By Adam Johnson
The career mode on NBA 2K16 is completely unique and in my opinion, enthralling. There is so much to say about it that I thought it warranted it’s own review. I will say this; the new mode plays out like a movie during your first season so in this review I could potentially “spoil” some things, just beware. Ok, let’s dive right in.
The career mode on NBA 2K16 is completely unique and in my opinion, enthralling. There is so much to say about it that I thought it warranted it’s own review. I will say this; the new mode plays out like a movie during your first season so in this review I could potentially “spoil” some things, just beware. Ok, let’s dive right in.
As many already know, notable filmmaker Spike Lee was brought on to write the story for this year’s career mode. The 2K team calls it “My Career” so I guess I will refer to it as that from now on, for the sake of synergy. My Career starts with you creating your player. This is a personal preference but I always find it a strange task to create myself on things like this. That being the case, I went with a 6’3” combo guard with a flat top named Earl Kirkland. My Career starts off on the streets of Harlem so I decided to name my guy after two street legends, Earl Manigault and Pee Wee Kirkland. Shortly after the creation process we meet your twin sister, Cee Cee, and then you find out you are set to play in your first of three high school games.
When I first read that high school games were going to be included in My Career I was slightly skeptical. I have to admit, however, they pulled it off. Compared to playing with NBA teams, the high school games feel authentic to high school, rather than just smaller NBA players. At 6’3” my guy is one of the tallest players on the court and able to dominate for the most part. The players commit dumb turnovers and the defense is pretty weak all around. The games are fun but I am glad they are only two-minute quarters, for fear of it getting stale. After you win the state championship it is time to make your college decision.
NBA 2K getting the rights to nine major college basketball programs is a big win for basketball video game fans. It could open up the door to a universal basketball game that has college, European and NBA teams all on one game, which could be incredible. The nine schools included are all quality programs and I am hopeful for more in the future. The people who complain online that they couldn’t get Kentucky, North Carolina or Duke are the same people that would complain about not having Wofford or Farleigh Dickinson if they did indeed have all the big guns. Chill guys, I’m sure they tried to get your school. For Earl Kirkland it was on to Georgetown University.
My first collegiate game was against Arizona. I was pleasantly surprised to notice that 2015 NBA Draft picks Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were in the lineup for the Wildcats. My next game was against Louisville and they boasted Montrez Harrell and Terry Rozier. I outplayed Rozier and seemingly moved up in the draft. I loved the detail of the real players on their college teams. I understand why they couldn’t have the full roster for each school, but I appreciate the fact that they actually tried with the guys that were allowed to be in the game. My third game was against UCLA and then the “national championship game” was against Wisconsin. My only real qualm with the college portion was that the title game was played at Georgetown. It doesn’t seem like it would be too hard to put the game at a neutral venue. Needless to say, I won the title, so next up was the NBA Draft.
Before we move on to the rookie season I want to note a couple of things. First, if you are going to play this game mode you have to check out the store for your “My Player”. There are endless clothing options and the ability to boost your ratings. It also has a section dedicated to upgrading your signature jump shot and animation packages. I shuffled through virtually every animation option and was blown away by the detail. My guy now employs Shaq’s jump hook and MJ’s post fadeaway with Melo’s finishing package. Another element I haven’t talked much about yet is the cut scenes with characters from your life. We know Cee Cee but we are also introduced to Victor Van Lier, your misunderstood childhood friend. The cut scenes are about to become more important, stay tuned.
The pre draft process is relatively short but this is where we are introduced to your agent, Dom Pagnotti. The scenes with Dom are a little corny but I genuinely enjoyed them. The game essentially makes you go pro and skips ahead to the draft, which actually has some suspense to it. My guy got picked 16th by the Boston Celtics (the spot Terry Rozier was drafted in real life) to presumably be a backup point guard. Boston has three good guards in Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas so I knew I wasn’t going to see a ton of playing time. The first couple of games confirmed that notion.
