The presentation in NBA 2K16 is second to none

Things get off to a bit of a shaky start as you create your in game persona for the MyCareer mode. You can make the usual sorts of edits to your future NBA star but this year you are able to scan your face into the game using Kinect. The best time to attempt this is during the day, with as much natural light as possible, once you align your face where the game asks you to it will ask you to slowly move your face left and right for about a minute. Once you have been captured you’ll see quite a cool image of the your face being built, as well as how many markers Kinect has picked up to help create the image, you’ll be informed on how good your scan was before see the final result. Unfortunately it rarely came out well for me, there were glimpses of my face but it also looked like I’d lost a 12 round boxing match badly.

 

Once you have ironed out all the usual details you’ll be wicked off to the main menu. The MyGM and MyCareer modes are NBA’s story and campaign modes. MyGM mode is similar to FIFA’s Manager mode and sticks the player in charge of a team of their choice as you manage player line-ups, coaching, strategies and court plays. Its all very intricate and detailed as you can even instruct individual players to play a certain way such as marking or going for the lay-up, luckily though, its all easily navigated through the pause menu during a match. You also have to handle sponsorships and pleasing fans and board members by being optimistic or you can choose to just keep them at bay by being slightly skeptical of your success. MyCareer is the opposite of MyGM mode.

 

Instead of being the manager looking after and maintaining a team, you become a user created player who longs to be the greatest b-ball player however first he needs to be recognized. Now, MyCareer has cutscenes throughout which are a bit lacking,cheesey and overacted but tells the story very well and carries it along at a nice pace. It even had my name in it and hearing the commentators calling my name whenever i scored a basket or even gained possession on the court was very cool. The defending is probably the trickiest part of the game. An arrow extends from your feet to show you the player you should be marking, and you need to stay close to them and keep them from getting an easy shot.

 

Things are a little different in career mode. Where before the action showed most of the court, here it's focused on a single player that you've built. You can't switch players, but you get a couple of extra options that let you perform stronger defence and set up plays. There are a few players that don't quite look right but, especially during game time, the presentation in NBA 2K16 is second to none. Admittedly, NBA 2K16 is not without some fairly significant flaws. Those only interested in playing NBA 2K16 online still have plenty of reason to hold off on a purchase, given the game's ongoing server woes, but this year's NBA project from 2K Sports and Visual Concepts might be the most feature-packed basketball game I've ever encountered.

 

Your player will go undrafted and have to play his way into the league. But first he will chew out his agent and act like an over-privileged jerk with a massive chip on his shoulder. I get that some guys want to be “ballers” (I believe I using that term correctly), but not me. I prefer the hard working types who just get the job done without the ego (you don’t need ego, just big dunks). This mode would be infinitely improved by removing the cutscenes. I mean if my rookie asked for a headband or some of those cool Kareem Abdul Jabbar goggles in real life, the Denver Nuggets wouldn’t ask me to buy my own. Why on Earth would 2K16 want me to have to buy items with the same coins I need to upgrade my player? Probably because you can buy packs of coins.

 

Even more control is offered as part of MyLeague, which lets users control almost every aspect of the league and even play as all 30 teams. This level of control does come at a price, as it can be difficult to navigate. Unfortunately, our online experience has been marred by some noticeable lag, something which makes a fast-paced sports game feel unplayable.