NBA 2K19 The Prelude Impressions

in NBA 2K19 September 5, 2018

It seems that a few people already accept their hands on the full version of NBA 2K19, but for most of us, we've however got a brusk expect. The 20th Anniversary Edition will be out on September 7th while the Standard Edition drops adjacent calendar week on the 11th, simply in the meantime, we've been able to get a sense of taste of this twelvemonth'south game from Visual Concepts via NBA 2K19 The Prelude. I've already shared some impressions of The Prelude in Episode #261 of the NLSC Podcast, but for those who prefer text to sound content, I thought that I'd offer a write-upwards equally I did for the NBA Live nineteen demo.

Every bit in previous years, the latest version of The Prelude is exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Information technology offers a chance for us to make a head beginning on MyCAREER past creating a player and playing through the preliminary stages of the manner, as well every bit sample some 5v5 gameplay through a 10 minute game in 2KU. To that end, information technology'south a very brief glimpse of what'south on offer in NBA 2K19, but it's enough to give us some insight into what to expect in terms of MyPLAYER Archetypes, the tone of the story, and the gameplay in full general. Read on for my impressions!

Following the same format as my write-upwards on the NBA Live 19 demo, I'thou splitting my impressions up into 3 categories: positives, negatives, and farther thoughts every bit I look beyond The Prelude to the release of the full version of NBA 2K19.

Positives in NBA 2K19 The Prelude

The game remains very fluid and responsive on the sticks. The controls are very familiar, so if yous've been playing NBA 2K in recent years, you won't have any trouble picking information technology upward and playing it.
CPU teammates seem a lot smarter this year in terms of moving without the ball and getting into position; NBA 2K18 felt similar a step back in that regard. I noticed players making smart cuts and picking gaps when their defenders committed to a double team or otherwise gave them an open path to the hoop.
Shooting mechanics seem a lot meliorate, moving away from the concept of Good releases being harshly nerfed Excellent releases, and thus lower percentage shots than Slightly Early on or Slightly Late releases. It just felt better shooting the ball with NBA players in 2KU games compared to NBA 2K18.
MyPLAYER cosmos is much more informative and transparent. More details could stand up to be shown (and some of them will be displayed in the total game), only it looks like we'll be able to brand a more informed selection when information technology comes to the effects of choosing specific combinations of Primary and Secondary Archetypes, every bit well equally superlative, weight, and wingspan.
More hairstyles are available at the commencement, along with the new Create-a-Actor features such as customisable hair length. Facial hair options are also bachelor when initially creating your player, whereas concluding yr you had to become to The Neighborhood first. Forth with haircuts being costless this year, this is a welcome modify in approach, and definitely the right way to go.
This year'southward story already seems like it will exist a lot better. The fact that we'll be able to skip cutscenes (and the unabridged Prelude on subsequent playthroughs) is definitely welcome, just the narrative and the characters are far amend written this time around. The tone, the humour, and their overall characterisation and operation, should make the story far more tolerable at the very least.
XP (now called MyPOINTS) seems to exist earned a little quicker if you put upwards numbers, and it looks similar information technology'll be a petty easier to make progress on all Badges without as much wearisome grinding. It remains to be seen how progress will exist made outside of the preliminary stages of MyCAREER and in grooming drills, but it's promising.
Likewise, Virtual Currency rewards seemed like they'd been beefed up a bit. The Route to 99 is still going to be quite a journey, upgrades do of course get more expensive, and at that place will be items for sale in The Neighborhood that will require you to budget your VC. However, I'm charily optimistic that VC rewards will be somewhat fairer this year, and once again, the way less of a grind.
Many more of the basic animations are freely available this year (or at least, they are in The Prelude). It would be more convenient to have all of these animations past default instead of having to go to the store and purchase them all for 0 VC, but I do similar that a lot of bones animations aren't behind a paywall equally they were in NBA 2K18.
Steals feel a little less canned. I'd compare them favourably to NBA 2K17, where good timing allowed you to poke balls loose when locking down the ballhandler. The scramble to scoop upward the loose ball makes the organization a lot more organic too. Canned fouls are still an consequence, only non quite equally much every bit last year.
Body blocks are reduced. I noticed some great paw-on-Spalding animations where a well-timed block try resulted in the defender's hand making contact with the basketball and swatting it away.
The part of the story where you play an abbreviated game of "NBA 2K8" using the 2008 Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets was a prissy touch. I liked how they even disabled right stick dribbling, which along with the lower resolution and one-time score overlay, made it feel similar an authentic retro gaming experience within a much newer game.
Outside of a Greenish release, gratis throw shooting seems to be determined by ratings rather than a percentage, as was the case last year. Every bit such, it feels like competent gratuitous throw shooters volition hit a reasonable amount of foul shots, even without a perfect release.
Absolute is at present the default setting for most of the Pro Stick controls. Beluba solicited feedback on the thing via a Twitter poll and Absolute controls won, and then I'g glad to run across the modify implemented. Gamers who adopt the Camera Relative setting can still choose information technology if desired.

