NBA 2K14 News, Features, Updates, Reviews: 2K Sports Dominates, But No Online Franchise Mode or Season in Next-Gen Version
NBA 2K14 has scored best where it counts the most - gameplay, graphics, and everything to do with being on the court.
The game has shattered expectations across the board and it was probably a blessing in disguise of sorts when it was revealed that NBA Live would be making a comeback this year. 2K Sports has taken the time to make the NBA 2K games as great as ever in the past few years while NBA Live was taking some time off. EA Sports' NBA Live return thus far has been disastrous as the game is plagued by inferior graphics, bad controls, and the list goes on. It's safe to say that NBA 2K14 will be seen as even better than before when compared to such a bad basketball game in NBA Live.
"NBA 2K14 is everything right and a few things wrong with next-generation gaming," Ebenezer Samuel said in his review for the New York Daily News. "Overall, developer Visual Concepts crafts the most fluid, near-realistic action you've ever seen in a basketball video game, and it breathes new life into some ancient sports modes."
Of course, the game will not get away without any drawbacks. In fact, the issues that have been described in the new game seem to range from mild to extreme, but Samuel starts off by talking about the lack of owners.
"You can't blame 2K here, but it would be nice to see owners' likenesses in the game, if that were possible," he said. "They're increasingly a key part of the fabric of the NBA (that happens when a fella named Michael Jordan is an owner), so it would be great to see them represented."
With this being said, arguably the most glaring issue pertains to some of the most traditional aspects of sports games.
". . . You can't have multiple GMs in this RPG experience," Samuel said. "Oh, and the mode is heavily geared towards online gamers. If you start an online MyGM and your internet connection goes out, you can't play that MyGM. You can set up offline files, though, as long as you unplug your ethernet cable at the very start, a minor annoyance."
All in all, it is quite obvious by now that you'd better pick up NBA 2K14 if you're looking for an NBA game to play. NBA Live won't cut it and it may be the last time we ever see the game series on the shelves. If not, however, we'll see how NBA Live and EA Sports is able to respond in the future.