NBA 2K18 was hyped up far beyond what fans received when the game finally launched. NBA 2K19 has corrected most of these problems, and developer Visual Concepts has certainly taken many of those problems to heart, as 2K19 delivers a far more polished and buffed sequel to the disappointing title from yesteryear.

For once, the story is actually interesting in a sports game. FIFA, NFL, and most other sporting titles, generally have boring protagonists, bland dialogue, and a seriously dry storyline. However, NBA 2K19 brings us a protagonist full of passion, emotion, and a hint of irritation. The character dubbed ‘AI’ (original, right?) is your player character, and after setting your height, weight, and features, you jump into a Chinese commentary of a basketball match that leaves you wondering ‘Why is the audio Chinese?’.


It's hard to not be motivated when The Falcon gives you a talking-to

Afterwards, you find out through flashback cutscenes that your player was gunning for a spot in the NBA after college, but was, unfortunately, not drafted. He now has to keep his dreams alive in the Chinese basketball scene, as he attempts to push his way through to the NBA. So far, this sounds fairly repetitive, but it is the deeper character immersion that stands out. For example, in one scene, he is standing in his tiny apartment making noodles, but wonders off and thinks back to when he was so close to being a pro b-ball player in America.

For once, the story is actually interesting in a sports game.

Despite being named ‘AI’, you feel like the character on-screen in an actual person with real feelings, expectations, hopes, dreams, and goals, rather than just a playable avatar. However, 2K could’ve dropped the ‘AI’ thing, as it cuts immersion in cutscenes. Regardless, as your career progresses, and you get a stern talking-to from The Falcon (well, Anthony Mackie, but The Falcon sounds so much better, right?), you start to realise that, actually, you needed that time in China to mature as a person. As the story progresses, you really start to form a bond with other players, and you begin your journey to humility, only after which do you become the greatest player. The cutscenes were fairly long, and anyone who remembers the non-skippable scenes from NBA 2K18 knows the pain of watching them ramble on. Thankfully, 2K19 allows you to skip these scenes.


Better recognise

Character progression is fairly standard; the better you play on the court, the more Virtual Currency (VC) you get, the better you can make your character at certain skills. I played as a Power Forward (PF), and after putting some effort into increasing my shooting, I was able to get 3-pointers on the regular. My dunking skills are still awful, but that’s because I just seem to get it right. My defence needs some work but that’s my haste and impatience working against me.

The gameplay mechanics overall were phenomenal. The increased buff to defence provided a greatly-needed boost to the realism and challenge, rather than just steal, shoot, score that we saw in NBA 2K18. There were some irritations to the gameplay, and despite the ball physics being greatly improved, there were still some inaccuracies that left the ball rimming the basket and bouncing out. Although, in saying this, the ball behaved far better than it did in the previous iteration, especially when it came to dribbling, stealing, and overall manoeuvrability.

The increased buff to defence provided a greatly-needed boost to the realism and challenge, rather than just steal, shoot, score that we saw in NBA 2K18.

Look at LeBron, thinking he's all that

The increased challenge forced me to employ some craftier and more intelligent plays, as well as interact with my teammates, more often. The few times I managed to separate the ball from offence, I couldn’t easily run it in and shoot; I felt myself passing to my team to create space, I was forced to slow down and calculate my shot better, all while keeping an eye on court awareness and thinking of how the opposing team could block my shot, which happened a number of times.

This made those baskets that much sweeter because it felt like an incredible achievement to actually get those points on the scoreboard, therefore making the game a far more rewarding experience, to the point where I couldn’t put the controller down.


They waxed that floor real good

The Neighbourhood was given some drastic updates, but waiting times for online matches still continue to be a problem. The Neighbourhood is now something worth exploring, thankfully, and if you are getting really annoyed with the waiting times (like me), then at least you can run around like Naruto. So, there’s some upside, at least. I won’t harp on about the server problems, as that is something that 2K have struggled with for some time, so there are no changes there.

The Neighbourhood is now something worth exploring, thankfully, and if you are getting really annoyed with the waiting times (like me), then at least you can run around like Naruto.

There was a rather nagging issue I feel that didn’t need to be addressed, but it was changed anyway. The online Play Now mode was shifted in how the tiers work and interact with the matchmaking. Previously, if you were a certain tier, you were paired with a player in that same tier and off you went. Now, however, you will need to win games in order to unlock classic teams, and you are simply paired with other tiers, including ones you may not be interested in.


Breaking the fourth wall. Love it

I could understand this concept, that it could a be a fun way of getting you to try out different teams and tiers, but I feel like it removes the user’s choice. If I want to play with a specific tier, then I should be allowed to, instead of being forced to play in a tier that might outmatch me. I get the concept, and I do like it, but in practice, it just leaves room for unfair matchups.

Lastly, I want to touch on the soundtrack. As I said in my impression piece, I am not the greatest fan of new age hip-hop and trap music. However, in the context of NBA 2K19, it was outstanding. The soundtrack felt natural, and really embellished the atmosphere of the game. The tracks that were used really hype everything up, and does well to appeal to the majority of the game’s fan base.

The soundtrack felt natural, and really embellished the atmosphere of the game.

Old-school b-ball game inside new b-ball game. B-ball-ception

Another massive improvement for NBA 2K19 is the career aspect of MyGM. Before, you could only play the career once, after which it became a repetitive, interactive movie. However, this year’s release offers you two choices: either play the ‘MyGM: The Saga Continues’ mode with the storyline, or you can play without the main campaign and simply act as a the GM for your team in ‘Traditional MyGM’. This offering allows players the opportunity to replay the MyGM career mode without having to play a storyline in which you already know will happen.

The customisation in MyGM and MyLEAGUE is incredible, offering changes at a micro-level. For example, you can now change the ‘Player Progression Rate’ and the ‘Player Regression Rate’ sliders on each individual skill, rather than just overall.

MyTEAM has been given a lot more attention over 2K18. The new ‘Triple Theeat’ mode pits your top three best players against someone else, or against bots. However, if you opt for the non-human opponent, you will be going up against the best trios in the history of NBA so be prepared for that. The Jordan Rec Centre makes a comeback, as well as the introduction of the new ‘Crew’; a 3-on-3 mode that doesn’t evolve into Pro-Am, which now offers private matchmaking.

The customisation in MyGM and MyLEAGUE is incredible, offering changes at a micro-level.

The mini-games, both new and old, offer a fun diversion from the more ‘serious’ basketball gameplay, which all happen in the Cage. Slam Ball, which is basketball with trampolines, was immensely fun, and so was dodgeball and the trivia. Sometimes you need a break from the constant grind of managing the best teams or starring for one, so these little games are amazing to have. I mean, who doesn’t like b-ball with trampolines?

Overall, I loved NBA 2K19. It really drove home that this is actually a basketball simulator, rather than an arcade-ish title, with great improvements to the mechanics, storyline, and The Neighbourhood. The increase in challenge tormented me at first, but it also prevented boredom and repetition from setting in. Instead, I constantly needed to think on the fly, navigating the court while keeping defensive lines and counter-attack opportunities in mind. Honestly, this is one of the best sporting games out there, one where I struggled to put the controller down.