NBA LIVE 18 DEMO FEEDBACK THE GOOD & WHAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED

I’ve been playing the NBA Live 18 demo for almost a week now, so I figured now is the perfect time to give some feedback. The game is a little less than a month away and EA definitely has some things to fix. I’ve made videos, I’ve tweeted to the devs numerous times, now it’s time to get more detailed. Once the game officially comes out we will touch on EVERY MODE, so stay tuned.

The key issues I’ve seen thus far #1 and probably the most annoying is the bounce back meter online. I noticed at times the bounce back was PRETTY BAD, and other times it wasn’t as bad. The first day of shooting was great not much of an issue, but over the next couple days, especially when I started to play with friends we all experienced the bounce back or the “LAG METER” as we all tend to call it. This is something that definitely needs to be fixed before launch, along with lag and server issue in general. 

I also experienced too much traction at times when shooting in single player. There were times when I was mashing down on my square button just to get a full release, still getting greens, but a traction issue nonetheless. I tried to use the analog stick, it felt a little better, more greens, but I still felt a bit of a drag. There are times when a shot feels smoother for example a green release then the next possession you will feel that drag on a regular release, leading sometimes to a early or late release. Also, when you use the analog stick you get A LOT more shooting animations, which is pretty cool at times, but unnecessary at other times. Overall I'm more of a button shooter at the end of the day so having more of a pressure sensitive shooting experience is ideal. 

EA should definitely think about making shooting a little more pressure sensitive. That would also possibly help with the bounce back issues. I personally think the NBA Live mobile shot meter with the green in the middle would be a much better fit for NBA LIVE 18. I mean, the shooting in NBA Live mobile is not the greatest at all ( I miss so many greens) but it does feel much smoother.

OP screens, wow, the first game I played on the demo I was dropped TWICE by cpu screens. And this is not just a cpu issue, I’ve also been able to drop cpu as well as other players. I can see this being a HUGE issue and too cheesy online against other players. Hopefully this is fixed before the game comes out. 

Excessive cpu pass steals, at times it literally feels like you can NOT pass in NBA LIVE 18, not even to a player right next to you. CPU excessive pass deflections mostly happen on the harder difficulties. I did see a few on the easier difficulties, but online has to be the worst. There was one game where we had at least 8 turnovers on some pretty easy passes, hopefully they scale cpu steals back a bit. And since we're already on the topic of passing, I definitely saw some issues there. Now I'm not sure if it has to do with our low ratings or what, but I saw some easy passes that were just going all over the place, out of bounds etc. And no, I'm not talking about full court passes, those actually surprisingly were getting to their man. I'm talking about close passes right to the paint not even 10 feet away getting flung out of bounds or just bouncing anywhere besides in the vicinity of your teammate, that definitely needs to be fixed.

Excessive CPU alley oop and putback animations, this happened more times than I can count online. The cpu would throw a crazy pass and the ball would hang in the air for a second and we’re all like WHAT THE, then another cpu would go flying through the air to catch it, crazy. This happens with the putbacks as well, cpu usually comes out of nowhere slamming it down. It looks great, but gets annoying when it keeps happening over and over and you can’t really stop it. And to add insult to injury EA hits you with a NEGATIVE grade for that. Speaking of the teammate grade, I have a bit of beef with the grading system, and this is coming from a person that gets 100 almost every game. 

There are just WAY TOO MANY negatives. There are times when defense auto switches so frequently that you end up getting a negative for a player you're not even officially guarding. Negative for missing a wide open shot because of the lag shot meter, negative for your man scoring on the inside, even at times when you’re playing good defense. Negative for your man shooting “open” even at times when you’re standing right there. There are just too many negatives and not enough positive things. For example there were times when I forced a turnover via some sort of push animation ( not actually trying to steal the ball) and did not get anything for that. Now getting a good grade is not impossible at all, but the negatives definitely outweigh the positives.

