Like every NBA team, Visual Con Concept has to get ready for another season and try to improve the roster and make the roster stronger. Last year’s entry was all about making the jump to next-generation hardware and really taking advantage of the technology with impressive graphics and lightning-fast load times. You could say the developer found its core players when they made that move, but as with every roster, there’s always room to grow into a championship contender. The Visual Con Concept didn’t find its championship year, but it made some solid improvements and changes to finally get there. NBA 2K22 may not feel significantly different from last year, but some bright spots make it more enjoyable to play and lay a promising foundation for the future.
The gameplay, always at the forefront, doesn’t make any major changes to the formula. It took me a few games before I really appreciated the improvements. This year, focus on rewarding your basketball IQ and have more realistic features, such as fatigue, which factor into your performance. That’s not to say your star players won’t shine and dominate the game with ease, but you could miss a few more shots or be disqualified for being out of position more than the rest of the team. previous entry. It’s a change I give to everyone, because it once felt like the dominant stars were more important than playing good team basketball.
The defense game is where the tweaks are most noticeable, as placement can make or break you. If you don’t sever your man appropriately or play the wrong game, you’ll pay for it. Block and shoot competitions are reworked, so predictable turns are defended more realistically. I also really like the new fire rate meter, which takes into account firing, distance, fatigue, and defense range. Going to the basket is a fluid combination of skill and player talent that previous entries have struggled to perfect. You also can’t take anything for granted and assume that because your player is elite, the shot will succeed, and forcing a shot usually fails. Some of the new dribble moves bring more variety to ball handling and this is another area where player skill differences are evident in the way they look and feel when dribbling.
As for modes, MyCareer has probably seen the most significant changes, taking place entirely within The City. In this massive multiplayer hub, players can do everything from shop for new clothes to play scavenger hunts and tournaments. That means you’re no longer following a giant, authoritative cinematic plot like years ago; instead, you’re living your NBA career in this location, visiting agents at their headquarters, meeting with reporters for exclusive interviews, and visiting the practice facility for team practice . Visual Con Concept has leaned into RPG elements, with a massive quest system that ensures your players always have something to do, whether it’s working on their NBA career, enhancing the brand. their personal or join online challenges for more benefits.
MyCareer still has a narrative lead, playing “MP” an upstart who has turned to his YouTube channel and is finding his own unique path in the NBA. This approach feels fresher than in previous years, with Visual Concept opting to show the different ways players can make a name for themselves and how social media can be. can play a huge role in player popularity. You can decide to focus solely on basketball or build your brand with music and fashion projects. During my time, I released a track with rapper The Game and started my own clothing line for comfortable yet stylish sportswear. The story is silly at times, but I enjoyed it for that reason. This mode also adds some fun games from the NBA season, but note that if you’re into the fashion track you’ll use virtual currency (VC), which you can earn in-game or buy using real world money, clothes to impress. That said, the mode is still very challenging and it doesn’t help when most of the missions are repetitive, sometimes a rehash of the same content (music puzzles are too serious). ) or ask you to participate in boring fetch tasks. The city remains a pain to commute until you open up to better vehicles and additional fast-moving options outside of your apartment.
You only enter The City as a male MyPlayer, which is disappointing. NBA 2K22 really delivers The W if you want to forge your own WNBA career. While this mode laid a great foundation last year, it’s sad that Visual Mode doesn’t build it up more for NBA 2K22. The only significant addition is the ability to practice with other WNBA stars to learn their skills along with some gameplay improvements to better reflect the women’s game, especially in the division. pass the ball. However, this mode feels empty of meaningful interactions and rewarding content. I like to see scenes and press conferences to really showcase my player’s personality and choices about her path in the league, as you see in MyCareer.
MyGM is also very similar to last year, except with more staff for different positions to hire, such as sleep doctor or perimeter defense coach. This encourages you to think more about hiring. Do they fit into your coach’s system? Do you come across employees who have one or two negative traits in favor of their other superior skills and perks? It’s a small addition but gives you a bit of thought when assessing your team’s needs. This mode is very interesting but is starting to lose its appeal due to not having any significant changes in recent years.
MyTeam, where you open bundles of cards to create your dream list, has one of my favorite additions: the draft feature. You can now build a list by flipping three cards in a pack of five to create your team in different positions. It adds some unpredictability and chance to the equation, but I would love to create a team this way to play others online. Depending on your wins and losses, you get more rewards and more efforts in attracting players to continue to make your team better.
For those who like to receive gifts and see your work moving towards something, seasons are now available across all major game modes. Seasons happen every six weeks and allow you to get free items like clothes, card packs, etc. All you need to do is complete objectives (mainly gameplay) to achieve them. certain reward levels. Modes like MyTeam and MyCareer have daily rewards that give you small rewards just for logging in. This is a smart change; I always feel like I have something to look forward to, and it’s helpful to have some rewards to pursue as an incentive to keep playing. While this is an improvement, microtransactions still have their ugly heads in NBA 2K22; most players lower the VC to increase the player’s stats faster or are attracted to cosmetic items to improve their appearance. You earn VC by playing games, but that’s hard work, that’s why so many people go to their wallets. At the very least, clothing prices seem more reasonable, but players only have slow-moving skateboards to navigate the City, which seems like a carrot for them to upgrade.
Instead of stepping into the arena and making a grand announcement, NBA 2K22 just played decent basketball. You’ll see a few clips that stand out, but none that make you want to keep watching in awe. Still, NBA 2K22 is an improvement over last year, even if it’s disappointing that it hasn’t made any more significant moves. Hopefully, over the next year, we’ll see more roster changes to make the game a little more interesting and feel like Visual Con Concept is trying to claim that championship title.
