‘90s kids will definitely remember NBA Jam, the high-flying, crazy-dunking arcade basketball game that was all the rage among sports fans and nonbelievers alike. Today, NBA Playgrounds tries to recapture that magic.
Let’s be clear. NBA Playgrounds is no NBA Jam.
That, however, isn’t to say NBA Playgrounds is a complete failure. It isn’t. It can actually be pretty fun at times if you play it in specific ways. It just isn’t the pick-up-and-play guaranteed good time that was offered by NBA Jam. If you’re playing solo, you’re going to have far less fun than if you share your game with a friend. In our experience playing single-player we found that our AI partner was seldom in the right place and setting up alley-oops was more trouble than it was worth, as waiting for the AI to line up on the hoop and take to the skies often took far longer than it would to outmaneuver our opponents and take the shot. Conversely, the opposing team always seemed to be in the right place to intercept a passed ball, and seemed to have zero difficulty stealing despite the stats of the player they were assigned.
Speaking of stats, each player receives a score out of ten in several key areas, similar to NBA Jam. What’s different, however, is that you gain experience and your players will level up the more you use them. We also didn't see any change in our ability to make shots, though that's governed more by the timing of the button press as explained in the tutorial. Pressing and releasing at the right time should ensure your success, and if you do it perfectly you'll be rewarded with an extra point - nevertheless there is seemingly no audio or visual cue to let you know when the right time is, nor does the tutorial help you in getting this down.
Leveling up is also supposed to give your baller new moves, though in our experience we were unable to discern what actually changed about the players we used as they moved through the ranks. We assumed it would be new dunks or crossovers, but we didn’t see anything new, though it did seem the CPU had a wider arsenal than we did. These two aspects are the ways in which Playgrounds most resembles NBA Jam. Crossovers are at times over-the-top, with the players doing cartwheels and outrageous spins to move past their opponents. Dunks feel a bit more dialed down, but they still look great. Even if they can’t be done half-court they still look impressive, ranging from sideways flips to insanely high-flying jumps.
There are major ways in which Playgrounds differentiates itself, however. The most noticeable of these is the lottery pick gauge. Each shot you land fills a portion of this gauge, and when you fill it completely you’ll receive a randomly-selected powerup. There’s a lightning ball - which ensures you’ll sink your next shot - and an infinite turbo among others, which can be unlocked by completing tournaments. The lottery pick gauge also controls whether or not you can use certain moves, such as pushing or throwing elbows. Both of these are effective, but we would have greatly preferred to see this tied to a player’s stamina gauge, as losing the ability to use these moves because you haven’t dunked enough feels like it damages the balance of the game.
Another issue we took with Playgrounds is the way in which you unlock players. The roster starts out rather anemic, with some teams not even having a single player available yet. Players are unlocked through card packs which you earn through playing in either exhibition or tournament mode. Completing a tournament gives you a gold pack which guarantees a rare card, but there’s no guarantee you won’t receive a double, and you’ll receive doubles with alarming regularity. In just our third pack with a handful of players unlocked, four out of our five cards were doubles, which grant a player 100 experience points. We saw similar results in many of the packs we opened throughout our time with the game, leading us to the conclusion that unlocking the complete roster may be a task accomplished by relatively few players.
These gripes are minor, but combined they may hamper your enjoyment. The one issue that is certain to diminish your fun, however, is the lengthy load times. A typical match takes about 30 full seconds to load on Switch, which is a tough pill to swallow, especially considering how simple the graphics are. Once you’re in a match the game runs smoothly, but you’ll see stuttering during the lead-up to tipoff, as well as when the playgrounds themselves are being shown off prior. It’s baffling that a game with so little going on could load so long, leading us to believe the Switch version is poorly optimised. The in-game announcer can be a bit of a drag, too, as they repeat lines often. Within two games you’ll be hearing repeated lines, and none of them are particularly entertaining to begin with.
