Looking at offline use on PC only...

Looking only at offline exhibition and Season mode, is there really any difference between 2K12, 2K13, and 2K14? Any cool visual features, any outstanding elements? Also NBA player ratings don't really matter to me I'll be playing previous season mods. I really need to know about in-game elements only like fun presentation elements, cool stat tracking, etc. I'm trying out all three but I feel like unless I play each one for months I won't really know. So, just looking for info from those who have done all three and know them well but in offline mode, again, because I don't play online modes of any game whatsoever.

Thanks for any help.

[Dee4Three]

Biggest differences.

2K12 did not have right stick dribbling, and is the worst graphically out of the three (my opinion) However, it had some great retro content, including the NBAs greatest mode. Presentation wise its solid. It has a underground soundtrack mostly.

2K13: Was the first 2K with right stick dribbling, and they knocked it out of the park. Its reactive and feels great. The offense is a bit overpowered though, and blocking shots is hard to come by (automatic adjustments occur at the hoop, and sometimes hands go through the ball on block attempts). No shooting with the right stick in this game, it's just used for dribbling. The graphics are a step up from 2K12, and the presentation is lifted a tad (depending on if you like all the Jay Z vibes) because Jay Z was involved. The soundtrack has more "hits" because Jay Z headed the soundtrack.

2K14: has right stick shooting and dribbling, and is on par with 2K13 graphically. The blocking system is revamped and better, but the post game and overall feel of the offense isn't quite as good to me as 2K13. As in, the post game and dribble move combos felt better in 2K13. As far as a well rounded basketball title with feel and flow, 2K14 Might be the best. But I still love throwing on 2K12 and 2K13. Presentation wise 2K14 was the LeBron soundtrack game, so again you have more new music and hits in that regard, less underground music.

Mods wise, all three have amazing retro mods and mods in general. Stat tracking wise, they are all incredibly similar.

Last edited by Dee4Three on Fri May 31, 2019 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

The inability to block dunks in NBA 2K13 is definitely a drawback (though it also gives you a rather reliable "when all else fails" option on offense). It's probably still the game I like the most out of the three, though.

2K12 did not have right stick dribbling, and is the worst graphically out of the three (my opinion) However, it had some great retro content, including the NBAs greatest mode. Presentation wise its solid. It has a underground soundtrack mostly.

I don't know the game really over the past 10 years at all. So, what one of these games has that others don't have luckily doesn't affect me too much. Also, I find interestingly that I subconsciously tend to rely on the buttons for shooting in cases where I want to really focus on my shots. It's as though my brain (all in my head probably, pardon the pun) thinks the buttons are more effective at shooting. Also, I've never really liked the idea of the right stick for shooting because to me that's a pullback and let go thing like a bow and arrow and not at all what shooting is which is a force forward movement. I've always felt it would be better to pull back but to have to push forward to complete the shot. Like the manual control pitching in MVP NCAA 07. Anyway...

2K13: blocking shots is hard to come by (automatic adjustments occur at the hoop, and sometimes hands go through the ball on block attempts). No shooting with the right stick in this game, it's just used for dribbling.

So there's nothing that sliders can do to fix this blocking issue you guys are mentioning?

2K14: As far as a well rounded basketball title with feel and flow, 2K14 Might be the best.

So games after 2K14 really don't impress a lot of people, huh? What became the problem? The annoying focus on online card collecting? Improvement of graphics at the expense of gameplay?
Presentation-wise, I'm not a hiphop fan at all (post mid-90s) and I can't stand JayZ, as a rapper, as a celebrity, whatever. But TV style presentation does matter to me. Hip hop and pop from the last twenty years is something I pretty much instantly turn off in any game, but thanks for outlining that, it's still good to know.

Thanks again! This was great!

FYI, I don't like JAY Z either, and cant stand most hip hop. I much prefer 2K12s soundtrack and prior, I prefer 80s and 90s music.

In regards 2K13, you can put the blocking slider to 100 and it doesn't change a thing, I've experienced a lot with it.

I hardly ever use the stick to shoot. I use the stick a lot when I am driving though so I can choose which hand I want to finish with (or which side I want to finish on), or the initiate a reverse layup on the baseline (by pushing it towards the baseline). With that being said, 2K13 isn't held back by not having the right stick shooting available.

2K12 dribbling wise doesnr have us much control, but you can still pull off some awesome moves. And, some of the drawn out dribbling animations look kinda cool.

On this gen, I REALLY like 2K15 and 2K17. 2K16 was also a hit in the community. 2K18 and 2K19 has taken some hits because of the new motion system. Check out my channel in my signature, I made a video of the skating issues for 2K18 and 2K19 that I am talking about.

Hope this helps.

