Nba 2k18 review in Spanish (full analysis)

The evolution of basketball games in recent years, particularly those developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, is moving towards one goal: life outside of sports.

Once the mechanics on the court were already mastered, studios began looking to recreate the entire basketball experience off the court. Thus, after choosing a team, you can interact with various characters, something that other games such as FIFA and Madden NFL have already experienced.

NBA 2K18, the new Visual Concepts game, seeks to go one step further. Once again, the main attraction of the game, along with the presence of the 30 teams and all current players in the American basketball league and various historical teams, is to create your character and try to take him from being an unknown to the highest sport level.

But if in previous years the focus was on the narrative, to the point that film director Spike Lee was invited to supervise the story, here he sacrifices himself in the name of a more modern system, totally online and highly dependent on microtransactions.

This year, the main novelty of the game is the new My Career mode. Now the game puts you in direct contact with the streets so you can carry out off-court activities, something that will surely increase your electricity bill after so many hours of play.

The undisputed reign of 2K Sports

Many years ago, the NBA 2K series held the king's crown among basketball simulators thanks to games superior to those of its competitors, such as NBA Live from EA Sports.

NBA 2K18 is honored by that legacy, and once again ranks high with a resource-rich package capable of satisfying both casual gamers and basketball fans who know the Detroit Pistons lineup by heart. 1989.

You must first create DJ, your player

As a first step, and as in most open world games, you have to create our character.

• Choose position on the court: The position that your player will occupy on the court: base, escort, forward, pivot or power forward. Choose DJ skills: You have to choose a main skill and a secondary one. Among the options, you can configure dunks, ball handling, triples, speed, caps and trays, among other skills, which will grant you badges, which you can improve throughout the game. Choose the height of the DJ: This is relative to each player, depending on the strategy you use to play and the position of your character. All heights will have their pros and cons. Choosing the wingspan of the DJ: A fundamental aspect to determine the quality of shots to the hoop, thefts of the ball and plug any loose ball in the air.

More settings: You will also have to determine the following aspects of your avatar:

• Weight Shoulder width Hand grip Dorsal Origin Visual appearance

My Career Mode

The mode that has undergone the most changes is the My Career mode. In this mode you mount your player and follow a roadmap that goes from a freshman to an NBA star. First of all, you have to create your player and here are some problems.

The first of these is the face scan feature which sometimes doesn't work well so it will take several minutes until you can place your face on a player. The editing options are very limited leaving the face a little far from what you could imagine.

So you create your player and enter the My Career mode, where you have a brief preview of how things will be with your new adventure as an athlete. You are in the shoes of “DJ”, a young man who tried his career as a DJ, and after a Training Camp got an opportunity in the NBA.

Now you can carry out activities such as buying clothes, cutting your hair, getting a tattoo, customizing a T-shirt so that it can be sold in the store and playing online on the courts, all this walking through the streets of the city (El Barrio) and going to certain places.

This means that there are more interactions present within the game, it is not only about evolving and going to play on the court. You will have to go to the training center, see how things are with your agent and also go home and train a little by yourself, or with your friends.

There are a variety of things within the My Career mode: mini-games where your score is compared to other players, there are gym workouts at a Gatorade facility where, as you finish the workouts, you gain extra energy for the game and even sit on your couch, put on a 2K18 and conduct an NBA game in "PlayNow" mode.

As you will see, the 2K developer built a real world within the My Career mode, and this is just fantastic.

The interesting thing is that while you are walking through the streets, you are not alone, there are other players who are also playing in the My Career mode and that does not harm the experience of playing with lags or anything like that, it is as if they were there, but not at the same time.

Aiming to take your player to grade 99, you can practice on the team's court, gain more energy at the academy (where there are several mini-games to recreate the exercises), close sponsorship contracts with your agent, and experience the various benefits from the life of an NBA player buying expensive clothes, getting tattoos and changing the style of your hair. It is also possible to go to other courts and play against opponents in online multiplayer mode.

Touring 'El Barrio' or the great modality of NBA 2K

While exploring El Barrio, DJs can participate in various activities, such as shopping for clothes at local stores, going to the hairdresser for a new haircut, and even visiting the official NBA store to enter events with fans..

The player chooses the pace of the day: focus more on practice while simulating the league's lengthy season, or ignore everything and play basketball mini-games in the 2K store video game room.