Player traction and auto animations. Feeling like you have no control over your player is a huge issue. There were times that I felt my player being pulled and dragged to a place I was not trying to go, this happens on and off ball.This is definitely something that needs to be addressed. We need to be able to have complete control over our player and move around the court freely and much smoother. Now I pride myself on good defense, I get many blocks and steals on my own just paying attention to the floor. But I noticed there were times when I didn't jump to deflect a pass and my guy just did it on his own before I could even react. This mostly happened in the paint. No, no NO, EA people MUST learn to play defense on their own. With auto defense or auto ANYTHING, that just leads to lessening the skill gap. I for one definitely don't want other players deflecting my passes without even trying, please fix that!

Now lets move on to some of the good

I have no idea how many man hours I’ve put into the NBA Live demo. I’ve played Play Now mode more times than I can count on both hands, and I’ve made uh, about FIVE players, spending extensive time with each. I do have to say the wing scorer is my favorite, 6’7 is a beast, with the 7’1 post anchor trailing not too far behind.

The graphics in NBA Live 18 were the first thing that popped out at me, I mean, it’s not like NBA Live graphics were terrible in the past, not at all, but you definitely can see an improvement. 

The dribbling is another thing that caught my eye pretty early on. I noticed MANY of the moves felt more fluid, but I also noticed some of the controls had been changed. The behind the back and spin move were two of my favorite moves to use in NBA Live 16, as well as the Euro step. I quickly found out that I could no longer use those controls I remember from Live 16, a bit of an adjustment, but not too bad. I definitely admit, I miss the Live 16 spin move and behind the back controls, it felt a lot better to chain those two moves, but dribbling in NBA Live 18 overall has improved tremendously. I for one enjoy it and can't wait to turn fatigue off in career and spam until I get tired, or the clock the runs out LOL (I'm not kidding).

Now are the moves effective?

I did find at times, many times, it was still challenging to get pass defenders even with great combos. This is something that was an issue in NBA Live 16, there were times when you would mix and match a good combo and find that the cpu defender was still there and not at all effected by your handles. In NBA Live 18 at times you can get past the cpu without issue, also difficulty plays a factor. However, I did notice even on the easier difficulties I found that the cpu was still sticking to me, grabbing and pushing me back as I tried to blow pass them. You can definitely feel the contact in the game, the traction is pretty heavy. The extra contact is good and bad in my personal opinion.  I can see EA’s attention to detail trying to give you that push and pull of a real life intense game, but at the same time it can be a bit overbearing. But boy when you do blow pass the defender, it's exciting and explosive, maybe not as fast as other games, but when you beat your man, you really beat your man!

Dribbling is much more effective with PVP (person vs person). As I said in a previous video on my youtube channel (subscribe if you’re new). If you’re a better ball handler you’re going to get pass your defender, and if the defender is better at defending at times you’re not always going to beat your man. I can definitely see a bit of a skill gap happening, which is good for any game. When it comes to dribbling and defense, I do have to say I hope that they scale back cpu defense, just a little, as I said the push and pull is a bit overbearing, but overall I like the feel of this new intensity. 

That same defensive intensity can be found in PVP situations. One game I was playing live run with randoms and I saw some pretty intense match ups. However, I do have to say some players were almost getting mauled if you will, when it came to steals. I literally saw a guy on my team that had back to turnovers from two players smothering him and spamming the steal button. I'm not sure if his controller had died or what, but the guy wasn't moving at all. The steal animations are pretty crazy overall as well as cpu double teaming. Once again the push and pull and intensity can definitely be seen and felt throughout NBA Live 18. Scale back the steals a bit and it makes for some good competition and challenging gameplay.

Overall EA has made many improvements to their game and with some key fixes the gameplay will feel a lot more solid. I feel like NBA Live 18 has huge potential, and as a long time fan I'm excited to see their comeback. I will be reviewing the full game so stay tuned, and don't forget to pre-order NBA Live 18 for 33% off. 

NBA LIVE 18 HANDS ON FIRST IMPRESSION

I plan on writing a extensive blog once the game officially comes out and I test other modes. For now here is my first impression in video form.

NBA LIVE 18 FACESCAN APP IS OUT NOW!

You can now find the NBA Live companion app on playstore and apple store. I made a video so make sure you check it out down below and subscribe if you're new.