Check out my channel in my signature, I made a video of the skating issues for 2K18 and 2K19 that I am talking about.Hope this helps.

I saw your video. How much of this (you can clearly see it, not denying it's there) is just the ugly look visually though? I mean, if the character is still moving at the rate at which he's meant to move, and he isn't speeding up or lagging and it's just the feet that don't move, then it's not really affecting anything other than the perception or illusion of how he runs. I mean, technically, if you zoom in any game on replay far enough you'll see their feet never even touch the ground. And pretty much in every sports game, players hover over the ball without ever really touching it.

[Dee4Three]

Check out my channel in my signature, I made a video of the skating issues for 2K18 and 2K19 that I am talking about.Hope this helps.

I saw your video. How much of this (you can clearly see it, not denying it's there) is just the ugly look visually though? I mean, if the character is still moving at the rate at which he's meant to move, and he isn't speeding up or lagging and it's just the feet that don't move, then it's not really affecting anything other than the perception or illusion of how he runs. I mean, technically, if you zoom in any game on replay far enough you'll see their feet never even touch the ground. And pretty much in every sports game, players hover over the ball without ever really touching it.

I feel it constantly. Going from 2K15, 2K16 and 2K17 to 2K18 and 2K19 is night and day feel wise. The speed breaks a lot as well.

You can have forward progression and all of a sudden your player slows down and speeds up again.

It completely ruined 2K18 for me, and while 2K19 had other gameplay improvements and fixed the blow by issue so it was more playable, the skating remained and hurt the experience for me.

And FYI, not on this gen in regards to the not touching it. Last gen that was the case with all 2ks. On this gen the players hands are firmly on the ball almost all the time, my brother and I talk about it a lot and how cool it looks on close ups.

Last edited by Dee4Three on Fri May 31, 2019 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

These days I find myself alternating between the stick and button. It depends whether I'm playing online or offline, what shot I want to take, and so on. Right stick shooting is handy for shooting floaters, deciding which hand you're going to finish with, and other such advanced shooting controls. You're still at the mercy of the animation selection to some extent, but you've at least got a bit more control over it. You can pull off those moves with the button as well, but it is a bit more contrived in my opinion. I've come to use a mix, depending on what it is that I'm trying to do.

The older games are still popular within our community because of the modding. The basketball gaming community as a whole has generally moved on as newer titles have come out, and the recent games are very popular despite the backlash over the microtransactions and so forth. There has definitely been a focus on the online experience in recent years however, and that has arguably come at the expense of the offline/sim experience. As a cheap plug, that's something we discussed in Episode #286 of the NLSC Podcast.

You can have forward progression and all of a sudden your player slows down and speeds up again.

THis is what I was talking about in another thread. I feel this constantly in 2K19. So much so that I thought it was me somehow.

It completely ruined 2K18 for me, and while 2K19 had other gameplay improvements and fixed the blow by issue so it was more playable, the skating remained and hurt the experience for me. And FYI, not on this gen in regards to the not touching it. Last gen that was the case with all 2ks. On this gen the players hands are firmly on the ball almost all the time, my brother and I talk about it a lot and how cool it looks on close ups.

Yeah, see, that's the thing for me is that in every other aspect, 2K19's experience in exhibition, season, and other offline modes is in my opinion in my top 5 sports games of all time.
With the collision detection, I was just talking about every sports game I've ever played. It's rare to have players actually touching their environments. A friend who works for Ubisoft explained to me why one time, but it's really too long to explain.

Depth wise? Absolutely. 2K19 is the cream of the crop in basketball game history depth wise.

But for me its about the on court feel that matters most.

And I want to make something clear about last gen games. While I think that 2K14 has possibly the most all around realistic gameplay experience on last gen, 2K13 is more enjoyable to play at times especially on offense.

Depth wise? Absolutely. 2K19 is the cream of the crop in basketball game history depth wise.
But for me its about the on court feel that matters most.

Well, I totally understand that. It's the reason I play MVP 2005 MLB2K12 and prefer them to any The Show game. I guess I'm trying to find that great balance between a true to life experience on the court regardless of graphics and a presentation that's fun and immersive. I'm a total sucker for how 2K19 looks in game and all the TV stuff.

And I want to make something clear about last gen games. While I think that 2K14 has possibly the most all around realistic gameplay experience on last gen, 2K13 is more enjoyable to play at times especially on offense.

Hm. Even with the blocking thing?

It's looking like I'm gonna use 2K12 for NBA's Greatest, which I love and for UBR. 2K13 for the mod with all the old ABA mods. 2K14 for Mackubex and NCAA stuff. And 2K19 for the 2018-19 season I'm currently playing. And if after all that there is one that really stands out to me, I'll just hope there's a 2019-20 mod for it.