For all its flaws though, Playgrounds can be a good time. When you get rid of the poor AI and replace them with friends in local multiplayer things get better fast. Turbo feels sluggish and the playgrounds themselves feel a bit small, but those issues fade away when you’ve got four people sitting around the couch playing together. You can play in any of the Switch’s available configurations, from single Joy-Con to the Pro Controller (we initially thought the Joy-Con controls required two to function), though the loading screen will only ever show you two Joy-Con in a Grip even if you’re in portable mode. When we played in a group of friends we had a genuinely good time. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t NBA Jam, and the sense of teamwork when setting up a cool dunk or crossing up the other side felt good. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t hold up when your friends aren’t around to enjoy the game with you.
Though it took a few months to get, Sabre Interactive has finally delivered on its promise of online play for the Switch version of Playgrounds, and it works quite well. There are two modes to choose from: Ranked and Challenge. Ranked play is exactly what you would expect in that you’re paired with a random player to face off with the winner gaining points toward increasing their standing on the leaderboards. Both players gain experience which is a nice touch, but beyond that there are no customisable options.
Challenge is almost exactly the same as ranked, with the exception that you then need to provide a code to another player, which they must then enter to join you. The code defaults to your nickname, which seems like a shortsighted decision on Sabre’s part, but you can thankfully change this to any code you desire. Jumping into either a random or challenge match was painless and gameplay was lag-free and every bit as fun as local multiplayer.
Conclusion
NBA Playgrounds is a flawed game, but a fun one. Single player modes are playable but can feel like a bit of a slog for all but the most hardcore fans. Multiplayer fares much better, delivering an enjoyable experience that works well both online and off. The long-awaited update changes some mechanics but doesn’t address some of our frustrations surrounding shooting and especially with frequent duplicates in card packs. If you’re looking for a decent arcade baller on Switch, Playgrounds is your only choice for now, but you could certainly do worse even with a more diverse selection.
Comments 136
Downloading it now. I look forward to playing a new arcade like NBA game. Hopefully this will be the start of many different types of sports games coming to the Switch.
Not my genre but I would have been swayed with a stellar review. I sit this one out.
Gutted. Could have been tempted by this. Alas no.
"You can play in many of the Switch’s available configurations with the only exception being single Joy-Con play,"
Wait, what? Wasn't single-joycon explicitly confirmed like two days ago? Or am I reading this sentence wrong?
Too late, already picked up at lunch time on a whim. Lets hope I don't regret it!
This and IGNs review don't seem to promise a great gaming exp. Not worth the $ when I still own SNES NBA Jam.
Pending? Only because of online? Well from reading the review it seems like a 6/10 so far which is disappointing but then again its a sports game. Being mediocre fun is their job, not to offend any sports games fans.
No online MP? No purchase!
I don't know much about basketball, but the multiplayer might be fun to try out. I guess I'll wait for a sale and then decide if I want it.
Looks like I'm sticking to NBA Jam on the wii then. Though it is nice to see more sports games take the arcade-dy route like this one. Severe lack of 'em these days. Too much realism.
I'm not a basketball fan, or sports game fan by any means.
The quirky visuals piqued my interest.
But unfortunately with a review like that and a massive mode, such as online matches missing just from the switch version i am going to have to say my "purchase is pending" indefinetly.
Online is also 1vs1 (+Ai) as opposed to 2vs2 which is disappointing
Some words from a dev on a review:
"Fair review - we are working to get the other features in. They will be done very soon. We just couldn't get them certified by the platform holders in time and if we delayed release we would be pushing to the end of the basketball season and then be put up against 2K in the fall - not the best option for a new game..."
" It isn't easy to put your product out into the wild and have it commented on but that is part of the process. We are definitely going to do everything we can to address the shortcomings of the game in terms of online features and to add more cool stuff as soon as possible. I would have loved nothing more than to have all the features we could have in this game on launch and we are definitely committed to getting them out. We will just need to continue to prove ourselves. Thanks again."
