NBA 2K23: Visual Concepts thinks big with new installment of its historic series

another time delivery

As usual, there’s no shortage of options, but the “My Career” mode represents the juiciest meal on offer, and this year it’s accompanied by an undeniable number of side dishes. But let’s go in order. As you may recall, in the 2022 version the player in career mode was the kind of influencer playing in the NBA who had to prove himself as an athlete. This time things are different. You will choose your position in the NBA Draft, but the team’s fans will not accept the selection. It will be up to you to earn the trust of the locker room and the city and prove your worth.

Visual Concepts has undoubtedly worked to improve the format that was released in the early life of next-gen consoles. He achieved this with the “GOAT Boat” equipped with more space and new missions. On cutting-edge platforms, you can shape the fate of your digital alter ego in the gigantic, bubbling cauldron of “The City”. This installment offers a city where players can explore to customize their characters, play online against other users and interact with the career mode, complete activities, missions, secondary challenges, weekly and seasonal events, and find a wide variety of cosmetic items to dress up My Player. For example, the jerseys of the Spanish Basketball Team – a great detail.

Any activity in the shared playground can bring you all kinds of rewards that will enrich your experience. To take into account the inclusion of the fast travel system. Because the city was so large, it was sometimes difficult to get around the points of interest and enjoy all the possibilities shown on the map. Meanwhile, another welcome innovation is entering the stadium and interacting in the moments before the match, such as entering the locker room, dealing with the press and other situations that leave a trace of reality.

My team

Besides the career mode, you can’t miss another of the great dishes on the menu offered by ‘NBA 2K23’: the “MyTeam” mode, plus the recipient of new features and updated items, including rewards and Starter cards – this season you can: lead the collection Choose between Ja Morant, Jimmy Butler or Joel Embiid-; The arrival of Cooperative Triple Threat Online and the elimination of contracts, which invites us to team up with our friends to play online in different modalities in 3v3 cooperative mode. You can now send cards that are not in your 13-man squad in a worldwide Showcase Mission. Likewise, a new way of earning a top player from each series by completing a team’s Trophy Case has been implemented.

Expansion of women’s basketball

Another delicious dish on the table corresponds to the women’s league, the WNBA, which premiered “The W,” a revamped episode dedicated to women’s basketball. This season ‘NBA 2K23’ introduces new ways to check out how the League has grown, challenges and other new content. Each Season for this release will have six weekly goals that the community can work on together. All players will receive a reward if the aggregate goal is reached in four of the six weeks of that Season. In this sense, progressing to a maximum of level 10 in League Popularity in “The W” unlocks two additional slots for Expansion Squads. From here you will be able to choose a city, build an arena, create the logo and design the uniforms. By the way, you can be part of the All-Star team for the first time and participate in the game as well as the Commissioner’s Cup. The WNBA this year is, at its core, one of the most exciting ways to explore.

A pleasure to play and watch

The rest of the classic aspects of the game have also been revamped or nuanced. For example, the “My NBA” mode designs variations with “Eras”, which can create iconic moments with legends and classic teams, with the aim of exploring its ability to change NBA history. Game mode provides a time machine that lets you start a new game at a certain point in NBA history, called the “Era”. Here you can play alone or with your friends and relive or rewrite key moments in the history of this competition, such as “The Magic vs Bird Era” starting in 1983, “The Jordan Era” starting in 1991, “Kobe Bryant” starting in 1991. takes us back to 2002 and “The Modern Era,” which corresponds to the previous My NBA experience. This means you can start with the updated templates available and enjoy the traditional game mode experience. On the subject, each “Period” received updates to recreate the atmosphere of the period. Additionally, a special filter system has been designed to recreate the television experience as it was originally broadcast.

Michael Jordan remembers legendary times

The highly interesting “Jordan Challenge” mode features 15 playable moments from the athlete’s early days as a college league sensation, to his career, arrival in the NBA, milestones and grand finals from the National Championship. From the 1982 NCAA to the 1998 NBA Finals. Each challenge includes a pre-interview with a star who is a part of each of these very special games. It is also equipped with a video filter system designed to recreate the television experience in its original form from the 80s and 90s.

Along the same lines, the game was reconfigured for the 1980s, including narrower transition lanes and players hitting the basket with numerical advantage rather than the three-pointers seen today. It’s interesting to see how his achievements become stronger and more impressive when we have to repeat Jordan’s performances. Getting 50 points against a top team is quite a challenge and there are harder or more goals than those.

‘NBA 2K23’ doesn’t lose an ounce of graphic awesomeness, and frankly, there’s nothing to object to about the soundtrack as we’re used to it., testifies to unlimited qualitative peaks. The combination of elements is complemented by a graphic facet that continues an incredible evolution bordering on the absurd, as we are talking about one of the most photorealistic experiences possible and manages to improve shadows, sweat effect and of course fidelity. From a technical standpoint, the game seems solid and fluid, at least when it comes to the purely sports phase. Artificial intelligence has been revised and rewritten, allowing us to enjoy actions that are consistent and more compatible with possible real situations. In fact, AI-controlled players are more likely to take the right position on the field and depending on the chosen play scheme can attack the ball carrier, press, force the shot, run to help with a good block and, above all, recover. ball in offensive and defensive rebounds.

save your strength

The development team focused on revising the defense system, and in that sense, there is a more natural application of marked patterns, more pressure on the man, and a smarter convergence on recoil. All of this translates into player archetypes that deliver a smoother gameplay, new skill moves, animations, and a more authentic experience. However, the main change this year is the addition of new features that give each shot mechanic unique stats to help determine the effectiveness of the shot. There are also five new meters to choose from, along with 15 more that can be unlocked throughout the Seasons, while the Pro Stick’s parameters have been improved with the addition of combo moves that offer more options for scoring and dribbling. Dunks takes new commands so you can smash them exactly the way you want.

Compared to skill moves and Adrenaline Attacks, combos offer more ball control and scoring options for the offensive arsenal. Additionally, Adrenaline Charges, three buffs that are consumed each time a player makes an explosive start, have been added to prevent excessive dribbling. With all three drivers used every time you have the ball, you’ll notice your speed and acceleration drop significantly for the rest of the game. Finally, the Team area has been redesigned, although the areas, primary and secondary areas remain the same. It now works as a common system where all members share a single counter.

Results

They wrote a new chapter of their love for the genre at Visual Concepts and 2K. Much has been developed for this, from fluidity on the pitch to an expanded space to meet the demands of the WNBA, which is receiving the attention it deserves. They also managed to touch the nostalgic hearts of many fans with the return of Jordan and the addition of the “Eras” game mode. With best-in-class visuals, improved player AI, rosters, multiple modes and updated historical teams, the well-known series has never been healthier, more vibrant and real than ‘NBA 2K23’.