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At this point, thinking about the annual deliveries of sports titles can light up the mood and shoot it everywhere. Some will be happy for the start of a new season, others will hate it for the direction these games have taken by privileging their online components and spending too much real money. However, from time to time it all lines up for good results and that’s good news for fans of blast sport.
Video: NBA 2K23 – Michael Jordan Edition Trailer
23 there is only one and it is Michael Jordan
NBA 2K23 is now available and the occasion was unique to pay the highest tribute. In the history of the NBA, some players have worn the number 23, but it is known that only one has given it meaning to become a sporting and commercial symbol: Michael Jordan. Some naive people asked LeBron James as the historical athlete of this edition, something impossible because that number and that history belong to the Chicago Bulls player.
This year’s installment, specifically on current generation consoles, has the expected graphic and detail improvements, so it’s not worth wasting time on it; we only confirm that you will have everything you need if you are an NBA fan and you are ready for a new season. The franchise adequately complies with this section and NBA 2K23 is no exception, so you will get one of the most colorful games and with special attention to detail that has been made in the sports game sector.
With that said, let’s get to the news. Since Jordan is this year’s star, the Jordan Challenges are back, this time heavily influenced by the Netflix and ESPN documentary. The Last Dance. The career of the best player in history was prolific in every way and full of epic moments, but some were more so than others and that is where NBA 2K23 He has his first hit. The structure of these challenges is to play classic games in the Jordan era and try to emulate his feats by fulfilling specific objectives. Each mission is preceded by an interview that provides context and features NBA stars and personalities who were there, from that famous shot in the NCAA Finals in 1982 to his last shot in the 1998 NBA Finals.
The Jordan Challenges are the welcome door to another interesting proposal, as NBA 2K23’s MyGM mode has new guests. It is about the NBA eras, specific periods that marked the league and that have a strong presence in fans of several generations. This means that you will be able to play the traditional season mode with full management of your team for 4 eras. The one about the rivalry between Magic and Bird in the 80s; the Jordan era and the Bulls’ dominance in the ’90s; the transition from the post office to the era of Kobe Bryant in the first decade of the 2000s and the contemporary era, where you will be able to play the season that is just around the corner.
Every NBA fan will immediately remember everything that happened in those years and thanks to NBA 2K23 we have the opportunity to change history, to make those brave Patrick Ewing Knicks win a championship, to erase those free throws missed by Nick Anderson and then sink Shaq’s Orlando Magic, to give a championship ring to Allen Iverson and his Sixers or to fulfill the duel that never happened in finals: LeBron and his Cavs against Kobe Bryant and his Lakers.
Since they evoke the past of the league, both the Jordan Challenges and the eras in MyGM have an important addition and that is that the visual style changes according to the television standards of the time. The image filters and presentation formats are similar to those of those years so you will get a complete retro experience. Also, the gameplay fits the rules of those times, recalling the years when huge centers dominated the paint, defense was hostile, and shooting 3 was a desperate resource, not a style of play, as it is today.
NBA 2K and the potential stifled by transactions
After this bath of history in which we can easily spend months, without neglecting that in essence the MyGM mode has not ceased to be the same copy and paste of recent years, we find the other side of NBA 2K23, a not so pleasant or perhaps frustrating one. The MyCareer and MyTeam modes are maintained and there are some improvements, such as the decrease in the size of The City in the first – which translates into greater proximity of missions and interactions – and some adjustments in the contracts and in the cooperative experience of the second.
The story of MyCareer, where you create your avatar in search of leading it to NBA glory is more diluted and you lose all interest when you look at all the interaction possibilities in The City.
Unfortunately, the real name of this game is still real money. Yes, both modes have the possibility of letting you advance at your own pace and get items and improvements with your gaming experience, but as you can imagine that is the longest way and even worse, the interaction with other players falls out of balance because there is a whole scene that spends hundreds of dollars from the first day, so in an online meeting with real users you will see that your talent has little to do with the power of money.
The reality is that in terms of its online component, NBA 2K23it’s no different from its predecessors and sometimes it’s frustrating to see all that content and good gameplay get buried by greed and lack of regulation. Our advice, in this case, is to play with feet, well lead tennis, since you can enjoy facing the AI and being part of the events throughout the season, although you will not be able to do it fully if you do not spend real money.
Special mention deserves the greatest support that NBA 2K23 gives to the WNBA, because you can now fully enjoy its league in MyGM mode, and it even has its specific section and mode for those who like women’s basketball, which has made an important name for itself after fighting for many years.
Despite everything, NBA 2K23 shows that there is currently no better simulator
We’re past the bittersweet, now it’s time to see what happens with the gameplay. The 2K Sports and Visual Concepts franchise has always been prized for the attention they put into their physiques, quirks, and balance. NBA 2K23 is the next step in that direction and what can be done in terms of sports simulation. The shooting mechanics were adjusted to make it more intuitive and it is surprising to see the response of the control to the movement and actions of our fingers because, in truth, you can be in the best of rhythms in one game and not even hit the hoop in the next , as it happens in reality.
At the same time, adrenaline bars have been integrated that are consumed when running or doing complex dribbles, which means that you will not be able to run, outwit everyone and nail it over and over again. Such a move in a real game has effects on the body’s position and its ability to continue, change direction, or stop; in this case, the adrenaline bars together with the physics of the characters adequately represent that situation, which increases the level of realism that is expected in one of the best exponents of the genre.
The physics of the players and their movements continue to improve year after year, and in NBA 2K23 In addition to experiencing the strengths and limits of each player according to their real version, there are also unexpected details such as turnovers, constant rebounds in the hoop, shots that we took for good but did not hit, passing, shooting or defense results according to the position and speed that the player has, simply the next step in terms of realism and simulation.
2K Sports could make history, but prefers to think only about money
With everything and its contrasts, NBA 2K23 leaves the franchise in a better position compared to recent years; one step nothing more, do not think that the glory days are back. The transactions continue to devour uncontrollably, but the traditional modes are still there and the gameplay is better than ever. In the end, this year’s installment can satisfy all types of players and, although controversial, it is positive.
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