Ive waited to write this review for several reasons.
First off,NBA 2K21has not launched to the kind of acclaim the series is used to.
I wanted to give the developers a bit of time to patch things up before I finalized my impressions.
Second, like a lot of you, my game wasnt working properly.
This review focuses on the My Career mode.
This isnt a tiny competitive gaming niche were talking about, 2K is one of the big ones likeMaddenorOverwatch.
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Thats a giant bummer.
These issues are now resolved, but they werent the only problems to occur at launch.
The games single biggest change was an all-new shooting stick mechanic.
Am I the only one struggling with this shot meter ?
Its hard to understand why 2K would opt to make shooting more difficult than it already was.
Nobody I know was out there sayingNBA 2K20would have been made better by a more difficult shooting mechanic.
Worse, there doesnt appear to be any offset benefit to the added difficulty.
This is a letdown.
But here we are.
Post-launch and finally able to enjoyNBA 2K21for what it is.
Unfortunately what it is can be described in four words: not quite good enough.
Its not quite good enough to be a true sequel to theexcellentNBA 2K20.
Its not quite good enough to merit its suggested retail pricing as a AAA video game.
Thats not to say it isntgoodthough.NBA 2K21is slightly better thanNBA 2K20in many ways.
Lets shift gears and talk about whats really,reallygood this year: dribbling.
2Ks changed the shot stick so that shooting is only initiated when you pull down on it.
Now dribbling works more intuitively.
Other changes arent so obviously for the better.
Lets start with the story (no spoilers yet).
Skip this paragraph and the next one if you dont want anyspoilers.
Okay, I really liked this story.
Okay, spoiler-freefrom here out.
The story aside, My Career features very few upgrades.
But thats about it.
There is, however, a lot thats been removed.
Those of you who play the game to grind out badges for the Park will be in heaven.
Everything you do in 2K21 feels designed to usher you into My Team or the competitive Park modes.
On the positive sides, the commentary is improved and updated.
Out on the park, very little has changed but the aesthetics.
And thats my biggest problem: this doesnt feel like a sequel.
This years effort feels like it should have been a patch and a story-driven DLC add-on forNBA 2K20.
