NBA 2K has come under a lot of flak this year for its cover athlete – but back in 2018, not so much.
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Back when NBA 2K was fun, they had good commercials too. The gameplay was fresh, and people were excited to see what the company would bring to the table every year.
Off the high of 2K17, with one of the best gameplays in recent years just gone by, fans were waiting with bated breath to see what 18 would bring. And when they saw the fun commercial, expectations were sky-high.
Shaquille O’Neal was selected to be the Legend cover athlete for 18, 6 years after his retirement. There was a lot of fanfare around the announcement, and for good reason.
The ex-Lakers big man had been chosen right after his older partner in crime, Kobe Bryant. Kobe was the cover athlete for 2k17, just one year after his retirement. The normal cover that year had Paul George on it.
Maybe because they had Kobe on the poster, they had to make a good game, but it turned out great. The graphics, the effects, and the Sprite cam for the vertical while dunking were all so good.
2K took a different approach to announce their new game. It starts as a simple announcement, with Shaq reading out a speech from a teleprompter. And then it starts becoming a little personalized, to which he gets suspicious.
The shot cuts to Kobe, who is seen typing up the prompt, and adding a sly jab at his ex-teammate because he was chosen before Shaq!
Also Read: NBA 2k leaves out Billionaires Michael Jordan and LeBron James for a $30 million NBA star!
NBA 2K has not changed its gameplay in 4 years – Fans hope to see some changes with 2K23
But then the game came out, and the only thing that was good about it was the commercial. 2K18 was a huge disappointment, with the 2K sports realizing they had a cash cow on their hands.
With the change of system and more focus on micro transactions, the once-loved game began to die a slow death.
2K22 seems to be the worst of the 5 games that followed 2K17, even after a change in the engine running it. You can sugar coat a piece of poo, it does not become a donut.
There is not much hope for the gameplay to change, with each iteration becoming worse in one aspect. Robotic dribbling, incredibly tough defending, and focusing on the online part of the game ruined it for a lot of players.
With this year’s cover athlete being Michael Jordan, there is renewed hope that there will be changes to the game modes. Jordan’s challenges were something most of the fans were excited to do, and they hope it returns.
With expectations very low, any slight change in the positive direction will be refreshing.
