Like every NBA team, Visual Concepts has to prepare for another season and try to improve its roster and strengthen the line-up. Last year’s article was about switching to the new generation of hardware and really using the technology with impressive graphics and lightning-fast loading times. You could say that by taking this step, the developer found their core players, but as with any roster, there is always room to develop into a title contender. Visual Concepts has not yet found its championship year, but it has made some solid improvements and changes to eventually make it happen. NBA 2K22 may not feel much different than last year, but some bright spots make it more fun to play and lay a promising foundation for the future.
The gameplay, which has always been top notch, doesn’t make big changes from the formula. It took me a few games to really appreciate the improvements. This year the focus is on rewarding your basketball IQ and incorporating more realistic features like fatigue into your performance. That doesn’t mean your star players can’t shine and easily dominate the game, but you could miss a few more hoops or get blown by because you’re out of position more than in previous entries. It’s a change that I’m totally for, as it used to feel like overwhelmed stars were more important than good team basketball.
The tweaks are most noticeable in defensive play as positioning can make or break them. If you don’t do your man off adequately, or if you are on the wrong game, you are paying for it. Block and shooting competitions have been reworked so that predictable plays are defended more realistically. I also really like the new shooting knife, which takes into account shooting ability, distance, fatigue and defense coverage. Getting a basket is a good mix of skill and player talent that previous participants have struggled to perfect. Also, you can’t take anything for granted and assume the shot will go in since your player is elite and forcing a shot often fails. Some new dribbling moves add variety to ball handling, and this is another area where the differences in players’ abilities in the way they look and feel while dribbling are evident.
As for the modes, MyCareer has probably seen the most significant changes, all of which happened in The City. In this sprawling multiplayer hub, players can do everything from shopping for new clothes to playing pick-up games and tournaments. This means that you no longer follow a huge cinematic, written storyline as you did in previous years; Instead, you live your NBA career here, visit agents at their headquarters, meet reporters for exclusive interviews and go to the practice facility for team training. Visual Concepts has borrowed from the RPG elements, with a huge quest system that ensures that your player always has something to do, whether it’s working on their NBA career, advancing their personal brand, or embracing online -Challenges for extra goodies goes on.
MyCareer still has a story path and plays a newcomer as “MP” who caught everyone’s attention with his YouTube channel and is embarking on his own unique path in the NBA. This approach feels fresher than it did in previous years as Visual Concepts chose to showcase the different ways players can make a name for themselves and how social media can play a huge role in a player’s rise. You can choose to focus solely on basketball or build your brand with projects in music and fashion. During my time I released a track with rapper The Game and started my own line of clothing for comfortable but stylish sportswear. The story is silly at times, but I enjoyed it for that reason. This mode also offers some fun NBA season distractions, but note that when you step onto the fashion track you will have to use the virtual currency (VC) that you can earn in-game or buy in real-world money, on clothes to impress. Even so, the mode is still challenging, and it doesn’t help that most of the quests are repetitive, sometimes a repetition of the same content (the music trivia is outrageous), or require you to take part in boring fetch quests. The city is still a chore until you open up better vehicles and additional fast travel options outside of your home.
You only enter The City as a male MyPlayer, which is disappointing. NBA 2K22 brings The W back if you’re looking to forge your own WNBA career. While this mode laid a great foundation last year, it’s disheartening that Visual Concepts for NBA 2K22 no longer built on it. The only significant addition is the ability to practice with other WNBA stars to learn their skills alongside some gameplay tweaks to better reflect the women’s game, especially in the passport department. However, the mode feels devoid of meaningful interactions and rewarding content. I would love to see scenes and press conferences to show my player’s personality and her choices about her path in the league, as you can see on MyCareer.
MyGM is also very similar to last year’s, except that more people can be hired for different positions, such as sleep doctor or perimeter defense coach. This encourages you to think more about new hires. Do they fit your trainer’s system? Can you put up with employees who have a negative trait or two in favor of their other superior skills and advantages? It’s a little addition, but it gives you a little food for thought as you gauge your team’s needs. This mode is fun, but slowly losing its appeal as no significant changes have been made in recent years.
MyTeam, where you open packs of cards to create the list of your dreams, has received one of my favorite additions: Drafting. Now you can make a list by flipping three cards in a pack of five to put your team together in different locations. It adds some unpredictability and luck to the equation, but I enjoyed putting together a team this way to play against others online. Depending on your wins and losses, you will receive additional rewards and more attempts to draw players to further improve your team.
For those who love getting goodies and seeing your work work towards something, there are now seasons in all of the game’s main modes. Seasons run every six weeks and allow you to receive free items like clothing, packs of cards, and more. All you have to do is complete objectives (mostly playing games) to achieve certain reward levels. Modes like MyTeam and MyCareer have daily rewards that give you small freebies just for logging in. This is a wise change; I always felt that there was something to look forward to, and it helped having some rewards as an incentive to keep playing. While this is an improvement, microtransactions still show their ugly head in NBA 2K22; Most players ditch VC to improve their players’ stats faster, or get lured by cosmetic items to improve their appearance. You earn VC by playing games, but it’s a chore, which is why so many dig into their wallets. At least the prices of clothing seem more reasonable, but players only have slow skateboards to navigate around town in what looks like a carrot to get them to upgrade.
Instead of going into the arena and making a big statement, NBA 2K22 just plays decent basketball. You will see a few highlight clips, but none that will make you look in awe. Still, NBA 2K22 is an improvement over last year, even if it’s disappointing that it doesn’t take any major moves. Hopefully we’ll see more line-up changes next year to make the game a little more exciting and to feel like Visual Concepts is aiming for that championship title.