The growth of microtransactions from the NBA 2K series parallels the rising tumult of the real-life NBA offseason. This year, 2K Sports had to alter NBA 2K19’s cover after a blockbuster trade put its cover athlete at another uniform. To better capture that growing disarray in the league’s offices, Buy 2K19 MT presents a story to its franchise mode, MyGM. A participant — your created MyPlayer, specifically — suffers a career-ending knee accident and later takes up the reins as overall manager. Trade Kyrie Irving away or place him in another place; that’s the crux of a team GM gig, with a sign of occasional internal team play involved. It’s a stretch to call it a narrative mode since the menu does, but minor expansions to MyGM include dialogue exchanges and player interactions fresh to NBA 2K19.
Not only is there a story in MyGM, there is nevertheless a bevy of MyPlayer alternatives. Rather than invite Spike Lee to direct MyCareer (as he did back in NBA 2K16), NBA 2K19’s approach settles down, focusing on the tumultuous rookie year of prior street baller DJ. It is largely satirical toward locker room culture, a reprieve from the thick play of Madden NFL 18’s Longshot as well as previous years of NBA 2K. For instance, DJ’s representative isn’t much of one, however, he does possess a catchphrase: “Eat what you kill” The characters do not seem to comprehend what that means (and they say), but NBA 2K19 runs with it for the humor.
When playing DJ, you’ll encounter NBA 2K19’s “The Neighborhood.” Consider it a hub of activity for DJ’s career. At a MMO-lite twist, it’s possible to walk round with multiple (hundreds, maybe, if servers fill up) of other player-controlled DJs, playing pickup games, trading scores at minigames or socializing. The existence of other players is generally pointless outside of light competition, however; I ended up just ignoring the audience.
I soon realized The Neighborhood simply replaces NBA 2K19’s core menu. In that way, it is merely a clumsy method to browse. Want a haircut? Walk the cube into the barbershop. Want to change clothes? Go home. Need new shoes? Jog down to Foot Locker. Looking to grab a fast pickup game NBA 2K wiki? The court is down the road on your left.
Plodding as this navigation is, there’s a touch of personality and culture inside. At the barbershop, DJ is served as a neighborhood celebrity while they talk about overall gossip. The friendly (if sleepy) attendant of a food cart brings in some laughs. These spaces are also nicely decorated, cramped and flush with old brick buildings circa 1930s New York. It’s a powerful representation of the impoverished to lower-middle-class upbringing of NBA stars that got their start in places like Harlem’s Rucker Park.
On the other hand, The Neighborhood is also sullied by corporate patrons. A bit of gentrification in the old neighborhood? Maybe. But it is not only a Foot Locker place sitting on a corner or Gatorade-sponsored gyms. The owners of the barbershop present DJ using a gift, JBL cans, of which DJ chimes in, “Are these the new JBLs?” Gatorade is a fundamental piece of the story, called out by the broadcast team during games as far as it is promoted during gym training sessions (purchasing virtual bottles of Gatorade for stamina comprises a spiel about electrolytes).
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Jamesdarin joined the group Player interactions fresh to NBA 2K19 2 years, 2 months ago
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Mmoak2018 created the group Player interactions fresh to NBA 2K19 5 years, 7 months ago