The results of the games during my rookie season were all over the place. We beat Cleveland but got blown out by Brooklyn and Philly. You are slated to play eight games your rookie year with cut scenes after almost all of them. In one you learn that your friend, Vic, is starting to cause problems and the team owner is not happy with you. There are meetings with basically everyone in your circle about why you should cut off any ties to Vic but you want to remain loyal. It seems like a real dilemma and the tension among your crew is strong. There is a scene with Vic where the two of you are driving along and Vic is revealing things about your relationship with him. I’ll be honest, Vic is annoying and I would find him easy to cut ties with but he does make for a better story.
As your rookie year goes on the games grow a little larger in importance, although you never really know where your team is at in the standings. Apparently, we made the playoffs because my eighth game was Game 1 of the first round, in Miami. Amazingly, that ended up being my best overall game. My guy had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in just 13 minutes of play. We won by 15 and I thought it would just be on to the next game but that ends up being the last playable game of the season. The lack of knowledge of what is going on around the NBA is slightly annoying, I’ll admit. Your rookie year is over and it is on to your first offseason.
We learn in a meeting that you are a free agent already and Dom is going to take you through your options. The fact that you are a free agent doesn’t really make sense with the salary cap or just basic team building logic, but it is part of the story so I can get over it. The free agency period starts with you choosing three teams that you want to send you an offer. I chose Boston, New York and Utah because their interest was high and I could get minutes with each franchise. I didn’t love Utah’s offer and wanted something new so I decided to go “home” and become a Knick. Here is where things get real. After the free agency press conference you go celebrate with your family in a back room, but then you get a phone call to find out Vic has died. It is a tough scene. Later, you go home to your parents with Cee Cee and chat with them for a bit. The last scene of the “movie” is an image of Vic reading you a letter so that you can better understand him. It is actually a touching message that carried some real weight.
At the end of that final scene we are introduced to a video with Spike Lee and the real actors who played each character in your life. I could see why people might find this to be a strange thing to put in the actual game mode but I thought it was nice to give those who worked on the story a shout-out. Spike Lee’s writing made this game mode much more interesting than it has been in the past, which I’m sure was the goal when they set out on this project. Once you start your second season it is more like a normal career mode where you can play every game and focus solely on getting better. Even that part of it is improved too, with off day practices and connections you can make with other NBA players. Actually playing with one player can get a tad old to me so I needed the “movie” to keep me engaged but for veteran My Career players the second season is where I imagine your career will really kick off. However, it has been quite a journey for Earl Kirkland and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
When I first read that high school games were going to be included in My Career I was slightly skeptical. I have to admit, however, they pulled it off. Compared to playing with NBA teams, the high school games feel authentic to high school, rather than just smaller NBA players. At 6’3” my guy is one of the tallest players on the court and able to dominate for the most part. The players commit dumb turnovers and the defense is pretty weak all around. The games are fun but I am glad they are only two-minute quarters, for fear of it getting stale. After you win the state championship it is time to make your college decision.
NBA 2K getting the rights to nine major college basketball programs is a big win for basketball video game fans. It could open up the door to a universal basketball game that has college, European and NBA teams all on one game, which could be incredible. The nine schools included are all quality programs and I am hopeful for more in the future. The people who complain online that they couldn’t get Kentucky, North Carolina or Duke are the same people that would complain about not having Wofford or Farleigh Dickinson if they did indeed have all the big guns. Chill guys, I’m sure they tried to get your school. For Earl Kirkland it was on to Georgetown University.
My first collegiate game was against Arizona. I was pleasantly surprised to notice that 2015 NBA Draft picks Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were in the lineup for the Wildcats. My next game was against Louisville and they boasted Montrez Harrell and Terry Rozier. I outplayed Rozier and seemingly moved up in the draft. I loved the detail of the real players on their college teams. I understand why they couldn’t have the full roster for each school, but I appreciate the fact that they actually tried with the guys that were allowed to be in the game. My third game was against UCLA and then the “national championship game” was against Wisconsin. My only real qualm with the college portion was that the title game was played at Georgetown. It doesn’t seem like it would be too hard to put the game at a neutral venue. Needless to say, I won the title, so next up was the NBA Draft.
