On the court, various tweaks continue to improve NBA 2K’s simulation of basketball.
The microtransactions can be ignored, at least, when in franchise mode, one of the few parts of NBA 2K18 where VC is not available. The poking and prodding from VC-related pop-up offers when booting up a new 2K18 session irritates further.
Nba 2k18 ps4 upgrade#
The slog to earn currency without spending real money is inexcusable shoes run 1,500 VC and one player category upgrade asks for 1,200 VC, but you only earn about 600 VC in the average game. Spending VC on shoes means less VC to upgrade DJ, and less opportunity to hold your own in pickup or Pro-Am modes against real-world competition. Buying special editions of NBA 2K18 grants bonus VC, an attractive proposition considering that player upgrades, new hairstyles, clothes and shoes require currency. VC has exploded into an infestation over the years, and it’s a powerful lure. NBA 2K18 wants you to drink Gatorade, but it’s also interested in getting you to spend more real money in the game. The insistence on using Virtual Currency (VC) for everything compounds the issue, though. There’s an authenticity in rotating courtside banners and between-play chatter by the announcers, changing as the year moves on with new sponsors cycling in. It’s emblematic of an online-connected era. Selling a bit of ad space - even overdone ad space - isn’t inherently problematic. The owners of the barbershop present DJ with a gift, JBL headphones, of which DJ chimes in, “Are these the new JBLs?” Gatorade is a central piece of the story, called out by the broadcast team during games as much as it is advertised during gym training sessions (buying virtual bottles of Gatorade for stamina includes a spiel about electrolytes). But it’s not only a Foot Locker location sitting on a corner or Gatorade-sponsored gyms. A bit of gentrification in the old neighborhood? Maybe. However, The Neighborhood is also sullied by corporate sponsors. It’s a strong representation of the impoverished to lower-middle-class upbringing of NBA stars who got their start in places like Harlem’s Rucker Park. These spaces are also nicely decorated, cramped and flush with old brick buildings circa 1930s New York. The friendly (if sleepy) attendant of a food cart brings in some laughs. At the barbershop, DJ is served like a local celebrity while they chat about general gossip. Plodding as this navigation is, there’s a touch of personality and culture inside. The Neighborhood is sullied by corporate sponsors For instance, DJ’s agent isn’t much of one, but he does have a catchphrase: “Eat what you kill.” The characters don’t seem to understand what that means (and they say so), but NBA 2K18 runs with it for the humor. It’s mostly satirical toward locker room culture, a reprieve from the thick drama of Madden NFL 18’s Longshot or even previous years of NBA 2K. Rather than invite Spike Lee to direct M圜areer (as he did back in NBA 2K16), NBA 2K18’s approach settles down, focusing on the turbulent rookie year of former street baller DJ.
Not only is there a story in MyGM, there’s still a bevy of MyPlayer options. It’s a stretch to call it a story mode as the menu does, but minor expansions to MyGM include dialogue exchanges and player interactions new to NBA 2K18. Trade Kyrie Irving away or put him at a different position that’s the crux of a team GM gig, with a hint of occasional internal team drama involved. A player - your created MyPlayer, specifically - suffers a career-ending knee injury and later takes up the reins as general manager. To better capture that growing disarray in the league’s offices, NBA 2K18 introduces a story to its franchise mode, MyGM.
This year, 2K Sports had to change NBA 2K18’s cover after a blockbuster trade put its cover athlete in a different uniform.
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The rise of microtransactions in the NBA 2K series parallels the increasing tumult of the real-life NBA offseason.