"MJ isn't part of the retirement association and it is super expensive to get a few players to a licensing deal (including MJ). If the game sells well we will definitely find a way to make it happen. I agree of course that he would be awesome to have in game."
@Nintendoforlife "and if we delayed release we would be pushing to the end of the basketball season"
Um, in 2 weeks it's the Finals. Not sure what he means there.
Either way, I think I'll just hold off for the demo on XB1.
Boomshaka-lacking
Such a shame. I'll stick to NBA Jam on Android casting to my telly for now.
You have no idea how much excitement I have for this game!
When I started collecting for my old consoles again (after many years of no games left), my first title was NBA Jam for the SNES.
I LOVE this style of game, and even though we have to wait roughly a week for online play, I don't mind because it'll all be worth it to me!
#ClosetNBAfan
Can EA just make an NBA Jam sequel for Switch already? That would be great.
1080p docked? 540p undocked??
They've dropped the ball with this dribble. Finish your game properly before you release it.
How about a good Baseball game instead? Not that I'm bias or anything...
@Sidon_ZoraPrince 2v2 is coming for online too.
Sounds like it has the potential to be a good game after an update, they should have held it back for a month or so to get the updates to the performance and tweaks to the AI done.
I've never seen a "score pending" before
Disappointed to see it lacking AI. I had plenty of fun with NBA Jam and NBA Street series, it will be better to wait for another one of those.
Got it right away, actually really like it, tons of fun in multiplayer. And how cool is it, to get such a game right from the start!
@MadAdam81
Go Multiplayer and you won't need a proper AI Compare Fifa, the same thing there...
Enjoying it so far, though the loading times seem next to unbearable. They're far too long. I've literally been able to load up my laptop and type this comment whilst waiting for my match to start
EDIT: My last 3 loading times have been 50, 56, and 49 seconds. I'm sorry but this is ridiculous
@SLIGEACH_EIRE @gatorboi352 Missing the NBA season and going up against NBA2k18 ehhhhhh. I wouldn't do it if I was them.
Here's a more positive review from Destructoid: https://www.destructoid.com/review-nba-playgrounds-435177.phtml
Might just wait for 2K18.
@Aaron09 It generally happens when the reviewer feels that the review will be heavily impacted if not reviewed with certain key features in the game.
May also happen if there's an embargo on reviews, if I remember right.
I still have NBA Jam on my Saturn I can play, Shame I would have been happy with a replica of 90's NBA Jam. I can't be bothered with 30 second load times on a hand held
Not sure if I should get this or tumbleseed...
So far its been quite fun, the loading times are a bit long but the gameplay was just fine. Can't wait to play multiplayer against the family.
Love NBA Jam and was REALLY interested in this game. Sounds like they still have some ironing out to do. Shame...
@Malcrash
If this sells well, my hope is EA sees that as decides to release a new NBA Jam. Hell I'd take a re-release of NBA Jam for the Wii.
So, the basketball mini games in Wii Sports Resort are still a better choice then?
This game is really a lot of fun, i'm having a blast with it. I recommend it if you like the genre
I'll wait till they finish it...already people are saying it looks very gimped un-docked. I was seriously considering this game, but now I might skip it, have a PS4 but don't pay for online on it so no point in buying it there, even if it looks better. Ugh and they further gimp it on the Switch, by having no online at release...I would buy it for Switch because of the portability and the online costing less eventually when they start charging...but for now this game isn't looking good from all I have seen.
I REALLY wish there were a demo for this one. If I could get a sense of whether I literally enjoy the in-game experience I could easily be tempted into this one. The lukewarm response I've seen to it, though, coupled with my own concerns looks likely to keep me away until a sale hits.
@Brutchie-bear I can say that Tumbleseed is a pretty dang hard game, so factor that into your decision. It is VERY unforgiving overall, but rewards you for getting better as you go. So your choice will inevitably come down to a fun, pick-up-and-play title with multiplayer potential with this one (seemingly) and a very challenging solo experience with randomly generated levels that you can keep playing. Not sure if that makes the choice any easier, but I suspect whether you're looking for a solid challenge or an arcade experience would be the easiest way to decide which way to go.
