User Score
1.8

Overwhelming dislike- based on 742 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 742
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  1. Sep 22, 2017
    2
    Nothing new to the game is actually more a step back from 2017 than I thought. Without talking about the aggressive microtransaction. It's a sport game so please 2K don't milk your customers.
  2. Sep 22, 2017
    0
    The graphics and animations are good. In myTeam they added a lot of challenges to do.
    But if you play MyPlayer, then you have to pay for every little thing. And VC is hard to get by. They have a companion app, where you could get a decent amount of VC daily. In 2K16 it was up to 3500 a day, in 2K17 up to 2000 a day and now in 2K18 it is up to 600 a day. I'm disgusted with 2K.
    But since
    The graphics and animations are good. In myTeam they added a lot of challenges to do.
    But if you play MyPlayer, then you have to pay for every little thing. And VC is hard to get by. They have a companion app, where you could get a decent amount of VC daily. In 2K16 it was up to 3500 a day, in 2K17 up to 2000 a day and now in 2K18 it is up to 600 a day. I'm disgusted with 2K.

    But since this game is pay to win, it should also be free to play. If it was a free game, it would get a 8 or 9 rating, but since it's not, 0 point. 2K's greed has no limit.
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  3. Sep 22, 2017
    0
    Holy balls, wtf is this shiat!? You're kidding me? Are you expecting me to pay 80$ more on your shiat just to have fun, with a game I already paid a small fortune for? 2K, bijatsh, please!
    Don't buy this game, you want have fun with it. Unless you're ready to spend another fortune.
  4. Sep 21, 2017
    0
    This game is a joke. What a poor gameplay. Game has slightly better textures, faces and animations are improved, but gameplay is a joke. I dont like PRO reviewers who gave 75 or more points for this. This is a 70 or less, higher scores are total unfair.
  5. Sep 21, 2017
    0
    This game is broken beyond repair. The VC is making the game pay to win. It takes forever to earn in game VC. I payed €60,- and to have fun it will cost you like a €100,- more. **** this VC **** Oh and there are a lot of bugs.
  6. Sep 21, 2017
    4
    This is the first 2K i'm skipping since 2K9. It's just not worth 60$ anymore, I'm sorry. If you got extra bucks to throw on VC, this is the game for you.
  7. Sep 21, 2017
    0
    I'm going to make it sweet and simple and to the point. 2k is the pimp and the consumer is the trick period! that explains this game perfectly. $150 won't be enough to enjoy your MyCareer
  8. Sep 20, 2017
    0
    I've seen games use micro-transactions many times but this time they went too far, this is just inexcusable for a 60 dollar game to get to a point of it being unplayable unless you pay more. I hope 2K goes bankrupt, they don't deserve to exist.
  9. Sep 20, 2017
    0
    Unfortunately very bad ingame economy riddled with microtransactions and heavy free2play-mobile-game-like progress model. Without real cash to pay for progress the game is a very slow and tedious grind. More like pay 60 bucks upfront for a fee2play game. Sad :(

    Overall I guess probably a fun basketball video game experience if you have 150+ bucks to start with.
  10. Sep 20, 2017
    9
    A really great basketball game that is leaning too hard into the micro transaction movement. The core game play is utterly fantastic and the presentation is better and more realistic than it ever has been before.

    The only reason this is getting trashed by the user reviews is due to micro transactions, and in a way they are right, but DEAR LORD not to the extent that they think they are.
    A really great basketball game that is leaning too hard into the micro transaction movement. The core game play is utterly fantastic and the presentation is better and more realistic than it ever has been before.

    The only reason this is getting trashed by the user reviews is due to micro transactions, and in a way they are right, but DEAR LORD not to the extent that they think they are. It's a grind to build your player up, more than it's ever been before, and pretty much everything in the game costs VC. Clothes, Shoes, Haircuts, Tattoos, Emotes, Animations, Attributes, etc. are all bought with VC. Which isn't that much different than last year, VC has just become harder to obtain.

