NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

[ChaseB]

NBA 2K20 is free for PlayStation Plus users until August 3. For PlayStation 4 owners, this...

Written By: Elliott Jenkins

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[Edgar_Nunez]

so wait do we get to keep the game or is it free to play until August 3rd?

[ChaseB]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

so wait do we get to keep the game or is it free to play until August 3rd?

As long as you DL it or put it in your library (and remain a PS Plus member) before August 3, you will be able to play 2K past the August 3 date.

[Edgar_Nunez]

Excellent! Thanks Chase. 

[ChaseB]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

Excellent! Thanks Chase.*

No problem Edgar, happy to help.

[misterkrabz2]

Against my better judgement I started a "My Team" squad just to see what it was all about. Ripped a couple free intro packs, chose my 80 overall Hakeem Olajuwon and auto generated the best lineup. Held my nose and looked for an online opponent. Being ruined by Maddens Ultimate Team matchmaking non-logic, I assumed I would be dumped into a game with a 99 overall team and thrust into a hopelessly  non-competitive situation only to rage quit halfway through the 2nd quarter....and I was pleasantly surprised, it actually matched me up with a team that equally as crummy as mine and we played an enjoyable, competitive game. And my first thought was why can't Madden do that? I can't be that hard. It was only one game, I'll try it again and maybe my experience will be different...but it was a good start IMO.

[masprague82]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

Just a small correction, nba 2k16 was a ps plus title in June 2016.

[jk31]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

Against my better judgement I started a "My Team" squad just to see what it was all about. Ripped a couple free intro packs, chose my 80 overall Hakeem*Olajuwon and auto generated the best lineup. Held my nose and looked for an online opponent. Being ruined by Maddens Ultimate Team matchmaking non-logic, I assumed I would be dumped into a game with a 99 overall team and thrust into a hopelessly**non-competitive*situation*only to rage quit halfway through the 2nd quarter....and I was pleasantly*surprised, it actually matched me up with a team that equally as crummy as mine and we played an enjoyable, competitive*game. And my first thought was why can't Madden do that? I can't be that hard. It was only one game, I'll try*it again and maybe my experience will be different...but it was a good start IMO.

I have not played that many MyTeam games as exactly what you feared happens all the time. I will get matched up to all 99 teams more often than not. Completely useless.




Until when is 2k20 free on PS+? It completely ruins the online experience, at least for us PC users...We cannot finish one game if we start after 3 PM. Constantly lagging.

[pietasterp]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

Takes time to learn how to play the game for sure. The last time I owned an NBA2K was in the XBox360 days, and the last time before that....in the Dreamcast days. So yeah, there's no muscle memory to fall back on.

I DL'd it for free on PS-plus. The first few games, I really just couldn't do anything and got blown out on "Pro" difficulty. After a week or so, I started figuring out the pacing and timing and how the game "works" so to speak, and it started to make more sense. A lot of it (for me) was getting used to how to use the canned animations and how long they last, as well as how important it is to actually call plays in order to get open shots. I never used to do that back in the Dreamcast days LOL.

I still totally suck at the game, but at least I can win against the computer on Pro difficulty with regularity now (unless I am playing the Lakers...I swear the game is programmed to cheat them to victory no matter what ). Some things I really still haven't figured out, such as how to stop the computer from out-rebounding me all the time or really how to play effective defense at all. But all in all, I'd say the game is enjoyable now at least, whereas for the first week or so, I sorta thought I would put the game down and never pick it up again.

I'd say my experience as a beginner is: give it time to learn how the game works - it's a game, and knowing about basketball IRL is honestly of limited value, similar to how knowing about football IRL doesn't really help all that much to be better at Madden. Once you figure out how the game works and what it does and doesn't reward, it gets better. But in all honesty, I'd rather be playing the Dreamcast version.

[simcity24]

I boycotted NBA 2K20 after buying NBA 2K damn near every year since Dreamcast. And BOY if I purchased this game I would be PISSED. I only downloaded because heck its free right! When I tell you I felt like I had loaded the exact same game. I mean they changed the menu up a tad but the pre game intro was EXACTLY the same. It got drastically worse once the ball tipped off, especially the My Player my god!! The players are either stuck in mud or have so much momentum one direction or the other its disturbing. I played my first game with the Pelicans hoping to have fun with Zion and his first fast break he literally hop jumped slightly to the left before taking off on two feet for a dunk. I have honestly never seen such a messed up animation and for it to be the first one I saw was telling. I thought maybe I was playing an improved game because my first game on (All Star) my help defense was actually working. Defenders were finally staying in front of the offensive player. But soon I was up like 20 points so had to up it to Superstar. I immediately saw all of the same flukey stuff that happens in NBA 2K19 where on ball defense by the computer is god awful. Passes are intercepted and easy shots are missed. 