@JHDK There were certainly not a ton of them, and I can't help but think the complete lack of sports titles was a nail in the coffin for the Wii U; lots of people really want them, and if they're not releasing on the platform, that's a whole lot fewer people buying into it. I don't think I'll be getting this one soon, but I already have NBA 2K18 preordered on Amazon to show them the interest is there!
Is this Chibi NBA made for Japan?
@Aaron09 I've seen a few on here, they've been on games with big online modes with the online features not available until launch (but the review is ready before launch).
Big fan of NBA jam, so I downloaded this immediately to the switch and my Xbox One. The game looks like fuzzy garbage on the switch. It's like they turned the resolution way down took out the shadows and made the background trees 2d and said have a nice day Switch owners. Unbelievable considering what MARIO kart and Breath of the wild look like on switch. If you have any interest in this game and own another console I suggest you purchase it there.
@Ps4all Thanks for the heads-up.
You get an extra point for releasing the shoot button on time? Huh? Did I read that right? Please tell me I didnt.
This doesn't sound particularly promising, which is a crying shame since I would love a goofy basketball game to play. I don't really like the serious basketball games too much.
@Adamario This didn't sit well with me, either, so I went ahead and tried it again and discovered some weird controller issues. Long story short - yes, it does support single joycon play, but if you were playing before and changed the configuration without quitting the game, it'll behave oddly. So, it's best to settle on your control scheme before starting the game. An update to the review is incoming to address this.
I picked it up this morning and got to play it during my lunch break. It's fun, getting new characters is a fun system. I got destroyed at first but got more the hang of it by the second match. I've enjoyed it. The only gripes I have is the slightly longer load times and times you have to wait after a made basket.
It takes more skill than NBA jam which is kinda good for depth, but bad for pick up and play. Which I'm OK with.
For $20, it's plenty fun and I am glad I got it. I look forward to more multiplayer
@Adamario I am playing it with a single joycon right now.
@digitalmarco it still plays the same as Xbox one, just looks ugly, even in portable mode. Haven't tried it on the 55 inch yet, can't imaging that looks good.
I heard it looks better on the tv...but still the fact it looks like hot garbage un-docked and the other things I've mentioned...I'll pass on this.
@Zingo I'll try it on the tv when I get home. Maybe better there. Odd that that would be a factor since the computing is done on the device.
Why did you guys use screen grabs from the PS4 version rather than showing us how bad it looks on Switch? I've been watching comparison videos on YouTube and the difference is seriously shocking.
Disappointing but will probably still take a punt due to the relatively low price /risk factor
@SLIGEACH_EIRE AT least it came out with the others platforms at the same time. If we are to believe what the dev said, it was a matter of Nintendo don't green-lighting the project in time.
@Racthet916 Totally agree!! This is not the first time Nintendolife pulls this crap! It's blatantly misleading!
The Switch version looks nowhere near to the pictures shown in the review!
No excuse for this, since it's dead simple to take screen caps on the Switch!
@Racthet916 Nintendolife is quite the slacker regarding updating info, like screenshots and videos, for upcoming, announced and even reviewed games. You won't find a video of 95% of the indies games, and no screenshots for at least 60% of the games mentioned here.
Downloading now....purchased it in hopes that it is somewhat NBA Jam-like, still remember the crazy Bill Clinton code in Jam, my dad thought it was hilarious watching Bill dunk it from across the court- would loooove some crazy codes like that for this game
Not buying today then..
Hard pass on this.
Ugh... I really wanted this game to be good. Too bad.
I'm not writing this off just yet. The AI in my experiences with NBA Jam (cabinet, Sega and Wii) has never been perfect, and the real meat of that series has always been two player versus or co-op. Single player has always just been about quick fun throwing down on Bill Laimbeer's face and shoving him off the court. I seem to remember some pretty unsavory load times on Wii, which didn't really bother me that much, but its been quite some time since I played that version; so I could be wrong. I would like to see an expanded roster, but pairing Iverson and Kemp sounds fun.