Before we move on to the rookie season I want to note a couple of things. First, if you are going to play this game mode you have to check out the store for your “My Player”. There are endless clothing options and the ability to boost your ratings. It also has a section dedicated to upgrading your signature jump shot and animation packages. I shuffled through virtually every animation option and was blown away by the detail. My guy now employs Shaq’s jump hook and MJ’s post fadeaway with Melo’s finishing package. Another element I haven’t talked much about yet is the cut scenes with characters from your life. We know Cee Cee but we are also introduced to Victor Van Lier, your misunderstood childhood friend. The cut scenes are about to become more important, stay tuned.
The pre draft process is relatively short but this is where we are introduced to your agent, Dom Pagnotti. The scenes with Dom are a little corny but I genuinely enjoyed them. The game essentially makes you go pro and skips ahead to the draft, which actually has some suspense to it. My guy got picked 16th by the Boston Celtics (the spot Terry Rozier was drafted in real life) to presumably be a backup point guard. Boston has three good guards in Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas so I knew I wasn’t going to see a ton of playing time. The first couple of games confirmed that notion.
The results of the games during my rookie season were all over the place. We beat Cleveland but got blown out by Brooklyn and Philly. You are slated to play eight games your rookie year with cut scenes after almost all of them. In one you learn that your friend, Vic, is starting to cause problems and the team owner is not happy with you. There are meetings with basically everyone in your circle about why you should cut off any ties to Vic but you want to remain loyal. It seems like a real dilemma and the tension among your crew is strong. There is a scene with Vic where the two of you are driving along and Vic is revealing things about your relationship with him. I’ll be honest, Vic is annoying and I would find him easy to cut ties with but he does make for a better story.
As your rookie year goes on the games grow a little larger in importance, although you never really know where your team is at in the standings. Apparently, we made the playoffs because my eighth game was Game 1 of the first round, in Miami. Amazingly, that ended up being my best overall game. My guy had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in just 13 minutes of play. We won by 15 and I thought it would just be on to the next game but that ends up being the last playable game of the season. The lack of knowledge of what is going on around the NBA is slightly annoying, I’ll admit. Your rookie year is over and it is on to your first offseason.
We learn in a meeting that you are a free agent already and Dom is going to take you through your options. The fact that you are a free agent doesn’t really make sense with the salary cap or just basic team building logic, but it is part of the story so I can get over it. The free agency period starts with you choosing three teams that you want to send you an offer. I chose Boston, New York and Utah because their interest was high and I could get minutes with each franchise. I didn’t love Utah’s offer and wanted something new so I decided to go “home” and become a Knick. Here is where things get real. After the free agency press conference you go celebrate with your family in a back room, but then you get a phone call to find out Vic has died. It is a tough scene. Later, you go home to your parents with Cee Cee and chat with them for a bit. The last scene of the “movie” is an image of Vic reading you a letter so that you can better understand him. It is actually a touching message that carried some real weight.
At the end of that final scene we are introduced to a video with Spike Lee and the real actors who played each character in your life. I could see why people might find this to be a strange thing to put in the actual game mode but I thought it was nice to give those who worked on the story a shout-out. Spike Lee’s writing made this game mode much more interesting than it has been in the past, which I’m sure was the goal when they set out on this project. Once you start your second season it is more like a normal career mode where you can play every game and focus solely on getting better. Even that part of it is improved too, with off day practices and connections you can make with other NBA players. Actually playing with one player can get a tad old to me so I needed the “movie” to keep me engaged but for veteran My Career players the second season is where I imagine your career will really kick off. However, it has been quite a journey for Earl Kirkland and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
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