MyCAREER & Neighborhood Trailer; Female MyPLAYERs in Next Gen Only

[Andrew]

Trailer for NBA 2K21's MyCAREER story, "The Long Shadow", and the new Neighborhood, 2K Beach.

phpBB [video]

In the story, our MyPLAYER is the son of a local basketball legend, trying to live up their father's reputation as they embark on a journey to the NBA. The Neighborhood, now situated by the seaside and appropriately named 2K Beach, has received an overhaul to its layout and aesthetics. Judging by the trailer, a lot of the familiar shops and other staples will be returning.

Polygon has also posted an article with some details on MyCAREER. There'll apparently be some more meaningful choices with long-term effects, such as one of the agents that we can choose from allowing us to earn fans in Park games (traditionally that's only been possible in the NBA games). It also confirms that female MyPLAYERs are coming in NBA 2K21 Next Gen, but will not be in Current Gen.

Brian Mazique also reports that we'll be able to choose from one of ten schools: Michigan State, Connecticut, Florida, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, UCLA, Villanova University, and West Virginia

[[Q]]

Glad colleges are back so we dont have to say that we're from bay city university

[mp3]

Yeah I agree I think having college teams in it will be a nice touch though iam guessing it will be a short 8 game season judging by how many teams were shown, nevertheless a nice touch.

The one thing I did notice is that they showed that big wheel 3 times in that video so you know they will have it available to ride in game for a nice VC price lol.

[[Q]]

I was genuinely surprised to see how much a skateboard was in 2k20. I'd hate to see how much a bike is

[Andrew]

The prices of vehicles are ridiculous, especially considering that bikes were free in NBA 2K18's Neighborhood once you unlocked them by reaching 91 Overall. Now, you not only have to earn/buy enough VC while grinding up your level cap to hit the required Overall rating to acquire a vehicle, but then purchase them with an extortionate amount of VC. I did it in NBA 2K19 because I was playing so much that I ended up swimming in VC and decided I'd get one for the PlayStation Trophy, but yeah, it's a scam.

With that being said, the new Neighborhood looks nice, and while I didn't mind the familiar setting in NBA 2K20 - especially when they changed seasons a couple of times, and with the way it'd get a new look for certain Park events - there's value in doing something new. The big issue with The Neighborhood is how it forces us to run around to perform tasks that would be so much quicker and more efficient through a menu, and from what I can glean about the layout of this year's Neighborhood, pointlessly running around may well be an even bigger problem than before. It does look nice, though.

While I'm critical of how the story can interfere with the MyCAREER experience in general, I also appreciate the effort and production values. With that in mind, on paper, this might be the best story they've done; I think it'll certainly be in the running. It's a low bar to clear, but "Junior" is the best generic MyPLAYER nickname they've had so far. It's simple, common, and ties into the story of being the son of a basketball legend quite nicely. Sure, Livin' Da Dream explained the origins of Frequency Vibrations, but it was still a silly name. This works quite well, and it's the kind of nickname you'd expect for a character whose father is a senior to their junior. I like the idea of the story of "The Long Shadow", and it should be fun playing high school and college ball again, hopefully leaving the NBA experience more open.

It's a shame we won't have female MyPLAYERs for Current Gen, but as Dee noted on the podcast, they have to leave some additional selling points for Next Gen, so it's not altogether surprising. Meanwhile, having a few meaningful decisions that will have their pros and cons beyond the introductory story is also quite welcome. I would like to take a break from MyCAREER - especially on Next Gen - but I still want the mode to be as good as it can be for everyone who plays it, and there's some commendable stuff here.