The immersion is even higher when the player installs the My NBA2K app on the Android or iOS device. Despite the large file size, which is over 500 MB, it is useful and functional.

Large number of microtransactions

Unfortunately, both My Career and My Team modes are packed with microtransactions that interfere with balance. Whoever does not want to spend money has to invest hundreds of hours to try to match those who bought coins.

Even the smallest cosmetic changes, such as buying dark sunglasses or an official coat in the NBA store, require spending a lot or spending hundreds of hours until you have enough level to buy them. This is a disadvantage and seriously hampers the pace of progress, not to mention the feeling of lack of justice.

Who is not interested in connecting to the internet can also venture into My GM. The mode was made even more robust by including elements of the interactive plot into the traditional franchise management mechanics.

Trading and negotiating athletes is a challenging process, but annoying at times for appearing a bit caught up in a default script empowering secondary characters. Still, it's rewarding to take care of your favorite team and watch it grow through management skills.

There are characters and even funny moments in the story, but only enough to give the idea of ​​a plot. Plus, almost everything from your player's skill progression to a new haircut in El Barrio revolves around the game's virtual currency, VC. And as you must already be imagining, this means an absurd amount of microtransactions.

Yes, VC is acquired by playing, and the better your performance is on the court, the more coins are added to your account. But the amount you earn is small compared to all the rest. Evolving the character requires a lot of virtual money. The more advanced the skill, the more expensive it is to upgrade it again.

Naturally, this will make you think twice before spending money on a tattoo or new clothes. Therefore, you should use VC to improve your skills.

It's an unfortunate choice, and even with a recent game update in which accessory prices were slashed, the system is still a bit rough around the edges.

Inside the courts

Fortunately, while there are clear flaws in the system around the core of the game, NBA 2K18 is right on virtually every game and presentation element.

The mechanics work works impressively once again. Less experienced players will quickly feel right at home with the basics, mastering everything they need to have fun in games and do the basics of basketball.

Instead, veterans go head first into the more advanced elements, blocking and changing defense systems.

I think it is not an exaggeration to say that NBA 2K is still the most complex and profound sports game when the theme is the game. It's easy to see how malleable the style of play is when the ball begins to bounce.

Almost everything that runs on pro starts can be played in-game, which at first glance can be overwhelming, but it becomes a weapon of more and more confidence as you spend more time learning the commands and mastering Visual Concepts mechanics systems.

NBA 2K18 follows the good old "easy to learn, hard to master" scheme. You can do the basics, without major difficulties, which means that the barrier to entry for fun is low, but if you intend to play at the highest level, it is better to prepare for a long journey. Modern basketball is an incredibly deeper version of the sport that became popular worldwide in the 1990s with Michael Jordan.

If positions in the modern NBA are dying, 3 × 3 basketball is becoming more important and pick-and-rolls are the rice beans of attacks, then all of that is reflected in 2K18.

Even the simplest elements, such as passing and shooting, are built with the utmost care. It's no wonder that some NBA athletes say they use 2K to learn more about basketball and how opposing teams play.

The degree of realism applied to the game is fantastic, and this goes beyond the gameplay. Visually, NBA 2K18 is a show. Gyms are present in all their glory, and players are reproduced with impressive fidelity, especially today's biggest stars.

The 2K18 demonstrates visuals extremely faithful to what we see in a true TV broadcast.

The rebounds disputes were very similar to what we see in real life with the players stroking the ball so that she can return to control of her team and even fight for it in a more real way.

Maintaining the quality of the graphics

It's hard to talk about 2K18 without sounding repetitive, but if we are going to stop to analyze every year of 2K Sports, we see that it delivers fabulous graphics when it comes to its NBA franchise, and this year it couldn't be any different.

You don't need to try too hard to see how similar players like Curry, Kevin Durant, Harden, Irving, Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Lebron James are.

The celebrities who are responsible for the comments and the interviews on the edge of the field, also received their due attention, which is why Shaq, Kenny and Ernie stand out, responsible for the Pre Game Show that gives an introduction to the game that will be disputed.

Celebrity Comments

In addition to the fact that the dialogues between them are very current, they also comment that the game to be played will be the first of the regular season, and they even make predictions about what can happen from now on.

Fortunately these dialogues are in Spanish and that is, we are one of the few versions with our language implemented. The rest of the countries will only take advantage of this part if you have a certain knowledge of the English language.