    That being said it's not some unattainable feat to build your player up. It just takes more time which, to be honest, I actually like. I enjoy building my player up from scratch, grinding throughout the season and watching my numbers rise over the course of the season. I enjoy that I can't drain a contested 25 footer right from the get go. It makes for a more realistic progression for your player, plus it makes you a better 2K player in the long run.
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  11. Sep 20, 2017
    10
    Love this game because it offers me what I want, and that's pure basketball. Best NBA video game ever made, and I love the multiple modes that are offered giving me a variety of ways to enjoy the game.
  12. Sep 20, 2017
    3
    when you are on the court the game is great, with solid gameplay and good presentation, but the cons are too many:

    VC - they have made the game almost unplayable in order to force people to pay for VC. It's not even done in a subtle way. Just a straight robbery. Loading Screens - prepare to spend a lot of time looking at one. Cut scenes that can not be skipped. Can't play MyCareer
    when you are on the court the game is great, with solid gameplay and good presentation, but the cons are too many:

    VC - they have made the game almost unplayable in order to force people to pay for VC. It's not even done in a subtle way. Just a straight robbery.
    Loading Screens - prepare to spend a lot of time looking at one.
    Cut scenes that can not be skipped.
    Can't play MyCareer offline - yesterday I wanted to play, but I had to wait for an update to download before I could. Not cool.
    Story - possibly written by children, in which case, it's only somewhat terrible.
    Paying ridiculous amounts of VC for customization of player (said customization can not be previewed either).
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  13. Sep 19, 2017
    3
    For anyone who loves giving 2K your money this is the game for you. They made some small improvements and changes like the dribbling and the "Run The Neighborhood". The walking around is cool at first but get boring really quick, but the thing that makes it worse is 2K and their greed. Basically forcing you to by VC just to have a decent player. 50 dollars to get to 85 like wtf. Its likeFor anyone who loves giving 2K your money this is the game for you. They made some small improvements and changes like the dribbling and the "Run The Neighborhood". The walking around is cool at first but get boring really quick, but the thing that makes it worse is 2K and their greed. Basically forcing you to by VC just to have a decent player. 50 dollars to get to 85 like wtf. Its like 2K is making it pay to win and that's just not good and I definitely can't support that Expand
  14. Sep 19, 2017
    0
    MONEY 2K18 is HERE! You can buy MONEY 2K18 only with money, also in MONEY 2K18 with money you can buy more money! ALL HAIL TO THE BEST MONEY SIMULATOR EVER (and i hope all the people who made MONEY 2K18 such it is will DIE!)
  15. Sep 19, 2017
    4
    They completely ruined MyCareer. It takes forever to play. Between all the unskipable, meaningless, stupid cut-scenes and the whole "neighborhood" theme, it's absurd. I can't believe 2k got this bad. I was hoping for more from 2K than this piece of garbage. Unfortunately I got the digital copy so I can't sell it or return it.
  16. Sep 19, 2017
    6
    This game is not as bad as those bad reviews lmao. A lot of the people who are raging over the game are raging at the lack of features and the VC issues. And I totally agree with them. 2k has become extremely selfish with the stupid micro transactions. They better change it or they will lose fans real quick. As for the gameplay, the game is still very good. It is still better than NBA LiveThis game is not as bad as those bad reviews lmao. A lot of the people who are raging over the game are raging at the lack of features and the VC issues. And I totally agree with them. 2k has become extremely selfish with the stupid micro transactions. They better change it or they will lose fans real quick. As for the gameplay, the game is still very good. It is still better than NBA Live 18 by a good margin. I can't believe there are some people who say NBA live 18 has better gameplay SMH. Overall this gameplay is an 8/10 for me. However with all the other stuff going on, I will give it a 6/10. Expand
  17. Sep 19, 2017
    10
    Just i can say, it was amazing, animations that was like the real one , very good my player part and it was better than the last version, it is the best NBA GAME EVER
  18. Sep 18, 2017
    0
    MyTeam is a joke. MyGm is the worst manager mode experience I have ever experienced. MyPlayer and everything that goes into it is worse than ever, besides the above mentioned VC related stuff, it is made in a way to lengthen the time spent in the game.
  19. Sep 18, 2017
    1
    This game is terrible. I don't understand how the critics all think it is great. It runs poorly and forces the MyCareerr to have it at pro so that in order to progress at any reasonable rate you need to give them more money for micro transactions. The MyCareer option can't even run on the switch. Just google 'NBA 2k18 problems' There are a lot. Previous iterations are better and cheaper.This game is terrible. I don't understand how the critics all think it is great. It runs poorly and forces the MyCareerr to have it at pro so that in order to progress at any reasonable rate you need to give them more money for micro transactions. The MyCareer option can't even run on the switch. Just google 'NBA 2k18 problems' There are a lot. Previous iterations are better and cheaper. If you want to play a basketball game just stick with those. I was hoping to be able to play MyCareer on the go with my Switch but with the need for a constant connection to the internet I can't, even though MyCareer is single player. Expand
  20. Sep 18, 2017
    1
    Horrible. Ruining this great franchise of a game. I've been hardcore 2k fan since Dreamcast. All they did this year was take a step back and say "how can we add more micro transactions and sell more ads??" Game play and graphics still are legit, but they insist on creating these cheesy unbelievable stories for MyCareer and MyGM that the modes are unplayable.
  21. Sep 18, 2017
    1
    I really want to like 2k18, but the game play is so poor. The Developers preach defense wins game and on 2k17 i played great defense, but now even the slightest twitch on the thumb-stick and your man is 8 feet out of position.

