It's incredibly hard to repeat as a champion. That's the situation "NBA 2K17" faces coming off what was deemed to be the "most impressive sports game ever assembled" with "NBA 2K16."
In the world of sports gaming it's a safe assumption that every edition in a series is going to show improvement over the last. With the rare exception of transitions to new hardware generations, developers are building on top of what's already proven successful and finding ways to further enhance the positives and eliminate the negatives. Because of that, consumers instead focus on the magnitude of any changes and how well they may be executed.
So how does "NBA 2K17" improve upon a game that arguably altered the perception of what is possible in a yearly development cycle? They respond to the changing dynamic of the real league and its players.
The influence of Stephen Curry and the record-setting Golden State Warriors is undeniable. Last year, developers cited an inability to properly replicate the abilities Curry demonstrated in winning back-to-back MVP awards. With "2K17" there are new ratings and the implementation of a "dynamic duo" concept that comes from considering him and teammate Klay Thompson, as well as other effective pairings found across the league.
In past "2K" titles there have been ratings categories for "Moving" and "Standing" shots. Now, though, there are attributes that differentiate being "Open" and being "Contested" to go along with one for taking "Off-Dribble" shots. That helps in differentiating the skills of shooters in a way that wasn't possible in the past.
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Shot percentages also appear to be higher across the board — either as a way of making the series feel a little more accessible or to better reflect the skills of today's NBA. A new shot meter is one of the few changes veterans of the series will have to adjust to on the court. Instead of releasing ideally at the center point of the meter, now the goal is to do so when the meter is completely filled.
Over-complication due to new in-game menus has made things a bit more difficult to both those returning and anyone new to the series. Something that should be simple and easy to understand, such as making substitutions, is no longer that. There's also a problem that'll need to be patched: where subs made during timeouts don't take effect until the following dead-ball situation.
One new addition made with the hope of making a very complicated and difficult game easier on newcomers is "2KU." Unfortunately, it's so poorly designed that it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to play it or getting anything of significance out of doing so.
Tips pop up on pretty much every possession that completely halt the action — often at very inopportune moments. Essentially all that's been done is to throw up an explanation of the most basic controls on screen while a scrimmage is being played. It's probably less effective than just reading them elsewhere because the frequent interruptions generally don't even fit within the context of what's happening on the court. "Coach K" comes through a couple of times to (poorly) read a brief script off-screen, going over basic basketball concepts. "2KU" has to be one of the worst tutorials ever created for a sports game.
It's worth reiterating that there were a remarkable number of additions to "NBA 2K16" in terms of modes and features. Understandably, then, there isn't a whole lot that's new for "2K17." Instead, work has been done to further enhance the content already existing in the game. Some of that has proven fruitful, but there are also some areas of the game practically unchanged and even some regression to be found.
The most popular mode in recent years of the "NBA 2K" series is MyCareer, which has evolved into a narrative-driven story mode with traditional career elements mixed in. This year's story is written/directed by "Creed" scribe Aaron Covington, who's reunited with the film's star, Michael B. Jordan, in the role of a teammate and fellow rookie who forms a bond with the main character.
That's where the "duo" concept comes into play. The chemistry between the two is built through practices and other events, and on the court when things are going well a special ability can even be unlocked in which the user gets to switch between controlling both of the players on the court, which is a neat new twist for the mode.
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While the story isn't necessarily anything special, it's a big step up from the awful one that Spike Lee produced last year. "2K" made the right decision in reintroducing the features of the career alongside the story. Unlike "2K16," where the story was isolated and only once it ended following the rookie season did the traditional career took over, with "2K17" all of it begins with the rookie year. There is the college portion — which can be played free with the downloadable "Prelude" and that involves 10 licensed universities — but its only real purpose is to determine where in the draft your player will be taken.
Unfortunately, MyCareer begins to drag almost immediately. Not only are there team practices which are required to avoid the player's minutes being cut, but additional time is needed in the gym to better develop the player's attributes along with building the relationship with Jordan's character, Justice Young. None of the drills or games can be simulated. None of the cut scenes can be skipped. It's also just one big ad for Gatorade.
At least the characters are tolerable this year, including your own, who has always been near impossible to relate to, and the dialogue isn't overly cringe-inducing. The tie to other rookies is an intriguing direction to go in, and that includes an undrafted fringe player who it seems is only there to serve as an annoyance.