I was thinking of picking this up, but a good single player experience is really important to me, so I've been put off now.
Nah.
@MarioPhD
I appreciate the feedback!
I know I'm enjoying the hell outta this game so far! Cool graphics, easy controls, and some cool characters I get to play with. I likey, like Mikey😗
Big warning to all(in case you care)... I purchased this today, but was totally shocked to see a compulsory end-user agreement that forces agreement to automatic updates as well as user-tracking, etc. I can't recall this kind of user-agreement being on any Nintendo game before? Especially forced acceptance of user-tracking, etc. I declined it, called Nintendo and they arranged for a refund.
This game is so much fun! I laughed couple of times. The graphics are good, gameplay is good. Im enjoying this alot. Most of the people complaining havent played it or dont like basketbal.
gonna pass on this. maybe when it's $9 on PSN or free PS+.
PSN will allow me to actually play online and have a bigger pool of players to play with.
Still the game looks good. and maybe Make a Switch physical version and i'll buy it to support it.
Btw, this game is murdering my battery life. I have the switch on a stand plugged into my iMac which doesn't charge as fast as an outlet and it is still dying rapidly. I'm down to 60% after 5 games.
THIS GAME IS TERRIBLE!! Do not download this. If you're used to playing NBA Jam or games similar... this is terrible in comparison. This game makes you TIME layups!! ... TIME LAYUPS!! Timing shots and LAYUPS is awful. This game is unplayable
@Darius_Truxton
Eh.... this game requires 100% Internet Connectivity ?
I agree it has flaws and I hope they get patched soon (I think they said they would), but I'm still enjoying it. I don't have any version of NBA Jam so this works for me at the moment. I'd love to have a replay mode to screen capture my best shots court-side or just watch my game close up at least.
@Anti-Matter It does not require internet connection to play. Just played an exhibition in airplane mode. Tried it on the tv and it does actually look better in docked mode.
@Anti-Matter I don't know if it requires 100% internet connectivity. I really want to like this game but timing layups and short little 2 pointers in the paint is a chore. They made it too complicated
I'm going to still get this but I'm hoping for a proper hockey game. Not that awful looking classic hockey coming at the end of the year. Heck at this point I would be happy if EA would release NHL 95 with online play. Come to think of it.....that would be neat
Super Mario Dodgeball please!
I do not get the timing system AT ALL. I've played 3 games and haven't scored more than 10 points on the easiest difficulty. Why the nibelsnarf do you have to time a dunk? Most basketball games you time by shooting at top of your jump but not this game you have to release somewhere in between. Pretty much just blew 20 bucks.
Anybody have any tips on this timing system ? I don't know why they made it this way.Doesnt feel very pick up and play to me or maybe I just suck I don't know.
@DickeyWord https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/208100-nba-playgrounds/75328034
Best info I could find.
@Kalmaro cool thanks
Glad I bought it. Really liking this game so far. Can't wait to try multiplayer.
@DickeyWord there is a method to it. It's easier to judge on 3 pointers, but release at the height of you jump. Same for layups but it happens faster.
I've been enjoying it so far. The gameplay is pretty fun which is the main thing that matters and haven't really noticed the bad visuals despite playing in handheld mode. Only complaints are the loading times and the drain on the battery in handheld mode. Look forward to trying online multiplayer once it's available.
@Nintendoforlife 2K comes out in like August or Sept, and is a basketball simulation game.
I'm playing this game on the Switch right now and it's a blast. Granted I don't know anything about basketball and haven't played a BB game since NBA Jam on SNES, but it's a lot of fun.
The gameplay is simple and straight forward, it runs smoothly, controls are easy and fun to use, music and sounds are awesome, slam dunks and other special moves are cool, the stages and backgrounds are fun. Graphics are a little soft in handheld mode, but good enough, and it looks great in TV mode. I bet this game will be a lot of fun for 2-player tabletop mode.