    Plus why the slow play? I was playing MyTeam which i like better than MyPlayer its been done, quit kicking a dead horse (my opinion) but I was on a fast break
    I really want to like 2k18, but the game play is so poor. The Developers preach defense wins game and on 2k17 i played great defense, but now even the slightest twitch on the thumb-stick and your man is 8 feet out of position.

    Plus why the slow play? I was playing MyTeam which i like better than MyPlayer its been done, quit kicking a dead horse (my opinion) but I was on a fast break with John Wall . . . . JOHN WALL and I was run down for a chase down block by Jonas Valančiūnas. . . COME ON MAN!

    I have to almost break the thumb-sticks to put my defender in position. And the AI for the other players is so bad, you'd think that the developers would watch some actual footage before creating the game. i mean what's going on? Centers that set up on the 3 point line?
    2 on 1 fast-break with Thon Maker and Dennis Schroder and Thon runs to the 3 point line and Dennis throws an alleyoop to no one.
    Pass to a wide open Kyle Korver and he takes a step inside the 3 point line for a jumpshot? REALLY? I really hope that some realistic patching comes our way soon.

    If the developers spend soooo much time making every dribble customizable then you should make every player do what they tend to do in real life. not Deandre Jordan in the corner for 3.

    I hope it gets better.
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  22. Sep 18, 2017
    3
    Bug filled, money grabbing game. So many errors that I'm not sure how it was launched successfully with bug testing. Can't have real fun without buying at least 200k in VC, that would take you 300+ games to earn without buying it.

    People will say EA paid me. People will say I'm an NBA Live fanboy. I don't own Live, but I do know when I am being told that I need to spend an additional
    Bug filled, money grabbing game. So many errors that I'm not sure how it was launched successfully with bug testing. Can't have real fun without buying at least 200k in VC, that would take you 300+ games to earn without buying it.

    People will say EA paid me. People will say I'm an NBA Live fanboy. I don't own Live, but I do know when I am being told that I need to spend an additional $80 to have fun in a video game.
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  23. Sep 18, 2017
    0
    The career mode is virtually unplayable if you don't purchase extra VC. Your player is unrealistically bad. You either have to spent lots of extra money or suffer through hours of comically poor gameplay, in what they call the road to 99. This is not the road to 99, this is the road to hell.
  24. Sep 18, 2017
    4
    Let me start off by saying that I own every 2k title since the first 2k with A.I. on the cover for Dreamcast. I'm a huge fanboy of the franchise and it's literally one of the only games I play aside from whenever a new GTA comes out. Overall, the gameplay of this game is good. Very comparable to 2k17 with a few more animations and slightly better and more frequent contact detection. ItLet me start off by saying that I own every 2k title since the first 2k with A.I. on the cover for Dreamcast. I'm a huge fanboy of the franchise and it's literally one of the only games I play aside from whenever a new GTA comes out. Overall, the gameplay of this game is good. Very comparable to 2k17 with a few more animations and slightly better and more frequent contact detection. It does seem like running with the ball on a fast break is slower and overall the players move a bit slower. I don't particularly like this however this can be adjusted with the gameplay slider if you are playing offline. Overall, slight improvement in graphics / face scans, very similar gameplay, and updated rosters.