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The mode still struggles with reconciling the story elements with the actual production of the players. A week into his rookie year, my player is being fought over by four shoe companies and Justice Young is being described as the steal of the draft out of the second round. At the time my guy had good averages, but the coach only played him seven minutes a game, and Young was averaging barely over a point in six minutes of court time.
The "NBA 2K" series has received a lot well-deserved praise over its respective franchise modes. It has two of them with the interaction-based MyGM and super-customizable MyLeague. There are now new ways to play them both.
Once the actual NBA season begins, new franchises will have the "Start Today" option. That will allow for franchises to open with all of the up-to-date rosters, statistics and team records for that day and continue on from there. Playoff Mode makes its return and can be customized in a number of ways.
MyGM and MyLeague also debut expansion capabilities as leagues can grow up to 36 teams. When expansion happens, there's an Expansion Draft and, as expected, the players left unprotected by the rest of the league are mostly those way up there in age or with high salaries that those teams would be more than happy to shed. Expansion teams can be custom created (the features for that were new last year) or there are some pre-built options to choose from. Unfortunately, those teams will go without alternate jerseys as they are limited to just their home and away sets.
Whether it's the Advanced Rotations feature that will help to better manage the minutes and specific units in-game or how new rules changes will be introduced and voted on by the owners as the years go by, there are some great ideas in play with these modes. MyLeague Online now will also progress from season to season, though regular contracts have been replaced by a "keepers" system that will see players have a limited number of years with a team before simply being made free agents.
Online has stabilized recently for the series and the servers have held up fairly well so far with "2K17." The online-based modes have changed the least this year with MyPark practically the same as in "2K16." Pro-Am actually comes out worse in some ways as the ability to create uniforms and arenas are locked away until 10 wins are achieved and there's still no commentary in the mode. Game results not being recorded has been an issue as well. Play Now Online separates teams into five tiers instead of three, and hopefully that will result in greater incentive to use those other than Golden State. Park and Pro-Am are still very much "pay to win" as the Virtual Currency system permeates throughout the majority of the game and pushes the feeling that it's necessary to spend money to compete in them.
The card-collecting team-building mode MyTeam has been worked on, but it's still arguably the least compelling in the world of sports gaming. That may never change as users will only really ever care about maybe seven or eight players compared with the 20-40 who matter with other sports. That also means it'll be more difficult to obtain the most desirable players, which gets frustrating when spending on packs of cards. The "Duo" concept plays a role in MyTeam, as attributes will be boosted when certain players are teamed with their designated partner.
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Gameplay has always been one of the primary strengths of "NBA 2K" and that remains the case this year even with a number of issues being quickly identified. The passing in the game still has its share of problems, attempting on-ball defense is generally ill-advised, players will sometimes clip through each other, and the AI players frequently have trouble dealing with with screens or will seemingly forget their assignment and leave someone wide open. The increase in physicality has also brought an increase in fouls, which can come across a little extreme, especially in games with shorter quarter lengths. Steals, though, feel far more organic: Instead of spamming the button and hoping for a random result, the attempts can be better targeted in going after the ball as an actual skill based on positioning and timing.
Visually, the game is still strong — though there are quite a few players who look emaciated and others who are a little on the bulky side. Presentation has been enhanced more in audio than on the graphics package, with a rotating set of announcers who join the duo of Kevin Harlan and Greg Anthony. The new names, which include Chris Webber and Brent Barry, are only passive participants in calling the games and don't change the feel of the broadcasts as much as one would have hoped.
The developers at Visual Concepts set the bar so high last year that it was always going to be be near impossible to clear it with "2K17." The game still delivers in just about every area and offers an exceptional level of content, but there's a little less to be enthusiastic about and the series remains exceedingly difficult for anyone who wouldn't already consider themselves to be an expert.
Much like the Warriors, one year removed from the title and on the brink of a repeat NBA "2K17" has come up just short of pulling it off. To even have come that close to doing so should still be considered quite an achievement.
"NBA 2K17" was reviewed on PlayStation 4 and is also available on Xbox One. A download code was provided by 2K Sports for review purposes.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the Press Row Podcast, and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.