I don't really understand the complaints about poor AI; the opposition is competitive, and your partner is good enough. And it doesn't matter anyways because u can change partners instantly to whoever's closest to the ball, so you are mostly controlling both players at all times.
The load times are only present once between matches for about 45 seconds. It's a bit long but no big deal once the game starts it's on.
Glad I bought this game for my Switch instead of PS4 or XBoxOne. Totally worth $20.
@Racthet916 lolol welcome to that #switchlife
@PantherB That's why they arent finishing the review until multiplayer is released, because it could be rubbish or always empty.
But I have to get this later if I do pick it up, kids want Minecraft first.
@SuperWeird this certainly has me more tempted.
Such a shame. Why oh why must developers ruin a tried and trusted platform just to make it seemingly new and different. This is just like Jam only they left out the fun and added horrendous commentary.
Even if I liked sports games, this game's visual style would still freak me out too much. I HATE the way the players look, with their combination of weirdly realistic features and their bodies that are clearly too small in comparison to their heads. It's creepy.
Was on the fence after this review but bought the game anyway. I actually really like it once I got the timing of the shots down. Don't know as I'd say it's worth $20, unless you're a really big NBA fan (I am) but when it's on sale for $10 I'd say it's a good purchase for anybody who wants some good arcade basketball. It's no NBA Jam but it is a lot of fun. I just hope there's a patch down the road to fix the load times and some minor quirks that lead to pacing issues.
I bought it. I'm not an NBA fan and have never played any of the past games. For £17.99 it's a steal! It's good fun, has a lot of replay value, at least 100 characters, about 10 [?] different arenas, and is graphically pretty pleasing on the TV. And that's before online multiplayer and future improvements come.
The load times are fine. My only complaint is that you need to learn the controls within one practice match. Wish they could be on-sreen all the time.
I had a major session on this last night and while I did enjoy it I found it very hard and frustrating (more to do with my lack of skills then the game itself) having said that I'm itching to finish work and get back on the court! and hopefully my afternoon playing ability is a lot better then it is at midnight!
@DonJahnson: Me too! Plays a lot like NBA Hangtime on N64 (and that game is great).
@NL: "That, however, isn’t to say NBA Playgrounds is a complete failure." Geesh . . . talk about being overly harsh. This game is getting 7+ reviews on other sites and folks here who have played it (myself included) have enjoyed their initial sessions.
This is really a great game (10) and a bargain @ $20. These games used to cost the full $50 back in the day. The game looks great on the TV and off as well. The load time is only in between games and didn't bother me as there were tips and control info that helps.
My only gripe is that the full roster is not available right away, but I am determined to unlock everyone. Also, game is challenging in a good way. Plays like NBA JAM with some cool additions (shooting perfect shots, dunks, etc)
Really get this game, if you like basketball it's a solid 10. Best multiplayer game on Switch right now!
Why the heck are people in the comments praising the graphics? They're giving me nightmares!
This is the type of game where the score just shouldn't matter. It's not perfect, but it's super fun. Yes, there should be online from the start (it's coming) and in handheld mode, it's pretty damn blurry (hopefully there's an update for that), but it's a fun game. If NBA Jam were brand new today with updated visuals (with no nostalgia), I bet IGN would review it around the same as they did this.
So basically it's a rather unploished "NBA Jam" wannabe. I'll just stick with the actual "NBA Jam" reboot on the Wii.
This is way better than NBA Jam and graphics are superb in handheld mode, don't know what you mean by blurry unless u are comparing it to 4K content
To me it looks really unpolished. Facial expressions etc. just all look like they bought the license and pumped it out quick aiming for the 8-12 age range alongside other more serious NBA offerings.
i still play NBA JAM: Tournament Edition pretty regularly so I'll stick with that. So much of it's success was the personality of the game, the announcer, etc. That's polish beyond just basketball physics. Oh yeah, and Scottie Pippen.