    Now to the bad part, and if you have looked at any of the other reviews, you will have probably already heard. Myplayer is a disaster. They've basically removed create a player. You can change about 5 things on how your player looks and this is very apparent when you walk around the world and EVERYONE looks almost identical. I believe there were like 5 different hairstyles you can choose from when starting the game. Bad start. Then the first cut scenes come along. Your player can be a 7'1 center but will be the same height as a teenage girl with the voice of a 15 year old. Aside from that, the cutscenes are RIDICULOUSLY cheesy. I mean, like almost shockingly bad. Your best friend is a little ghetto Asian girl and somehow you live in a beautiful loft with a basketball court built into your house and doorman before you play your first game. Okay, whatever just skip the cutscenes.. oh, you can't do that.

    One of the new features is the open world. This seems like it would be pretty cool if everything didn't cost an outrageous amount of VC that the game makes very hard to earn. I am very good at this game, I scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in my first game with about 4 minutes of playing time as a 60 overall. I can play this game with a completely trash player, but for them to make everything and anything you want to do cost VC plus have caps on everything (really, I need to be a 70 to get a tattoo? wtf?) is crazy. Basically, this whole game is designed as a money grab. You'd really need to spend a couple hundred dollars to enjoy this game to it's full potential on day 1 which is completely ludicrous. This is not to mention that the whole walking around to do anything in the game basically just makes everything you want to do (like play the game) take significantly longer to do and adds additional load screens to everything. I play this game on a VERY high end computer and the load screens still drive me insane, if I was playing this on an Xbox I would have literally turned the game off an hour in and returned it.

    I cannot express how disappointed I am in this game. Each year I spend a few months playing this game any chance I possibly get when it first comes out. This year I've played for about 5 hours and don't really look forward to playing more. I will most likely stick to just regular offline gameplay which is pretty disappointing. Ultimately, this was $60 for updated rosters, jerseys, and a few new animations. It's not unthinkable to expect more but I guess 2k is getting into Madden territory with their annual releases.
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  25. Sep 18, 2017
    3
    Unbelievable how this game was allowed to launch. A bug filled mess that is a tragedy of a game considering that the on court GP this year feels much more organic then years past ( though still has its legacy and new issues popping up pretty frequently ). How can you release an ambitious mode like the Hood when you couldn't get your servers right for the park this entire generation? I lostUnbelievable how this game was allowed to launch. A bug filled mess that is a tragedy of a game considering that the on court GP this year feels much more organic then years past ( though still has its legacy and new issues popping up pretty frequently ). How can you release an ambitious mode like the Hood when you couldn't get your servers right for the park this entire generation? I lost my got damn My Career player on both my PS4 and my Nintendo Switch! I bought this game twice and got dicked over double time! I decided to give it another try yesterday, and got back to the NBA. About 3 games in, I was training and lost connection to the server, and upon reboot, I had to enter my damn name again because i was back on my CAP creation. Lost again. How do the people let this continue by buying this game year after year on day 1?? This was my only day 1 purchase and that will never happen again. I will only buy this game on the switch moving forward ( going NBA Live for PS4 ) and that will only happen if it launches a cleaner game. Take Two and 2K outta be ashamed of themselves man. Its so hard to see a once great company drop down like this to be a greedy VC hungry machine. GTA and Red Dead are my only 2 Take 2 Games now, and they better not start to go down the tubes like the NBA 2K series is doing. So much hype, commercialism, not enough attention to the quality of your damn game. Dropped my score from a 6 to a 3 because these issues have just gotten worst. Expand
  26. Sep 18, 2017
    4
    Very disappointing release this year. There are a lot of things to be worried about for the future of this franchise, but that doesn't mean the game deserves 2's and 0's from angry fanboys. The gameplay is solid this year, improved over previous. You see that there was time put into aspects of the game that people are forgetting to touch on. We finally got a draft mode for MyTeam, andVery disappointing release this year. There are a lot of things to be worried about for the future of this franchise, but that doesn't mean the game deserves 2's and 0's from angry fanboys. The gameplay is solid this year, improved over previous. You see that there was time put into aspects of the game that people are forgetting to touch on. We finally got a draft mode for MyTeam, and while not the same exact carbon copy of Draft Champs from the Madden and FIFA series, it's still good. We also get Super Max, which adds a more competitive and strategic aspect to the online play in the mode, forcing you to pick your lineups carefully rather than just having a superteam every game. The MyLeague has had features added to it while not having anything stripped away, further improving a mode I enjoyed last year.

