Graphic by: Zainie Qureshi

It’s a thursday night, around 8:53 PM. I’m standing outside along with 30 other people waiting at the doors of the Route 59 Gamestop. Sent outside by the staff, we all sit around anticipating the 9:00 early release of NBA 2K18. It smelled of mediocrity, as does the entire NBA 2K series, but hey, I’ll buy it anyways.

Up until now, 2K’s MyCareer has been the most popular part of the franchise. The previous two installments, 2K16 and 2K17 have had the most ridiculous stories for your created player.

Visionary director and notorious Knicks fan Spike Lee took a crack for 2K16. What resulted was an abomination of the highest order. No matter the complexion of your character, your family including your twin sister are black. So my 6 foot 11 Slovenian stretch 5 stuck out in his family portrait. This is not a thing I care about too much, but it’s just a little awkward, you know?

The aesthetic was not the only thing wrong with this campaign. The “Spike Lee Joint” starred Frequency Vibrations, aka Freq, alongside your friend Rapper Bo$$ Key Yacht$. Bo$$ is a certified “Friend of Freq” and it creates tension with your agent. Oh also in your past you may or may not have killed someone???

Vic aka “Bo$$ Key Yacht$” is one of the worst characters in any video game ever. He tries to steal your girlfriend, gets into an accident with a car he borrowed from you, and jeopardizes your career multiple times. He is also responsible for one of the longest and grating cutscenes in a 2K game.

2K17 thankfully strays away from the Spike Lee Joint. It begins with our main man Pres in his High School gym. He is going through friendly banter with his old coach. You sadly have to play in High School which is a complete waste of time. Somehow my teammates smoked 10 layups in the championship game which grinded my gears.

Pres was not as annoying as Freq, but that is not saying much. The worst thing about Pres was when you would make a shot the camera would cut to you doing a little dance, and the offense would blow by you. You would lose like a letter grade from this because whoever you guarded would get some easy points. Pop ups like: “Leave assignment” or “Defensive breakdown” and my favorite “Xbox controller disconnected”. 50 dollars later you have a new controller and you are ready for more.

2K18 was a breath of fresh air. I spent way less time messing around in High School and College than I did in previous NBA (NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION) games. Which was a very big plus. You play a streetball tournament and then get a call from an agent to tryout for the team you preselected.

2K18’s hero is DJ, a manchild who quit basketball to pursue his DJ career. After hearing about a showcase street tourney, DJ sets out to start his next chapter in the NBA. Again you have an agent who seems like a carbon copy of the past few games. Then again every 2K game feels like a carbon copy of the past few games.

The Gameplay

The gameplay this year feels very smooth, the game by nature is silky. The team play is more organized and changed the way you access quick play. The dribbling feels better and there are less silly turnovers. The major problem is the shot meter’s inconsistency. Jump shots will not fall as easy in this installment.

The Graphics

A major improvement in sports games from year to year are the graphics. The biggest thing for 2K18 was the player models. In ‘17, players like Gordon Hayward, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard were built like sticks. 2K18 has done away with the slenderman look and has filled out many players.

The Features

A couple of new features were added this year. 2K’s MyCareer has taken on a more RPG style with “The Neighborhood”. Like Destiny’s tower, the neighborhood lets you size yourself up with the other players online. You can walk over to a barber shop, a game zone, a gym, your team’s practice facility, as well as a swag store. MyCourt is still in the game as usual.

“Parting Shots”

2K18’s MyCareer has taken huge leaps for the franchise. The game is exciting and feels nice. The Legendary Teams feature for all 30 NBA teams was genius and adds a new layer of fun to the normal head to head games. As well as the improved aesthetic of the game. Happy playing! My MyCareer rating: 4 out of 5 stars.