The hobby

The hobby is graphically the best, but when we compare it to other products on the market, we see that the 2K18 is excellently positioned relative to the amateur graphics.

Keep in mind that some things like seeing crossed body parts can happen, which reminds us that we are still in a video game. And another point that could be improved is the lack of more facial expressions.

The expressions of the players

We are in the best moment of NBA2K, some faces of the players and a physical expressions of 10. The comparison with reality is beastly and you can see the occasional comparison video reality vs game that leave us open-mouthed. 10 2K boys!

NBA 2K18 modes

The 2K18 has a variety of modes to keep you on screen for as long as possible with all the players in the 30 NBA franchises.

We have the " Play Now ", which is the traditional way of viewing. The " NBA Today " that is already available, but in this mode we will be able to play the games that are happening in the regular season of the NBA with all the changes and bruises of the teams.

There's the 2KU where, in case you haven't been to basketball games much, you can train your skills with a tutorial.

In the BlackTop you take the fun to a block from the street with the fans, but without everything that we see on an NBA court with sponsor cards or the like.

There's also the return of the My GM modes where you control one of the NBA franchises, but this time a bit inspired by the My Career mode with a script and more contact with the players, in addition to some visual changes and on the menus.

In My League you can create an offline and online league. Within the MiGM / MiLiga menu you find the “Start Today” in which an NBA franchise is assumed from the current date and you use all the data from the current season. This mode is already available from October 17.

You also have the "Season" mode in which you assume a franchise for a season. “Playoffs”, in which you can enjoy the full experience of the atmosphere of the Playoffs and the My Team mode in which a team is assembled with cards that you win by opening packages at random.

There is also the online mode. However, sometimes there is lag when trying to shoot, the screen that helps define a perfect shot takes a few seconds to appear, and those precious seconds are crucial for you to be wrong in your launches. On Nintendo Switch it costs a life to find a rival, while on other platforms (PC or PS4) it is a matter of seconds, it is noted that it is a console that is intended for platform games and users are somewhat reluctant to acquire a sports game.

Sound and voiceovers

Journalists Sixto Miguel Serrano, Antoni Daimiel and Jorge Quiroga are back to comment and narrate with great passion the NBA 2K18 games. In the English language version, the managers are two legends like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett to comment on the games.

The soundtrack includes tracks by Carlos Jean and Arkano, Shakira, Kendrick, Future, Lamar and many more.

Final words and conclusion about NBA 2K18

NBA 2K18 is the new release of the annual 2K basketball franchise. Available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC, the simulator has some new features, in addition to very realistic graphics, exquisite gameplay and a good diversity of game modes. This is the best basketball title ever made.

This is an excellent basketball game, the best ever made for consoles and computers. Properly licensed with current teams and classic sports teams, the title boasts excellent artificial intelligence, rewarding those who strive to learn their rich mechanics thoroughly.

It has easy access menus and good servers that complete the package, and that are only stained by the unhappy model of microtransactions, whose prize is for those who pay. Although this is nothing new and it has been seen that in the long run it has gone well for the community. And you do not need to spend a euro, if you play daily and amortize this fantastic game this season.

Of course, the game is not perfect with errors, such as the online mode of the Nintendo Switch that need more attention from the company, since they were the ones that gave the most headaches and could leave fans of the game disappointed.

In short, we are facing the best NBA game in history. The incorporation of the neighborhood, debugged errors and above all that 2K listens to the community and tries to correct a failure quickly. They make it a game worth buying and enjoying. Personally, I have been buying each title year after year and although sometimes I do not dedicate the time that I would like (the web does not stand alone), I play it and enjoy it in my spare time. The current price for the NBA 2K18 for the Nintendo Switch is 59.90 euros on Amazon, somewhat higher than on the PC and PS4 versions.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ Simple interface and game immersion is fantastic	- Microtransactions
+ Number of modes in the game. Especially in "My Neighborhood"	- Pretty slow online switch mode and you hardly find any rivals on Nintendo Switch.
+ Graphics very close to reality
+ Soundtrack.

The Professional Review team awarded him the platinum medal:

NBA 2K18

GAMEPLAY - 100%

ONLINE MODE - 95%

SOUND BAND - 90%

GRAPHIC QUALITY - 90%

PRICE - 80%

91%