    But everything else seems to fall apart. People talk about the VC cash grab enough already so I won't touch on it, because to be honest, that's not what makes this game a disappointment.

    I've already had several crashes trying to load simple menus, like the edit player menu. The fact that Xbox users are basically unable to even play MyCareer up until now because save files are getting corrupted and all of the work you do is gone has to be mentioned. The player creation is incredibly barebones this year, with the facial sculpting completely taken out for no apparent reason. It could be somewhat 'compensated' for if the app was working and we were able to actually scan our faces properly, but they don't bother to ever fix their terrible mobile app and just release the same thing every year with a few different pictures. It's still the same buggy, terribly designed app as it always was. The loading times are incredibly long during games, meaning it takes even more time to get into our career games. And the biggest issue I have this year is how everything, and I mean everything, is done through the open world hub. Recently did an endorsement? Want to get paid? Well you have to run all the way to your agent's office for a cutscene to get paid. Why can't I just accept it through text? Doing this would probably help cut some of the load times for the game, because they are horrendous.

    The biggest problem with this game is how they try and make everything story driven, even MyGM mode. The characters in the MyCareer portion of the game are so hollow and poorly written. It hurts to play through because the story can't keep you engaged. I don't even like my own player's personality. I find myself wanting to skip all of the cutscenes but we aren't given an option to. I spend more time loading, watching cutscenes, and running around in the terribly designed neighborhood overworld then I do actually playing the game. And that's a shame because the gameplay this year is at least enjoyable. The teammate grade system however, is so brutally punishing. Missing two free throws takes away a whole bar, which is nonsense, while doing good things are barely as rewarding.

    Back to MyGM mode, because I referenced it earlier, it's a shame. Because ever since NBA 2K15 they've had this useless mode in the game. One of the biggest problems with it is the fact that there were way too many stoppages and that you couldn't delegate certain things to your assistants and coaches, and just focused on more GM like things, like trade offers and signing players. This year, everything takes even longer. It doesn't help the fact that the story isn't good either, and with the lack of voice acting, and in some scenes music and sound effects, everything is so quiet that it isn't enjoyable and every cutscene feels awkward, and there are so many of them. Not to mention that this mode has nowhere near the same customizable options that MyLeague does, so what's the point of this mode? Make one good manager mode without the useless story and cutscenes. Just take MyGM out of the game next year.

    Gameplay wise, it feels fundamentally like a continuation of last year. The only problems are how the developers try and sell us stuff in all of their blog posts but half of them are actually happening in the game. For example, penalties for passing out of shots and layups has no effect. One blog post claimed that there are no more 'canned animations' even though I've managed to run into a bunch of infuriating ones already, and players are missing wide open layups for no reason. Another design problem is the shot meter. When you go to the free throw line there's no indication that there's supposed to be a shot meter there, so you end up missing half of your free throws. A simple change like making the meter slightly visible and getting brighter when you shoot will fix that, giving us a sense that it's there.

    Just in review, this game isn't a total disaster. Again, it's a fundamental continuation of last year's release. The launch is terrible so far, and that can't be ignored with a half broken game being released as a beta test.
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  27. Sep 17, 2017
    8
    I've spent some significant time in My Career mode and I will tell you my experience. I have played several previous iterations of the game and 2k18 is better than most but there are some issues.

    The new twist this time is the Neighborhood part of the game which is basically a hub to play online with a few buildings that sell stuff or can change your appearance. If you are going to be
    I've spent some significant time in My Career mode and I will tell you my experience. I have played several previous iterations of the game and 2k18 is better than most but there are some issues.

