The aim-meter mechanic is really difficult to master, but has led to some really satisfying one-on-one isolation victories. It is nice being able to use the ideal stick exclusively as a sculpting tool till I'm ready to pull back for a shot. The capability to size-up, which is tied to unique dribbling animations for many of the best players in the league, and isolate is better than ever. I spent a couple of MT 2K21 hours experimenting with different playstyles, like easing the pick-and-roll using Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. It is tremendously rewarding to utilize Doncic's size and footwork to make space - something that I could not replicate with other defenses around the team, such as Seth Curry. While it is not entirely new, NBA 2K21's ability to entertain gamers' playstyles is outstanding this year.
That said, there are a couple annoying gameplay issues I've come across, too. Fastbreaks seem slightly enhanced, but player spacing continues to be clearly off. For example, even my finest three-point shooters will track inside the three-point line on fast breaks when they'd be better off locating space in the corner. Generally, it seems like NBA 2K21 hasn't fully adapted to the accent modern NBA basketball has put on the three-point line. Quick catch-and-shoots aren't as prevalent as they should be, and closing out remains far too easy on defense.
Similarly frustrating is the CPU's ability to create problems for itself. In my brief time with NBA 2K21, I've already seen two backcourt violations on wide-open inbounds passes. It served as a jarring reminder that I was not, in actuality, experiencing a real game of NBA basketball.
From a cursory glance, MyLeague seems to have received almost zero upgrades. The mode has a good set of features built into it , but that is actually the second year in a row with no striking improvements. As somebody who loves to deep-dive into franchise building, it's really disappointing that there is so little effort being placed into the mode.
Thankfully, MyTeam has at least ditched its horrible casino aesthetic out of this past year. Make no mistake, even though -- even though it looks different, it still seems heavily determined by microtransactions and purchasing packs. As I said in last year's review, it's apparent that MyTeam's central goal is to extract as much cash as you're willing to give up so as to avoid having to grind out mundane challenges to progress, and it does not seem anything has changed in this section.
There does appear to be an emphasis on personalization for MyTeam this season: you can now select different ability paths for your evolution cards, such as focusing on athleticism or playmaking, which ought to help direct players to better match under my individual playing style.Over the long weekend I'll be diving deeper into game modes, including the new single-player narrative campaign, the Cheap NBA 2K21 MT Coins re-designed Neighborhood, WNBA quickplay, and online play before wrap up this review prior to the end of next week.
