Monday Tip: NBA 2K23 MyCAREER Sucks - NLSC (2023)

We are in the center of the field and the ball is about to go up... Starting Monday! Join me in kicking off the week here at the NLSC with my comments and comments on basketball game topics, as well as stories of the fun I've had on the virtual court. This week I kick off with an honest discussion about how much MyCAREER sucks in NBA 2K23.

Every time I talk about playing NBA 2K14 MyCAREER or upload videos, I expect a few different responses. There are wonderful people who are interested in this journey and the updates I am sharing. This made some people reflect on how much fun they had with NBA 2K14, and they either decided to dust it off or wished they could. And sure, every once in a while someone scoffs at the idea of ​​not playing the latest game. “Are there still people playing NBA 2K14? Why?" By the way, IDohe actually plays NBA 2K23 but not MyCAREER because it sucks.

Part of me wishes I could express the sentiment more eloquently and not like a clickbait movie. I always try to be constructive and analytical when reviewing a basketball game and its features, avoiding hyperbole and offensive language where possible. In this case, though, it's a suitably succinct way of expressing the opinion that MyCAREER in NBA 2K23 has a strong case for being the absolute worst version of the mode yet. This isn't entirely surprising, as in many ways it's the culmination of years of daunting design choices. That doesn't make it any less disappointing though, especially when previous games provided a better experience.

I've already mentioned NBA 2K14 MyCAREER in previous articles and the NLSC podcast, explaining why.addicted to itlasts ten years from the game's release. With that being said, I'll get straight to the issues with MyCAREER in NBA 2K23 and why I bluntly say it sucks. Let's start with the story. MyCAREER Stories have been a hit ever since the concept debuted. At their best, they had fun flavor content to spice up your ride. At worst, they were completely terrible stories that also negatively affect the gameplay. Many stories fall between these extremes, but NBA 2K23 is the worst of both worlds.

The plot of NBA 2K23 MyCAREER is that your avatar, MP, was picked 18th by your chosen team, while Shep Owens was picked 19th overall. This angered the fans of the team that picked you because they wanted Shep instead. As more than a few players and game critics have pointed out, the idea that a heated competition between the 18th and 19th pick in a draft is a big story is pretty absurd. However, up to this point, it's not the strangest concept we've seen in MyCAREER history. I would arguequit basketball to be a DJ, and having a chance to move up in the NBA after participating in a streetball tournament is much more ridiculous.

In fact, while it's worth pointing out the absurdity of choice beef 18-19 being the main story, it's more about execution than concept. Shep Owens is by no means a likeable character, a would-be influencer making scathing videos about MP, like a pro wrestler in high heels cutting a promo. Even though Shep looks like a complete brat, he's still a fan favorite because he's from The Town, whichever is represented by the main world in your game, and when the team picked you, you inadvertently became an obstacle to becoming a hometown hero in the NBA. Over thereEslogic to this story, but the way it unfolds makes the mode unappealing.

That's because it turns the NBA MyCAREER page in NBA 2K23 into a pathetic story. The story is full of terrible characters, including Chief Shep of course, who somehow make MP look like a bad guy. Even some people on his side are irritating and/or unpleasant and MP just tolerates them. The dialogue makes bad fanfiction read like great literature, and the somber tone of the story doesn't add to the immersion. Of course, you can skip the cutscenes, essentially ignoring the story. However, that brings us to the main reason why NBA 2K23 MyCAREER sucks more than any previous iteration.

While the cut scenes can be skipped, the story as a whole and its missions cannot. As such, the NBA side of MyCAREER is completely bogged down in not only amateurish storytelling and irritating plotting, but also extracurricular activities that get in your way if you just want to play basketball. Past stories have had an impact on court action, from script injuries to "Living the dream", turning his rookie season into several key games in NBA 2K16. This concept is nothing new. However, NBA 2K23 has taken it to a new level with mandatory tasks that will actually prevent you from playing your next game until you complete them. .

