In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

[GisherJohn24]

WE can ignore the online issues and what not, but in general, what NBA 2k game had the overall best gameplay? And give me your reasons why?

[Hustle Westbrook]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

Never played 14 on current-gen and only had 15 for about 2 weeks, so I won't factor those 2.

17 was awful, worst 2K I've ever played. 19 is good but the spacing is just so bad that it just kills the game for me. I just think 18 was better.

So it's between 16 and 18 for me.

NBA 2K16
+GREAT on-ball D. Best in the series for me. Could stay with your man and the only game where you would be punished for zig-zag cheesing.
-The Lead Pass from Hell. Holy **** was this a problem. All I remember was people cheesing lead passes and manual cuts and the game forcing your defender out of position so the pass could be caught.
+Great spacing
-The AI was absolutely braindead defending the pick and roll. And help defense was pretty bad too.
+Best shooting in the series. Outside of Steph Curry the Limitless Range nonsense wasn't as widespread as it was every game afterwards. And no guaranteed green releases!!!!
-Transition D was awful. It's bad now but it's actually an improvement from what is was in 2K16.
+Players felt like they had weight to them. The movement system of the new games feels like I'm playing on ice skates.
+No Hall of Fame badges.
+The timeout menus and OTF menus were simple and quick to the point. As a result making adjustments were easy.
+Good steal system. None of those forced steal animations.
+Best dribbling system imo. 17's was good too though.

NBA 2K18
-Right off the bat, the blow by animation is what killed this game for me. Pretty much impossible to play consistent on-ball D against any competent player.
-Rebounding is awful. After every shot goes up, your AI teammates all collapse into the paint so once an offensive rebounding is caught you will have an open 3 every time.
+More freelance options
+Additional defensive settings like Extend Pressure. That is always a plus.
+The post game was great. Mismatches could actually be exploited.
-Dribbling system was unresponsive

Yeah, overall I'm going with 2K16 as the best of this gen. But to be honest I don't think any of the games on this gen (that I played) were that great. All of these games had some major issues but I'd say 16's were the most tolerable lol.

[GisherJohn24]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

Never played 14 on current-gen and only had 15 for about 2 weeks, so I won't factor those 2.

17 was awful, worst 2K I've ever played. 19 is good but the spacing is just so bad that it just kills the game for me. I just think 18 was better.

So it's between 16 and 18 for me.

NBA 2K16
+GREAT on-ball D. Best in the series for me. Could stay with your man and the only game where you would be punished for zig-zag cheesing.
-The Lead Pass from Hell. Holy **** was this a problem. All I remember was people cheesing lead passes and manual cuts and the game forcing your defender out of position so the pass could be caught.
+Great spacing
-The AI was absolutely braindead defending the pick and roll. And help defense was pretty bad too.
+Best shooting in the series. Outside of Steph Curry the Limitless Range nonsense wasn't as widespread as it was every game afterwards. And no guaranteed green releases!!!!
-Transition D was awful. It's bad now but it's actually an improvement from what is was in 2K16.
+Players felt like they had weight to them. The movement system of the new games feels like I'm playing on ice skates.
+No Hall of Fame badges.
+The timeout menus and OTF menus were simple and quick to the point. As a result making adjustments were easy.
+Good steal system. None of those forced steal animations.
+Best dribbling system imo. 17's was good too though.

NBA 2K18
-Right off the bat, the blow by animation is what killed this game for me. Pretty much impossible to play consistent on-ball D against any competent player.
-Rebounding is awful. After every shot goes up, your AI teammates all collapse into the paint so once an offensive rebounding is caught you will have an open 3 every time.
+More freelance options
+Additional defensive settings like Extend Pressure. That is always a plus.
+The post game was great. Mismatches could actually be exploited.
-Dribbling system was unresponsive

Yeah, overall I'm going with 2K16 as the best of this gen. But to be honest I don't think any of the games on this gen (that I played) were that great. All of these games had some major issues but I'd say 16's were the most tolerable lol.

great input! thanks Agree with most of your points!

[CaseIH]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

IMO this generation of NBA2k titles, all have some pros, and all have some cons. Just in flow of the game, I really like 19 the best of this gen. But the lack of charging, blocking, and shooting fouls on 3pt attempts, really hurts 19, from being a great as it could be.

18 had charging and blocking fouls, but shooting fouls on 3pt attempts, or any perimeter shot was non existent. Plus the CPU rarely called timeouts. Its not perfect in 19, but it is much better as far as the CPU calling timeouts.



the CPU also does a better job on subbing players, to where you dont always 4 or 5 guys subbing in together all the time. 19 while not perfect is improved.


This gen of NBA2k have all had problems with the poor management of players in foul trouble. Thats basically been broke in all of the games.




My memory isnt so good anymore, so I cant remember too much about NBA2k14,15,16 or 17 even.





