Title: NBA 2K14
Format: PS4(reviewed), PS3, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Release Date: October 2013(current gen) November 2013(next gen)
Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Visual Concepts
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: E
NBA 2K's first venture onto next gen systems is a great leap forward for basketball simulators. As it's direct competitor falters, NBA 2K14 shines bright on next gen systems.
Presentation:Soon after turning NBA 2K14 on for the first time, I quickly realized the potential, not only basketball games, but sports games have with the arrival of new hardware. The past couple of years saw minimal presentational improvements to the game, but on PS4 and X1, the game looks leaps and bounds better than the current gen systems. Visual Concepts stated that they built the game from the ground up for next gens systems, an with the all new Eco-motion engine, it really shows. The player models have received the biggest overhaul. The attention to detail is all here, and not only with the big stars of the day, even the bench players all accurately depict their real life counterparts. Not every player model is perfect however. Lebron James and Kobe look terrific, but Chris Paul and Michael Beasley don't look quite right. This is to be expected, this is the first game running the new engine, and it will surely improve over the consoles' lifecycle. The lighting has received a major upgrade as well, the each court looks great, as you can clearly see the stadium lights reflecting off the hardwood. NBA 2K's commentary has always been the best out of the various sports games, and 2K14 continues the tradition of fantastic sports commentary.
Core Gameplay and Multiplayer:2K finally has a bit of competition this year with the resurrection of NBA Live, and while NBA Live might look the part, it doesn't come close to the silky smooth gameplay in 2K14. Thanks to the Eco-motion engine, each players feels a bit more weighted down than before, and the constant collisions with players look terrific and realistic. If you transitioned directly from the current gen version to the next gen versions, you may think that the developers took a lot of the modes and features out of the game, and that's somewhat true. The menus are pretty barren, with you mainly focussing your attention on MyCareer, MyGM, and MyTeam. MyCareer has been completely overhauled, and has taken a more cinematic approach this time around. There is a lot of story this time around, as you develop rivalries and enemies among the league. Most of the dialog is pretty cheesy and laughable, but luckily the on the court moments make up for it. MyGM is connected to MyCareer as your created player takes the reigns of a team. It's basically the Association mode, but gives you more responsibility to manage not only the team, but the owner, the coach, and your loyal fan base. MyTeam makes a return, as you try an assemble your perfect team from basketball cards. The mode has made it's way to basically every sports game out there, as it's become one of the popular modes to have in a game. Online works great, out of the multiple matches I've played, the games were lag-free. You can also take your MyPlayer to the Park, where you can team up with other players' created players. If you can find an open game, the feature works well.
Final Thoughts:NBA 2K14 proved to be the sports game that made the biggest leap to next gen. Not only does the game look dramatically better, dribbling and shooting a ball has never felt better. A few features may have been stripped, but the major improvements to the modes present will give you more than enough to do over the year. S&S Rating: 9/10 @whatsPlay
