NBA 2K15 has a slick sense of movement. Actions like faking right, shifting your momentum toward the low post, and floating the ball over a nearby defender look sharp, but going through these motions feels even better. Where players stuck unrealistically close to one another in past games, 2K15 adds much more natural spacing between bodies both on and off the rock. Smart ball handling leads to more distance to take a shot, and that puts a greater onus on the defensive player to read and predict the direction of his matchup’s drive. 2K Sports took significant technical strides with last year’s NBA release, but it’s the reinvented movement system and improved physics that make 2K15 such a success.
The NBA 2K series has done well to make you feel the weight of the player and friction of the court in recent years, but handling the ball has never felt this intuitive. Players can more easily change direction during cuts, and the finesse moves delegated to the right analog stick that were often difficult to pull off without losing the ball over are now more reliable. This improved dexterity--especially when controlling more agile players--allows for craftier, deliberate offensive execution. Your ability to create space opens up mid-range jump shots, and most players are now equipped to post up and fade away.
Your position on the court, your player’s shooting prowess, and how open you are all factor into the new shot meter that sits beneath the player’s feet. The better your situation, the wider the window for you to let loose a high-percentage shot. You can still knock down a contested jumper from 25 feet, but this indicator gives you a better sense of why certain shots hit while others kick off the rim. The meter also eliminates the frustration that used to come along with mastering each player’s specific stroke. Kobe Bryant and Nicolas Batum have vastly different releases, and previous NBA 2K entries forced you to know each athlete’s timing in order to hit consistently. This time around, you can much more easily determine your release point from the simple on-screen indicator.
The offense, when controlled by a patient practitioner, is much improved, giving defenders a greater workload. Instead of just pressing against your man, defense in NBA 2K15 asks you to read the offense and pay close attention to your position on the floor. Playing tightly on a player will often allow him to blow by you for a quick layup, while keeping too much distance results in easy jump shots. Over time, you find the correct space to work within, giving you the option to quickly close distance when a shooter pulls up or puts pressure on a driving body.
Locking on to a single man won’t help your team, though. The AI is craftier, so if you spend too much time studying your man, you generally miss screens being set on either side. Even at the Pro difficulty level, I found teams intelligently using picks and finding open men, and that was refreshing. Sports games often boast authenticity, but the tactics in NBA 2K15 frequently mirror what you’d witness on a real court.
NBA 2K15 is more intricate than previous games in the series, and because of that, the learning curve is steeper. Offensive players are often too slippery, easily chewing through your defense if you make a simple mistake. Losing your man as he goes for a layup is common, and this can be downright frustrating when matching up against players like LeBron James or Kevin Durant. Defense requires your undivided attention, and I appreciate that. But when individual matchups aren’t in your favor, you can feel helpless.
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MyPark has seen its fair share of improvements, including a reputation system that unlocks upgrades as you expand your reach and shorter games. One of the most frustrating parts of MyPark used to be waiting around in a queue as other players hogged all eight courts. Thankfully, pick-up games have been reduced to just 15 points, meaning you’ll spend more time actually playing basketball than twiddling your thumbs on the sidelines. It’s fully featured, but if you’d prefer to control more than your single created player and avoid getting stuck with ball hogs, the traditional online play option is still there.
New to the series is MyLeague, which is similar to the old Association Mode. MyLeague lets you design your own personal basketball world that may last for a single season, or up to 80 years. The roster, salary cap, draft preferences, season length, and dozens of other settings are left up to you, so really, this is your own personal sandbox. It’s yet another feature that offers something different from your standard game of hoops, but it’s only available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The AI is craftier, so if you spend too much time studying your man, you generally miss screens being set on either side.
MyTeam and MyGM haven’t seen significant changes,
NBA 2K15 isn’t as drastic a visual update as last year’s next-generation debut. Your friend sitting on the couch might not drool over the visual updates or expanded feature set, but the overhauled control scheme and helpful shot meter are the types of improvements basketball fans have been waiting for. Battling for space and effectively using a screen to set up a wide-open jumper is superbly satisfying, and while it can be a struggle to keep up on defense, the interaction between all 10 men on the court at any time has never looked or felt this real.
Made by David
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