Personally from a overall standpoint, I think 19 is a slight improvement over the previous games of this gen.



Base on NBA2k19, will I give the devs the benefit of doubt and pre order NBA2k20, nope, Ive been fooled long enough into buying the hype each yr with NBA2k, only to see certain things continue to go unfixed, and them screwing up and breaking a certain aspect of the game. Im a offline only player, and Im very OCD about stats, and when in this day in age, they cant get calling fouls realistic, which makes for not only a lack of total team fouls, but also a lack of variety of fouls.



Not saying I wont buy NBA2k20, and I am enjoying 19, but Im done pre ordering and getting game day1 again.

[RTMG007]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

Whichever had the least amount of 3pointers, badges, and takeover/grandbadge

[GisherJohn24]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

For me, NBA 2k19 is the best playing game with a friend, least offline I've had hte best experiences. It's the most in depth realistic game I think they've ever made. I'd argue 2k16 might have the edge on fun. NBA 2k17 was probably my least favorite, but it's bitter sweet for me because that was the year they brought back the DreamTeam and they classic teams were not missing so many players like they do in 18 and 19. I agree with the most of you, each game has it's perks and things I like. I sometimes like to break out 18 because I dont' have to work as hard to score, and is a bit less realistic. 18 and 19 suffer from CPU not calling time outs as frequently as they should, but I do like how they sub in players in 19 more routinely (as mentioned above) than they did in previous games. I'd argue 15 is still no slouch considering it's age, and I still break that out from time to time. All next gen games all are lacking in the presentation department. Soimethign that certainly took a step down from the previous gen. Still looking for more head to head stat screens popping up regularly, I want a slicker halftime, I would love to see real highlights from real games (like they used to) before a game, and discuss the matchups more in depth.


NBA 2K19 - Fantastic game just playing with a friend on the couch. CPU, not so much. I love the play calling screens and has an excellent flow. Floating/sliding is a serious issue with this game, the foot planting took a step back. Presentation is suffering. Could do without the soundtrack.

NBA 2k18- Another great offline game with a good fun factor, not as realistic as 19, but definitely probably a bit more fun as the scoring is more prevelant. Shooting is easier for sure. Fun for many, not to all.

NBA 2k17- Bringing back the Dream Team was instant love. The game on the court was pretty good, but probably my least favorite gameplay on the court. Had major AI issues especially defensively and really was never resolved. Transition D was non existent at launch. Besides the rosters and Dreamteam, nothing really stood out on the court. Just good, not great.

NBA 2k16- The intro to several new classic teams was money for me, I loved the new additions like Miami Heat 2013, Dallas 11, Suns, etc.... Overall very polished game with not many glaring AI issues.

NBA 2k15- A step up from 14 aside from graphics, and still no slouch today on the court. Don't remember any glaring issues on the AI. The introduction to Flagrant fouls was awesome. Horrific soundtrack.

NBA 2k14- If someone just wants to jump into a basketball game and be amazed at how good a game can look, look no further. Still the most beautiful basketball game ever made. Gameplay is not as deep as the others, but still a blast. Those shiny detailed courts are ridiculously detailed. Arguably had the best soundtrack.

[DJ]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

I don't know if it's the best gameplay, but in terms of enjoyment/fun factor, 2K15 gets my vote. Fast breaks were actually a thing and I felt like shooting for HUM and CPU played out realistically … until the last patch screwed that up. Thankfully the sliders were able to restore some of the balance, but little did we know then that the last 2K15 update was a sign of things to come in the 2K series.

[Hustle Westbrook]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

I don't know if it's the best gameplay, but in terms of enjoyment/fun factor, 2K15 gets my vote. Fast breaks were actually a thing and I felt like shooting for HUM and CPU played out realistically … until the last patch screwed that up. Thankfully the sliders were able to restore some of the balance, but little did we know then that the last 2K15 update was a sign of things to come in the 2K series.

I remember people on here going crazy after Patch 4 dropped. Crazy to think that is the norm now!

[Vni]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

2K18 is my favourite on this gen and by quite a bit. I've only played it on Myleague, superstar and that's the most fun I ever had versus the CPU.

[Bulletproof86]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

It is and remains 2k16!
2017 trash
2018 biggest fail ever
2019 at launch ok, now too arcade with bitchass slow server.

[GudStuffzz]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

Strictly offline I enjoy 19 the most. 15 and 16 were too stiff for me, 17 was absolute horrible, and 18 was good but too easy.

[Sausage]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

May I also ask; which 2K on the (PS4/Xbox One) had the better My Career/My Player?

[SteveQ]

Re: In new gen, what NBA 2K had the best gameplay and why?

The best 2K from an overall gameplay perspective on this gen is 2K16. It had issues but felt and played the best. 2K19/2K18/2K14 are after it in no order. 2K19 could be the best but the tweaks it needs aren’t gonna come sadly.