NBA 2K15 review: Hoop Dreams

SINGAPORE — The glitz and glamour of the basketball court returns to our consoles with 2K Games’ NBA 2K15. Last year’s version was by far the best on next-generation consoles, and this year’s game takes that up a notch to be a truly compelling experience.

The razzmatazz of the NBA is back, from the moment the players enter to the on-court action. Everything looks amazing, even when the players are up close, you can see the rivulets of sweat dripping from their face.

2K said there are thousands of new on-court animations, and while I couldn’t count them, the game simply feels more realistic. But that also means that it’s a little disconcerting that the pre-game preview show featuring Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson look like they are in some low-budget studio — the main visual weakness in the whole game.

The gameplay has been tweaked and feels more organic, but it’s the revamped shooting system that shines. Now, you get a better indication on whether you’re making the right shot choices and timing, helping you to improve your shooting game.

The highlight of the game remains its MyCAREER mode, where you start as an undrafted player clawing your way up from ignominy. The developers have managed to craft a fun rags-to-riches tale about seizing your chance for stardom, and if you have a Kinect or a PlayStation camera you can scan your face to have your likeness in-game.

However, that’s the game’s biggest stumble. I used to have to spend time tweaking a virtual head to look like mine, so face scanning is theoretically awesome — but here the results tend towards horrific. Getting a good scan takes patience, practise and a lot of light, but on the flipside, all the failures make for good sharing on Facebook. Maybe next year, 2K.

With a compelling story mode and even more realistic on-court action, NBA 2K15 feels like a good jump above 2K14. With other competitors still unable to hustle up any sort of offence, the NBA 2K series is the only choice for basketball fans wanting to get some virtual dunks. NBA 2K15 looks great, plays great and has just enough of a hook to make you want to keep playing even if you’re not a hardcore NBA fan.

Rating: 4.5/5

NBA 2K15 is now available on PC (S$59.90), PS3 (S$75.90), PS4 (S$79.90), Xbox 360 (S$75.90) and Xbox One (S$79.90).