Negatives in NBA 2K19 The Prelude

The new motion system notwithstanding doesn't expect right. While the game is responsive on the sticks and isn't riddled past bad player animations, in that location is yet a ton of skating. Players glide along the floor as though they're on ice, and frequently warp or snap into position following weird speed boosts.
As noted above, there is nonetheless an issue of canned fouls on steal attempts. Even though steals do feel meliorate, there are moments when a unmarried press of the push at a fairly intuitive moment will result in your actor wildly slapping at the ball or grabbing the defender. That should only happen on push button mashing.
I encountered some elbow blocks which left me feeling a fiddling concerned that certain cheesy builds are going to get a lot of cheap rejections once again in Pro-Am this twelvemonth. Information technology might not exist quite as bad, just is still potentially an issue.
Despite assurances that Archetypes will exist more balanced this twelvemonth, it seems as though there will notwithstanding be overpowered and underpowered builds. The point guard builds once once more have some harsh merchandise-offs, and there are however builds that practice not have Hall of Fame level Badges. Hopefully, NBA 2K19 won't have a bays/achievement for getting a Bluecoat to Hall of Fame level equally NBA 2K18 did. Otherwise, you'll need a second playthrough, or to avoid certain builds.
It would appear that the MyCAREER story will once once again include a bunch of predetermined moments, meaningless quick fourth dimension events, and inconsequential choices. Stuff like that drives home the scripted nature of the fashion under the story-driven arroyo, and just feels rather pointless.
In regards to The Prelude itself, the brevity and lack of depth practice unfortunately make it somewhat of an unsatisfactory glimpse of NBA 2K19. It's handy to go a head offset and at that place are things nosotros can glean from it, only three brief games from the early stages of MyCAREER and ten minutes of 5v5 gameplay that'southward constantly existence interrupted by tutorial videos doesn't make for a groovy demo with any kind of replay value as nosotros wait for the full version.
Instant replay controls are still clunky. They're a chip freer than previous years, but the free camera nevertheless wants to snap to certain angles, and won't maintain an adjusted elevation when the play is in movement.
There are some weird and clunky animations, like the "button" layup that halts your role player dead in their tracks. It looked and felt awkward last yr, and I was disappointed to see it in there once again this twelvemonth.
The confront scanning functionality in MyNBA2K19 hasn't improved. It'due south withal vastly inferior to NBA Live's face up scanning with the process feeling far more cumbersome than it should be. As it turned out, my browse failed to render and the app crashed, then it couldn't access the photographic camera upon relaunch. Feeling frustrated, I gave up and used ane of the generic faces. On the bright side, it looked a lot similar Eminem past default, so that gave me an agreeable idea for a MyPLAYER character; especially with the large name actors in the mode.
Although we tin can skip the MyCAREER cutscenes, at that place are still moments in gameplay where skipping through certain presentation elements takes a long time, or results in everyone merely standing effectually (such as before a free throw). Information technology seems that one time again, gameplay won't be quite as streamlined as it could (and arguably should) exist.
Once again, audio is disabled during video capture on PlayStation four. I practice have an Elgato capture card, and I also have Bandicam for the PC version, but it's still a chip inconvenient for content creators, also every bit anyone else who wants to go along their favourite replays and cutscenes.

Looking Ahead to the Full Version

Even though it was cursory and I would've at least liked to have had a short Play Now game with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers instead of just the 2KU tutorial, I did have fun with The Prelude. MyCAREER is going to be a lower priority for me this yr – at least, that'southward my intention – merely I did savor that function of The Prelude as well.
VC earnings and the prices of both upgrades and cosmetic items are going to exist critical this twelvemonth. NBA 2K18's approach was downright anti-consumer, doing its utmost to push gamers towards microtransactions in order to have an enjoyable experience. The Prelude suggests NBA 2K19 will be better in this regard, but at the risk of sounding like a broken tape, it remains to exist seen.
There'due south obviously a lot more to NBA 2K19 than is shown in The Prelude, so if MyCAREER isn't your thing, or you experience similar taking a break from it, at that place's plenty to sink your teeth into. I'grand withal eyeing MyLEAGUE, personally.
Mike Wang has mentioned that shooting won't be nearly equally easy in the full version. This is a little apropos, as while it is important to tune the game for realistic results, final year'due south approach was contrived and felt artificially difficult at times. Ideally, The Prelude should give us a proficient idea of what to expect in the total game equally well, so I'm hoping it won't plough out to be a deceptive demo.
As always, residue will be crucial. Terminal yr, it felt like all the focus was on making a game for the NBA 2K League, with the offline experience leaving much to be desired (and the Pro-Am feel wasn't that much better, in my stance). I don't want to run across a lot of tweaks to the point where the game feels unlike week-to-calendar week, but if something needs fixing, I promise it does get fixed.
The situation with the motion arrangement is an interesting one. Information technology doesn't feel like it got whatever ameliorate in terms of skating and warping, and then I'm not certain how long 2K will end upwards sticking with it. I assume when the next generation arrives, they'll have a new engine/motion system in place.

Those are my impressions of NBA 2K19 The Prelude; what did you remember of it? Will y'all be picking upwardly the total version of NBA 2K19? Experience free to share your thoughts in the comments department below, and join in the discussion hither in the NLSC Forum! Our coverage of the full version volition obviously commence soon, but for the moment, I'll leave you with an array of screenshots from The Prelude.