I Wanna be Like Mike

NBA 2K23 is the second game this year to devote its game to honor a legend, the first of course being this year’s Madden honoring its name’s sake after he passed last year. With this being the 2023 version of 2K sports annual basketball game, there was no other legend they could spotlight other than his ‘Air-ness’ Michael Jordan. Of course, rocking the number 23 during his tenure with the legendary Chicago Bulls, this years NBA 2K game not only allows players to take the Jordan Challenge but it spotlights legends from all eras of basketball with the fantastic MyEra’s mode.

NBA 2K23 is the best-looking entry of the series thus far, all the character models resemble their real-life counterparts. Not only in physical appearance, but even in actions. Watching Lebron’s pregame rituals, and of course Jordan’s shrug of approval when sinking a 3, the developers managed to make each of the players feel alive; and this includes even those that aren’t necessarily superstars. Looks aren’t everything at the end off he day, and while 2K23 looks the part for sure I am happy to say that it still retains its title as the best sim sports game out there when it comes to the on the court play.

MSRP: $69.99/$59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99

On the AI side of things, I was glad to see that improvements had been made. The defense seems to rotate much more often now and will lock players down with double teams a lot more than last year’s game. Playing against the AI felt better overall the way they were able to create pass lanes and keep the ball in the hands of their hottest player. For those that are looking for a single player experience with these games and may not want to play against real people, the AI does a good enough job of giving you quite a challenge. Not to say that it is flawless, as I noticed a few issues that could have just been graphical in nature but when defending, sometimes players footwork seemed “wonky”, almost as if they were tripping over their feet; It didn’t happen often, but when it did it was a weird thing to watch.

Another thing that’s a huge issue with this game is the microtransactions. VC, the paid currency used in the 2K games is needed for buying clothes and upgrades for players created characters and opening packs to build out a team in MyTeam mode. The problem with this system is that it makes this game just unfun to play in many multiplayer modes because unless you put down a large amount of cash you are most certainly going to be outgunned when playing against opponents. There are ways to grind out some VC, the game provides a small amount for daily logins, as well as quests via The City the open world environments where players can take their teams and players and challenge others. But the pitiful amount that is earned doing these activities makes it feel like such a chore.

The real problem is that there is a lot of fun to be had here, but because EVERYTHING ends up costing VC players will have to decide on whether or not they want to get a new vehicle to cruise around The City, a new outfit to show off, or invest in upgrading their players. Providing all these options is wonderful but tying them all to the paid currency just makes this game feel so unbalanced, because it is all too common to be thrashed in The City by higher ranked players who’ve dropped a significant amount of cash on the game in addition to the already hefty $70 sticker price.

Luckily though, NBA 2K23 offers other game modes to enjoy and my absolute favorite this year was the Jordan Challenge. While I missed Jordan’s early career, I was a huge fan in the 90’s when I was introduced to the sport by my uncle. The Jordan Challenge takes players back to the NCAA Championship game in 1982 where a young Michael Jordan begins his legend at the University of North Carolina to the last NBA finals match versus the Utah Jazz in 1998 (which I remember watching to this day) Each game has various challenges that they will need to accomplish with his ‘Royal Airness”, these are usually things like grabbing 9 rebounds or scoring a certain number of points. Jordan’s likeness changes through the games and its amazing to see him go from his youth in college with hair to the bald superstar of the NBA. But it’s the presentation that really sells not only the Jordan Challenge but even the various Eras of play available.

The game has a filter that emulates the presentation of watching a game on an old school TV, there is a way to disable this if you want the crisp 4K graphics and presentation of today, but it is a cool feature that helps to sell the mood of the various eras. Outside of the Jordan Challenge mode, I found the most fun in the MyNBA mode (2K’s franchise mode) which allows players to manage teams from various eras throughout the incredible NBA history. Of course, the Jordan era is available, but also the Magic/Bird, and Kobe eras of basketball, with so many options there is sure to be something for everyone.

NBA 2K23 is a fantastic package that is marred by a heavy reliance on microtransactions. Unless a player is going to spend hours and hours grinding out The City, the only way to find a modicum of success is to open your wallet and buy the virtual currency to boost your players and teams. The on-court gameplay is blast, and the tweaks to the AI have made playing against the computer more challenging and fun, the Jordan Challenge and the addition of the retro players and modes is a blast and I hope these features make the cut for next year. Speaking of next year, I can see it maybe being based on Kobe Bryant who we know wore the number 24 with the Lakers and tragically passed a few years ago. With it being the 2024 edition of the game, it would only make sense and be a nice honor for the ‘Black Mamba’, I just hope (I’m sure they won’t) that they stop the over reliance on this pay-to-win method that 2K has been doing the past few years, the game would be so much more enjoyable without them.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Jordan Challenge
  • Franchise playable with historical players/teams
  • Eras Presentation is a cool effect
Bad
  • Game feels Pay-to-win
  • Some AI hiccups
7.5
Good
Written by
Terrence spends his time going where no one has gone before mostly. But when not planning to take over the galaxy, he spends his time raising Chocobo and trying to figure out just how the sarlaac could pull Boba Fett’s ship with its engines firing FULL BLAST into it’s maw with relative ease; yet it struggled with Han Solo who was gripping *checks notes* SAND!