I have campaigned for 2K to bring back NBA 2k18 servers because that was the last time playing in the Park or Pro Am was fluid. The player movement on 2K19 and now 20 is straight garbage. I can only be thankful I got this game for free but theres a reason its free its because it sucks. Even something as simple as adjusting sliders screen they messed that up. You used to be able to hit R2 to toggle between USER and CPU Settings but now when you do it the menu shoots back up to the top. That is just a stupid inconvenient change that literally serves no purpose except to make things harder not better. I have no hope for 2K until the next generation possible around 2K23 when they re do all the animations and reach towards their prime on a new generation. 2K19 was nothing but a hold over and 2K20 is a hold over part two they are just buying time for the new generation of systems. 

[simcity24]

2K changes the way the game plays just so people dont get bored I guess. But at the same time they give you the same tired pre game and half time show. Post game highlights have a camera disposition thats so low you cant even see the ball go in the rim and half of the actual highlights you performed in game dont even play when you hit triangle to see highlights for a player.  Rebounding is ridiculous its like you have to train yourself how to grab a basketball even when it seems like it is yours for the taking. 2K stop changing stuff for the worse just so you can say its new. WHY IN GODS NAME did you change how you call for a pick by ADDING AN ADDITIONAL BUTTON TO HIT!???  I mean this is dumb and when will the masses boycott this game. I am actually starting to think this free PS store thing is just to boost their "sales" because even when you download a game you get an email from Sony saying thank you for your purchase. So I think I just messed up my boycott efforts after all smh. I could literally go on for days and days about how piss poor the game play is on 2K20 and honestly 2K19 wasnt better than 18 its just better than 20. I am happily going to play with crappy facial animations of Ja Morant and Zion on NBA 2k19 and make my own damn new season. 

[jmitch5000]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

I think my last one was 2K10, so I have definitely had a bit of a learning curve...especially when it comes to dunking...

[mercalnd]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

Until when is 2k20 free on PS+? It completely ruins the online experience, at least for us PC users...We cannot finish one game if we start after 3 PM. Constantly lagging.

PS+ subscribers can download the game for free until August 3rd. However, they get to keep (and play) the game after that date for as long as they are still PS+ members. So it's not like all of these people will vanish from the servers when the game is no longer free.

[pietasterp]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

This game is not beginner-friendly. A huge amount of the game - strategy, controls, features, directions, etc. - is not documented anywhere, and either requires you to go through a lot of in-game tutorials or find the information yourself somewhere on the internet or YouTube. That strikes me as unhospitable at best, and outright hostile at worst to newcomers. They're basically saying "if you haven't been playing this game every year for the last 10 years, you're SOL".

Also, the sheer number of commands one has to memorize (because, again: they're aren't written down anywhere in the instruction manual or elsewhere) is unreasonable. There are fighting games that require less memorization than this game. There are, what, 30-40 dribble command controls alone? It took me literally a half hour just to find out how to crossover dribble. I wish I were exaggerating that, but I'm not.

The more I read / look into this game, the more I realize it's a lot more like a fighting game than a sports game. This is Tekken or Street Fighter on a basketball court.

[ChaseB]

Re: NBA 2K20 is Free for PlayStation Plus Users This Month: Is It Fun for Beginners?

This game is not beginner-friendly. A huge amount of the game - strategy, controls, features, directions, etc. - is not documented anywhere, and either requires you to go through a lot of in-game tutorials or find the information yourself somewhere on the internet or YouTube. That strikes me as unhospitable at best, and outright hostile at worst to newcomers. They're basically saying "if you haven't been playing this game every year for the last 10 years, you're SOL".

Also, the sheer number of commands one has to memorize (because, again: they're aren't written down anywhere in the instruction manual or elsewhere) is unreasonable. There are fighting games that require less memorization than this game. There are, what, 30-40 dribble command controls alone? It took me literally a half hour just to find out how to crossover dribble. I wish I were exaggerating that, but I'm not.

The more I read / look into this game, the more I realize it's a lot more like a fighting game than a sports game. This is Tekken or Street Fighter on a basketball court.

I think that's fair on the whole, but I do think there is decent onboarding for general controls and such via 2KU. I think where the game lets down newbies is with the D-pad and playcalling, strategy, etc. I think the argument is if you care about that stuff enough you're already invested and will go looking for info elsewhere, but 2K could for sure do more in that area.

And then when it comes to the "meta" of gameplay, I don't think any sports game is really going to tell you "do X to win" much like a fighting game won't. You sort of just have to fail and figure things out from there in those areas.