The NBA 2K franchise has long been the default series for Basketball fans. It has routinely thrashed EA’s NBA Live to the point where they had to take a break for one year in order to re-invigorate the series. It continues that tradition with NBA 2K16 — a complete package thanks to its excellent presentation, unmatched gameplay and a varied game modes.
MyGM is a standard manager mode which lets you take over schedules of any team. Managing relationships with the owner, players, fans and the media plays a key role in your success or failure. Keeping everyone happy, while maintaining your budget and making steady progress is indeed a challenging experience.
MyCareer is more story-driven which focuses on your journey from school to NBA stardom. Called Livin’ Da Dream, a player-created character goes through the life of a professional basketball star complete with cutscenes, dialogue choices and rivalries. But out of the available game modes, MyCareer is the most underdeveloped. The story comes in the way of the game and the acting is cringe worthy and it often feels like the game is wasting your time. Besides that, MyTeam, a virtual card-collecting game mode with emphasis on building the ultimate team, also makes a return.
But the sheer number of ways to play isn’t all NBA 2K16 offers. The game is a true showcase of current gen consoles with fantastic animation and physics. The character models look lifelike and the riveting stadium atmosphere helps establish its presentation. The defence has seen several enhancements over NBA 2K15, and the AI players no longer act like idiots while defending. Offensive tactics have been re-configured as well, making it more realistic.