Some of these tasks are certainly basketball-adjacent, such as participating in post-game interviews and press conferences. In theory, such activities add immersion as well as simulating the experience of being an NBA player. Again, this isn't a new idea, as press conferences were added to career modes in NBA 2K early on. The difference is that these were low-key opportunities to win fans over and strengthen team chemistry. They didn't force you to traverse the open world or branch out into activities like fashion shows or dabble in a music career. These are the things NBA players dohookdo, but it is not important that they are represented in MyCAREER.

This is the downside of the open world and its growing appeal. as Brian Maziqueonce observedWith no serious competition in the basketball space, NBA 2K looks to compete with games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and to name another example under the Take-Two umbrella, Grand Theft Auto Online. He chases trends beyond his genre, which is why we created The Neighborhood and then The City on MyCAREER. That's why we have seasonal content drops in this mode and open world related quests/adventures. It's trying to be more than a basketball game and then forgetting about it.Esit's still a basketball game.

This is painfully obvious from the impact missions have had on traditional career gameplay. There are tasks in NBA 2K23 MyCAREER that, if failed, will force us to play through the entire game again, which really sucks. Aside from the MyCAREER ending in NBA 2K15, which you actually had to get close to getting, making it more of an Easter egg than anything else, it's the first in the series. It's an idea that has been tested in 2K Showcase modes in WWE 2K titles, where the goal is to recreate the actual event and matches are shorter for replay. This is an incredibly bad idea for an NBA game where scores are supposed to stand, win or lose.

Not surprisingly, these fail/pass conditions are also affected by other questionable design choices. There are games in NBA 2K23 MyCAREER where you need to reach a certain level of a teammate to progress through the story. On the surface, this is a reasonable challenge involving a mechanic friend. Unfortunately, team member rating logic is another aspect of NBA 2K23 MyCAREER that sucks. The focus has always been on punishing mistakes rather than rewarding good performance, but in NBA 2K23 it's even more ruthless. Nearly all missed shots are now classified as missed shots, just like every missed steal. That would be bad enough, but there's another dirty trick this year.

Your teammate's rating will now passively decrease, making it more difficult to reach a higher final rating. This makes it more difficult to achieve the required qualification on a job, but also reduces VC gains in MyCAREER and related modes. And yes, the cost to upgrade MyPLAYER is another part of NBA 2K23 MyCAREER that sucks. This isn't a new problem, but it's always worth noting as it continues to be a factor in how enjoyable or frustrating a ride is. It's as big as ever. Throw in a terrible story filled with horrible characters with unmissable missions and you get the worst MyCAREER mode yet.

Again, I will always strive to provide constructive criticism in my comment and avoid hyperbole and name calling. So when I call NBA 2K23 MyCAREER the worst iteration of the mode, or bluntly say that it sucks, I don't use those words lightly or exaggeratedly. It's also not my intent to downplay legitimate criticism of previous MyCAREER modes and their story. However, I honestly believe that MyCAREER hit rock bottom in NBA 2K23, and that sucks. It sucks because I know how much fun this mode can be when you don't complement the experience with missions that get in the way of the on-court action or are saddled with a terrible story.

Of course, 2K can course correct with MyCAREER in NBA 2K24 and beyond. They can move away from open world integration, making the story truly optional. Perhaps they could reintroduce the offline version of MyCAREER or Create-a-Legend as an alternative, keeping in mind that offline MyPLAYER cannot be carried over to the online arena. This would be an acceptable solution that would allow the game to adapt to different preferences, which was one of NBA 2K's strengths in other areas. However, if I were to guess, I would suggest that it is unlikely. I don't see 2K leaving solid revenue on the table or wanting to appear like they're simplifying rather than innovating.

With that in mind, I'm not sure anything will bring MyCAREER back from this state.point of no return. If that's the case, then I can say without exaggeration that getting close to MyCAREER in NBA 2K23 has ruined the mode, irreversibly if they don't change course. I hope thatnegative answersbecause My CAREER this year will not fall into a vacuum. Whenmy general managerin NBA 2K14 made the game of the franchise too RPG-oriented, the developers listened to the complaints and corrected the course in NBA 2K15 by adding MyLEAGUE. Although that was years ago. Unfortunately, money - and pride - can speak louder than frustrated fans declaring that NBA 2K23 MyCAREER sucks.