This game is fun sometimes but also quite frustrating trying to fill roster. Jam was great, but NBA street volume 2 was far better. Im hoping if EA makes arcade sports again they revisit the street series.
For me this is a great game!
I don't understand the people who comments about graphics being bad, blurry! man what are you expecting?
I also disagree with NL review, I think they did a lame job when reviewing the game!
Controls are easy to remember, gameplay is fun, graphics are good, so for me its a 8/10 and its a rip off! only 20$.
I will totally recommend this game!
So is online added now?
Do you have a score yet?
This is an example of a rushed, sloppy game. Take note, Slig.
7/10? The review made it sound like a 6/10 at the very most.
@buildz Why should I take note? I said it was slop 2 months ago.
post #74
Forced acceptance of user-tracking
And wierd hobbit people
I've got 55 hours in...the gameplay is stellar, the leveling up for more player packs is addicting, and the developer is standing behind the title and giving us updates. Online play has been added and was worth the wait. And remember, it's a $20 game.
I still don't have Shaq or Curry, but I've had fun trying to find a combo to counter these guys. Finally found one (hint: they are both Knicks).
7/10 is a fair score, though personally, I'd give it a 8/10.
Would like to see Street Hoops instead of this
@Switched better graphics don't mean it's a better game, Ninty fans have had underpowered GPU for years now but some of Nintendo games are the best
Wait what? AI partner? Who came up with that terrible idea?
Literally any team sports game let's you control every llayer once he gets the ball. Why would I want the AI to do that for me?
Now I know for sure that I'll wait for NBA2k...
@crackafreeze I was referring to this part of the review:
'In our experience playing single-player we found that our AI partner was seldom in the right place[...]'
Since there was no mentioning of the mode, I assumed this would be default mode. But of course, if you have the game and can confirm that this is not the default mode, that's a relief.
Worst review ever!
If you like basketball or NBA Jam, get this ASAP, it is easily one of my favourite Switch games, and the one I've spent most hours on, and that BEFORE the update!
Sure, it has some flaws, but it is an amazing game overall.
The bobble head/Brisk iced tea commercial art direction makes me wanna punch every character in the face as hard as I can. Don't know why that is!
It seems weird to have come back and updated the review after online was added but not to mention that some of the original biggest gripes have been fixed, like the fact that the shot timing has been given a meter.
@MIDP The shooting system in the new update broke the game in my opinion. It was okay prior to the update, but the update managed to make it worse. NBA JAM and NBA Hangtime this is not. Sure it's only $20, but the shot system requires you to basically time a shot meter to make any shots now. I was okay before but now it's trying to be like other NBA games unlike NBA JAM and it throws a HUGE learning curve on the gameplay. What was once somewhat easy to pickup and intuitive is now monotonous in trying to be like games outside of the arcade sports genre. I REALLY hope they patch these dumb changes out of the game or at least give us an toggle option for them off in the menu. Right now the only option to display or not display the shot meter near your player.
@shani No that's not what was meant - It means that while you are controlling one of the players, your team mate will obviously move around the court to be in a spot to pass to etc.. but the position that they move to is very often a bad spot, so for example, the AI team is often beating you to the loose ball etc while your teamate is on the opposite side of the court.... you will always control the player when the ball arrives in their hands however - yet when the AI team moves up and down the court, the secondary player (of the AI team) is seemingly always in the right spot for a great pass / shot etc from their team mate, which is annoying considering the placement of your AI team mate.
But on a related note - I personally would absolutely wait for NBA2K (unfortunately I already bought Playgrounds though), because I can't stand the lack of polish on this game (sluggish menu's/controls/blurry graphics/ slightly irritating sound effects and overall lower budget feel) - it is obviously cheaper to buy than NBA2K however - some people will definetely like it for its arcade style alone, but I can't ignore the issues long enough to enjoy the game, even though I have tried many times.
@FTL Ah, that's what it meant, thanks for clearing that up!
Well, that seems pretty unfair/annoying, I wonder why the AI team handles it better.
