NBA 2K23

Ok, I'll preface this by saying I half expected to hate everything but the actual basketball in this, and I only have interest in MyCareer so all those other modes mean nothing to me. So this is purely based on MyCareer only. And as it's a PS+ game it costs me nothing to try it. Well, nothing physical or monetary anyway. Apologies for what i'm expecting to be a long post.

I knew it was VC focussed like previous NBA 2K games, but I was not prepared for just how bad they've made it. I played 5 hours of this last night. In that 5 hours, there were 3 games, and I probably actually played about 28 minutes in total across those 3 games. The rest... constant push towards spending actual money, it's gone beyond rediculous. I would start with the good points, but tbh, there are none in the beginning.

Game starts off with a low res choppy video of a real life city, then you create your player. No help at all, you need to be a basketball fanatic to understand everything you're about to do. So I copied a dunk build, because that's the best part of basketball games for me. Then showed you the city you'll be spending unnecessary amounts of time in, with all the disctractions. Voice acting for the main characters is actually pretty good, but the animations, details, everything else is terrible, including setting you up as someone being hated from the get go, for no reasons whatsoever*.

Lets you control your character then, and you learn how horrible movement in the city is. Long ass uninterruptable animations, like getting off your skateboard. No instant fast travel, no, you need to take the subway, which is instant fast travel once you get there. You quickly realise how EVERYTHING is tied to VC, and remember the same VC is needed to upgrade your character. Guess it's brown shirt/sweat pants for the forseeable. I mean, in real life, the rookie salary is nearly $1m a year. You can tell this by the fancy apartment and stuff, and the fact he pays a team to do all this for him...

Anyway, start a game, summer season, sets up the big bad for the story, typical douche. Red/Blue "choices" which usually end up with the character saying something you wouldn't have, so not really a choice, just a choice between being a dick or not being a dick but getting slack for not being a dick. Game is ok, but I quickly learn it's "making" me good, when I hit a free throw that was released at 25%. Grand, got a B+ grade, which means I'm on rotation, totally expected yet MP acts like he was snubbed. Whatever, get me back to the games.

Oh no. Before you play the first game, let us remind you about all these things that you can do outside the game, like the Gatorade training facility where you can do exercies to give you boosts for 7 real days. They're pointless minigames tbh, and we're gonna make them even more annoying by having them not available to do from a list. No, walk/skate to the facility, then walk to each machine (after a cringey cinematic). The gym is even bigger this time, so you have to walk further. Not a massive issue, but you've to do this every week. Don't also forget to visit all the other stuff to give you boosts during games so you can be good. Run/Skare around this populated but empty "city". Then you get to the arena. Finally, a game.

But wait! There's more non-basketball game related crap while in the arena, which aren't necessary but you won't get as much VC if you don't, and people will be even more of a dick to you because... reasons. Grand. Play the game, and yup, my 60 ovr is basically useless against the AI (on Pro). Can't do anything, missing all shots. Got the free throw line a few times, shockingly bad. Basically have to make a perfect release to make it. Right.

Game ends, we lost by a few even though I was never given the chance to score, and pass calls completely ignored. I was by myself, in their D, waiting for a long throw (which I know the Trailblazers are well capable of doing), but no. Waited for everyone to get back before passing. I more or less expected this, but it was worse than I imagined. Time for your first press meeting! Get used to them. Oh, and mandatory cringe cutscene too. Ok, back to training and then the next game. Nope.

Next up, appearing on the show with 3 people who are immediately annoying. More red/blue choices where he'll end up saying something random anyway. But you know what MP did mention in this show? How much money they get paid. While sitting there in a brown tshirt and grey sweats, with only 1500VC in the bank after a game. Suppose I should upgrade MP a bit with the pittance I have. What does that get me? 5 upgrade slots, from a total of over 100 possible slots, all of which increase in cost as you go up. Nothing new there. I make an inconsequential upgrade.

Can I game now? No. You should buy clothes. Well, that's not happening because I have 37VC. Let me play the next game. NO! You need to meet with the owner, or something. More cringe cutscene. Oh look, they're re-using the practice vs social media thing again. Getting messages on my "phone" showing all the horrible crap people are still inexplicably saying. I power through.

Eventually get to the next game. This isn't fun. I'll drop the difficulty to try and make it somewhat enjoyable. You'll what now? Oh, ok. We're just gonna cut 40% off your VC earnings and MyPoints, or something else that wasn't explained to me. Fine, stay at Pro. Start the next game. Have coaching enabled so I know what I'm supposed to do. Getting destroyed. Not a single play allows me to take a shot. Most use me as a screen with no pick and roll. Half the time I'm just to stay away from everything.

This is not fun. I realised at this stage that everything in the game is designed to push you towards buying VC. When you pause, the first option is Resume, the second is Buy Get VC. You need VC to buy anything and upgrade, and you earn so little per game that it makes your character unusable. This is where the story and social media side of things come into play, which I now believe are also specifically designed to push you towards purchasing VC. Both will make you feel bad, and put you down, for not doing good, which you can't possibly do until you upgrade your character, and the only way to do that early on is to spend real money.

The first time I turned on the game, before I could do anything, there was 2 splash screens of stuff to buy. When I got rid of them, the menu immediately had some unknown youtuber obviously paid by 2K to promote something to buy. For a game about basketball, there's very little playing basketball in it. This game is the epitome of greed. It's unashamedly pushing the purchasing of VC, to the point it makes the game unplayable without it. There's far more of a push to do everything BUT play basketball. And it's a shame, because there seems to be a good game behind it, and to see the hard work of those people get pushed aside in favour of monetisation.

Everyone needs to play this game to see how bad it is, and see exactly why 2K are the most anti-gamer company out there. I will NEVER buy ANY 2K game until this changes completely. Never. That new Lego one looks fun, but I won't be spending a single cent directly towards 2K again, because they are the prime example of what gamers should be completely avoiding. I know I'm a drop in the ocean, but I'm done with this kind of horrible approach.

And while I said everyone needs to play this game to see how bad it is, at the same time, I can't recommend anyone give any time to it whatsoever. I don't think I'd play it again even if they gave me 500k VC. I will only go back if it removes MyCareer from VC completely. Which won't happen. Yet again I find myself hoping on EA of all people to do something about this. Game deleted.

No dunk = no deal! I was gonna give it a go, but my inner spoilt child wouldn't let me play anymore. Gives hope that at least they know how to make a mode like that, but makes MyCareer even worse that a better version of it could exist. They know it's a popular mode, but they need to separate it from the online.