    The new twist this time is the Neighborhood part of the game which is basically a hub to play online with a few buildings that sell stuff or can change your appearance. If you are going to be playing My Career exclusively then you probably won't spend much time in the Neighborhood.

    The game plays heavier this year, there is a little more mass to your player and it's hard to describe but it feels like an improvement to me. The shot mechanics have been changed and I think for the better. The meter now runs vertical and is placed by your shooters head instead of below him. However, you can still time shots by looking at your characters jump.

    Graphics are improved and take advantage of HDR effects, this is particularly noticeable during the arena shots. Frame rate is smooth in 4k and generally there are no issues. Music and sound are pretty much what you would expect with the timeout whistles and horns playing through the controller as well. It actually works better than you might think at first.

    Now for the bad. The loading times are downright nasty when going from the neighborhood to a game. If you are playing MyCareer, I recommend using triangle to go to the nav and pick the next game instead of hitting X to continue. When you continue it will take you back the neighborhood after an incredibly long load time only to have you do nothing there and go back to where you came from with another long load. You won't miss any story elements, if anything requires you to go to the Neighborhood you will know about it from your phone.

    Also the VC thing is back and stingier than ever. I say that because increased difficulty doesn't net you more VC and you can not extend the length of the quarters in MyCareer (at least not yet and I am in the December games). You can earn VC at a decent rate but your player is going to suck for a long, long time unless you shell out real cash for some VC. That will anger some players that don't have the time or patience to slog through an entire season to get their player halfway decent. We already spent $60 don't make haircuts cost VC.

    8/10 - Pros - Still the best basketball game out there -4k HDR looks great.
    Cons - Load times and a stingy VC system.
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  28. Sep 17, 2017
    9
    I tried to read all the negative comments around here and they all seem to be focusing on one thing: MyPlayer - MyCarreer. Even there they have one gripe - It is a cash grab because it is not that easy to get VCs... Well boo-hoo... So you have to spend more time to build up your player.

    Somehow these people overlook the massive improvements made to the basketball game. Imagine that, for
    I tried to read all the negative comments around here and they all seem to be focusing on one thing: MyPlayer - MyCarreer. Even there they have one gripe - It is a cash grab because it is not that easy to get VCs... Well boo-hoo... So you have to spend more time to build up your player.

    Somehow these people overlook the massive improvements made to the basketball game. Imagine that, for some the basketball element of an NBA game is secondary now...

    Anyhoo, the game has vastly improved as a sim, which also means that for arcade ball fans the 2k product may be off putting, but for them you now have live, so no need to dust off old copies of NBA Jam. The shooting is more realistic, the game speed no longer makes it possible to have 200 points in a 12 minute game, and player movements have improved greatly. The AI has also improved although it still has its flaws.

    To be frank there still are enough flaws that will need patching that I cannot give it a 10, but if what you are looking for is a basketball sim that has improved in every way then go get the game. If you want an arcade experience then you should probably consider getting Live instead...
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  29. Sep 17, 2017
    0
    Terrible attempted money grabber, the whole design of my career is flawed so you can't succeed early in an attempt to for you to purchase coins. It's truly a painful grind, the prices of the barber and drinks etched is pathetic. The cutscenes are obviously made for and written by 10 year olds,
  30. Sep 17, 2017
    0
    vc,vc,vc for everything!! i play most in my career mode and my player is a total noob, i max all the stats and he can't score a single shot! garbage! cut scene not skippable and servers problem....
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 54
  2. Negative: 4 out of 54
  1. Jan 28, 2018
    83
    Basketball fans, NBA 2K18 is your new best friend… until the next fall.
  2. Nov 26, 2017
    60
    In no way is NBA 2K18 a bad game, but it's certainly not worth its current price-tag, as the few improvements it offers are simply not enough, and, secondly, its sub-par single-player portion relies too much on micro-transactions.
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Nov 20, 2017
    80
    A beautiful, exciting representation of the sport. You'd be hard pushed to find a better, more accurate simulation of basketball on a modern console. [December 2017, p.82]