And regarding your sidenote: I also had the impression that Playgrounds was unpolished, but since I haven't played it myself, I didn't want to assume too much. So thanks for confirming my suspicion. 👍
I got NBA2K14 and 15 on Steam and enjoyed them quite a lot, those games felt really polished.
Back in the SNES era, I definitely preferred the arcade approach, e.g. I always liked to switch off fouls on NBA Live back then.
But despite me still being to impatient and occasionally fouling too much, I generally prefer the simulation approach more nowadays (also with football and football manager games).
So yeah, guess I'll wait for NBA2K or maybe buy it on Steam. I'm not in a hurry anyway since Splatoon 2 is all I can think of (in terms of gaming) right now. ^^
Does anyone know if there is a way to switch off those big-heads?
If you want a basketball game that's fun, get this. It's not perfect, but it's definetly playable, and lots of fun. Get over the packs of cards and unlocking of courts and it's great.
@Nico07 I have no trouble and the little meter is the last thing I worry about. Did you play Mario strikers? Did you not like how you got to do a mega shot? It's not the first game that uses something like that. Like any golf game ever.
@Donutman The problem is this game is stuggling with what it wants to be. Should every single shot require a meter? It was fine before and this broke the game for me. Mario Strikers was great, this game is not, at least not anymore. It heralded it's fans from NBA JAM and then goes and radically changes the formula for the worse. And I'm just talking as of the last update.
I will wait for NBA2K and hope that there is an arcade mode. If not, I will pick this up when it drops to $10.00.
I have had alot of fun in the single player mode. It has tight controls and plays very well. I have connected online 3 times so far and the game was unplayable and disconnected on its own. I will try online again soon as I switched my internet carrier this week. Hopefully it was bad internet.
@ieatdragonz it just got updated and got a 7/10
I was going to buy this, but I saw 1 deal breaker when watching someone with a review copy the day before it released (Yes I realize that I didn't mention what the deal breaker was. I didn't mention it because it's something that won't bother 99% of people but for my wife and I it's a deal breaker)
I instead went and pre-ordered NBA 2K. I really want sports games to succeed on Switch as I love Sports games (my 3 favorite being NBA Street, NBA 2K & Madden)
To be honest I totally recommend this game, Its great and I enjoy it has a good online presence , I also give it and 8 /10 .
@Nico07 : the shot meter is best utilized as feedback as to why a shot was made or missed. It helped me develop the right touch for hitting 3s (by practicing in exhibition). I cannot hit a 3 if I stare at the meter while shooting--always late. So at first I mourned the loss of those (pre-update) easy 3s, but now I think it's a much better system.
Good game, cant wait for NBA 2k18!!!
@Nico07 I'm curious how it broke the game seeing as they didn't change it. It was always a stat-affected percentage chance range where you did a better roll the better you timed your release.
The only thing different now is you get visual feedback on it - which you can turn off for the old experience.
@Rubbercookie Before the update players shot percentage and somewhat of a button press timing affected shots being made. With that system I have a few 3 point shooters that are rated a 9/10 and I could fairly consistently make three point shots as you would expect. Now after the update I can't make the same shots to save my live. Even hitting the mark in the power bar I am still missing shots, consistently, where I was making them before.
@Nico07 Well, that's the issue with random chance; Your hits and misses aren't "consistent" to begin with. Not now, not then.
Usually I'd chalk this down to how bad people in general are at dealing with the concept of random, and possibly that you might for instance be trying 3-pointers with characters sporting worse stats there, since the update.
But if I'm not mistaken you beat the game right?
Would you be interested in reverting the game to compare the current version (without visible bar) with the original release to see if you can properly tell a difference in shot accuracy after the fact? - For science.
I’m a big NBA fan and a big fan of All the various NBA jam versions and I think this does a a lot right - the roster is amazing - it’s got a over the top feel but actually is far deeper. You can’t go wrong picking this up especially if you are a fan of NBA and know it’s legends
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