The last few years have shown that sports simulators are on the rise and more and more sports have them. Of course, if we are talking about simulators, the truth is that most are far below what NBA 2K offers us, and in particular its latest installment, NBA 2K21. Although it is currently the only basketball game we have available (too bad for NBA Live), its technical section and its play modes make it a very complete sports game.
This year’s title is very special, because it is an intergenerational launch, as is the case with a large number of titles of all kinds, like FIFA 21 or Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, to give two examples. However, this new NBA 2K21 isn’t just limited to being an upgraded version with more polished graphics, but it really does look like a new title, mainly thanks to some changes we’ll see later.
In this text, we will limit ourselves to informing you of the news of this new generation version, so if we recommend that if you have not done so in your day, first read our analysis of the Xbox One version. . We got to enjoy the new NBA experience on an Xbox Series X, where the result is just spectacular, and this new edition has tables to showcase what the next versions of NBA 2K next generation will be. Without further ado, let’s jump on the field to see how 2K21 evolves on it.
Technical section
One of the first titles we got to enjoy with our Xbox One when it launched was NBA 2K14, and at that time it was perhaps the one with the best tech section. Now, seven years later, a new NBA 2K returns to accompany us in the first of the generation, and of course the result remains the same. From the first batch of games available on Xbox Series, NBA 2K21 shows perhaps the best technical section of all.
The main purpose of a sports simulator will always be to make us feel inside, and without a doubt this fully achieves it. Now the tracks feel a lot more alive, especially thanks to the audience. The generational change has sat them down wonderfully, and we’ll see a lot more variety of viewers, feeling that each of them isn’t limited to just being another set. To this we must add the new camera available and that we will have active by default. It’s called “rail camera“And if you’ve seen basketball in the Orlando ‘bubble’, you’ll see the game as one more show.
Another element that has improved the most in this new version of NBA 2K21 is lighting. The reflection of the light in the park or in the players is the most realistic I have seen in a video game, and if we can get to enjoy close-ups during our game, we will fully appreciate how well this element is treated. . Another factor that we’ll enjoy a lot of evolving in will be the City, which leaving behind what now appears to be a limited neighborhood (what an eye, it wasn’t at all) gives us a huge stage full of things to do.
Of course, I left the best for the end of this section, who are the players. Without beating around the bush too much I can tell they have the best model I’ve seen in a sports game, and that says a lot considering the high level they already had in Xbox One’s previous 2K. The tattoos, the sweat, the animations … the players will appear to be authentic traces of reality, thus making the experience even more immersive. I can’t finish talking about the technical part without mentioning the loading times a little, and it’s that they hardly exist, a marvel.
Gameplay
From a gameplay perspective, the last NBA 2K had evolved, but taking very small steps to NBA 2K21 was too small. Like many other sagas, this one has been crying out for the generation leap for a few years now, and now that it’s finally here, we won’t take too long to realize how necessary this was. The playability of this version of NBA 2K21 is not yet the evolutionary leap it might need, but it is a very big leap that we will greatly appreciate.
If we played the Xbox One version, we will feel very comfortable and it is that the biggest changes in the gameplay do not alter the experience excessively. At our disposal we will have a new shot counter which I personally liked much more than the previous one, because we have the reference of the perfect shot much clearer. In addition, the changes made when performing plateaus (now much more “manual”) and other movements such as hand changes improve an already fairly precise control.
NBA 2K21 gives the WNBA the importance it deserves
The biggest changes in NBA 2K21 will be in its game modes, starting with the WNBA. The world’s best women’s basketball league has already played a part in the NBA 2K saga, but it wasn’t until the new generation arrived that it made the final leap. The 12 teams that make up this league are recreated to a very high standard, and far from being limited to the same generic NBA gameplay, they have unique animations and other moves.
For this league we will have two main game modes available. On the one hand, there will be My WNBA, a manager mode very similar to the one available for the men’s league and which allows you to take control of a good number of details such as the hiring of staff, the draft or sure transfers. On the other hand, we have without a doubt my favorite, which is called La W. This mode is the female version of My Career, in which we will create a player and improve her. The best thing about this mode is that it is not monetized so the upgrades will only be unlocked while playing, although only to put a but this mode is that it does not have that cinematic narrative that Ma career made.
The City leaves the district at the height of the asphalt
The other big change, and perhaps the one that will grab the attention of fans of the saga the most, is the arrival of the City. El Barrio was once a revolution, being one of the main reasons for the great success of the NBA 2K franchise. The City is coming to replace her, and believe me when I tell you that she is leaving the neighborhood at the height of the asphalt. Visual Conceps has created a huge stage divided into four districts that will take us several minutes to travel from one end to the other, and where we will find a good handful of courts to fight with other players.
The city will not be empty at all, and it is in it that we will find many NPCs who will give us missions to get VC and thus improve our player (or make him more attractive). However, this mode is not perfect, and unfortunately you still have a few issues that have not been resolved. The first of these is the great advantage of micro-payments here. As soon as we start we will have to play a few games on some docks (to get access to the City) and in my game I had to play with several people who had characters with more than 15 rating points above mine . The other is the waiters, who although it is true that I noticed a slight improvement while playing, they still don’t offer the response they should.
Duration
As I always like to say when I analyze a sports game, NBA 2K21 is going to give us as many hours of fun as we want to devote to it. Although I didn’t mention them as they are already included in the Xbox One version, modes such as MyGM and Playoffs and Seasons in themselves are a great variety not to just play games. To these must be added the My Team mode, which this year introduces several interesting new features such as the transfer system or the choice of statistics during the evolution of a card.
To this great offer of modes, we must add the novelties offered by the specific modes of the WNBA and the City, which alone already offers almost hours of play to be able to sell itself as a separate video game. In this sense, if we use micro-payments to buy VC, our experience will be very different, and it is that the progress that we are going to make in the City will not be as satisfactory, although it will certainly be very fast. .
conclusion
Right before buying a new console, there is usually a question that becomes very common. This question is: what game did my machine come out with? Obviously, the answer will be very subjective in all cases, and it is obviously that all players do not have the same tastes. Of course, when we buy a console, what we want above all else are games that exploit its new features (especially in terms of graphics), and this NBA 2K21 does.
After having been able to enjoy the two versions of NBA 2K21 I can say that we are facing an excellent sports simulator, and that it is not limited to a simple graphic update in its version for Xbox Series. The new additions fit him really well, especially the City, they fit him like a glove, and once we try them out, we won’t design a new NBA 2K without it. The real problem with this edition is that the game doesn’t have Smart Delivery, so to play on our Xbox series we have to buy its own edition (or bought the Mamba edition, which included both versions).
For me this NBA 2K21 is a must have game for all basketball and sports enthusiasts in general, being one of the best choices on the market to release our Xbox series.
We thank 2K Games for the material offered to be able to perform this analysis.
