode with challenges and other challenges until more thirsty, in order to create this feeling of addiction which works wonderfully on FIFA, the example to follow. Another positive point of MyTeam: the return of Draft mode, which allows you to play with a random team, again taken from FUT. But let players be reassured, online dating respects player stats to avoid an imbalance that will lead to frustration. The content is bloated and as usual, you can spend most of your time playing cards rather than playing basketball, knowing that you are taking a risk financially, since the mode does everything to ask you to do flaming the VCs. You have been warned.
ALL IS FORGIVEN?
Finally, a word on the Women's National Basketball Association, which appeared last year in NBA 2K21 and is back with a bit more content. We can not yet speak of a revolution, but The W mode (which is none other than the Career mode female version), has been enriched with an online mode. Not enough to spin heads, we feel that the developers are going there sparingly, the content to be developed with each new episode being sufficiently tough that it is sometimes impossible to revolutionize everything. One thing is certain, however, this year is that Visual Concepts has caught up well with NBA 2K21, which can be classified as a small accident. Things that happen of course, but which can happen again if the rhythm continues to be so industrial. Other games have paid the price and it is not because the Californian studio knows its scales by heart that it cannot fail once again. In the meantime, NBA 2K22 is proving to be a good vintage and it must be emphasized.