I do want to touch on a few things in a bit more detail than the video. EA finally fixed the app! I could not use the app for NBA live 16 on any of my android phones or Galaxy tab or even ipad mini! I had to use someone's Iphone 6. Years later I still can't update my facescan on  NBA Live 16 unless I use someone else's phone! But that is all in the past, moving forward I finally got to use my own phone to scan my face with the NBA live companion app, clap it up for EA. I only had to send about about 1000 messages about this issue, but hey, consistency is key!

As of right now we cannot choose a hairstyle or facial hair within the app, I'm sure that will change once the demo is released on august 11th. As of right now the only thing we can do is scan our face and edit players info for example, name, city etc. My facescan came out surprisingly well and I did it in the bathroom. It took about 5 minutes or so to render. I plan to use natural lighting tomorrow,  it's been a pretty dreary HOT day in Cali 😩.

I do have to say the scan looks much better than it did in live 16. Hopefully EA allows us to actually edit our face in game. I enjoy fine tuning my players face whether it is a default head or facescan. With the ability to edit created players faces that opens up the door to create something totally original or you can copy someone else's via tutorial, if you're not good at using the tools.  This is a HUGE feature that has been missing from the NBA Live franchise since LAST GEN. Come on EA make it happen!

7 days left until NBA Live 18 demo, y'all ready?

THE WNBA JOINS NBA LIVE 18!

 Now for many of us, we've been speculating this for months after EA released a few screenshots. Well the wait is over. It has been officially confirmed that the WNBA will be in NBA Live 18. As always I made a video about it, so make sure to check it out down below and subscribe if you're new!

It's been YEARS since the WNBA has been in a big titled video game (NBA street titles), but this is actually the first time in history I believe the WNBA has ever been in a "regular" basketball game. This is not only ground breaking for the female gaming community, but the basketball gaming community in general. A change has come to NBA gaming. EA is truly holding back no punches with NBA Live 18. Let's just keep it real, EA is trying to take that crown back! 

NBA live 18 gameplay is looking good, the graphics are looking phenomenal. The one thing I have yet to hear, and I know I keep saying this but, EDIT ROSTERS, EDIT ROSTERS, EDIT ROSTERS! EA has yet to confirm if we can finally edit the rosters in NBA Live 18, this is a HUGE feature that has not been in their game since LAST GEN. Not being able to edit rosters is unacceptable, hopefully they recognize their error in the past and finally give the community what we've been asking for. 

Stay tuned for more, and don't forget August 11th NBA LIVE 18 demo will be released! 

NBA LIVE 18 DEMO RELEASE DATE!!!!!!!!!

It's official NBA live 18 demo release date has been announced! Now my reaction says it all to how I feel about this news, check it out in my new video down below! ( And subscribe if you haven't already.)

 Now this news comes on the heels of a video I recently released "NBA LIVE 18 canceled?!!! Ahhh Hell na!!!" Yeah, that way, I was pranked, at 3am with a text from a friend that NBA live 18 was canceled. That person knows how big of a fan I am of previous NBA live titles (last gen), they knew how hyped I am about NBA live 18, so yeah, haa, your boy got pranked, GG BRO!

I'm thinking maybe someone at EA saw the video and decided to let the gaming blessings rain down upon us all and release the official NBA live 18 demo! No? Maybe? Who knows! But just know, NBA live 18 demo on the way! 

EVERYTHING NBA 2k18 NEEDS to be great

I made a pretty long video about this topic so this blog post won't be too long. I just want to summarize what the video speaks on. We touch on key topics like, custom body types, New face scan options (PC image uploads) Mypark walk on with squad travel option (Like Pro Am), new features in Myteam (daily challenges without bench restrictions), new locker room modes (Blacktop online), New Blacktop features like make it take it, 21, and more. So make sure you check out the video down below. I also have NBA 2k18 ultimate wishlist I posted in a previous blog post that is very detailed, even more so than the video READ HERE and stay tuned for more.

NBA 2k18 news MyLEAGUE and MyGM gets a facelift

Erick Boenisch released a pretty detailed blog about NBA 2k18 MyLEAGUE and MyGM features READ HERE I've been a fan of Myleague since it was introduced into the game. I've been a fan of creating custom rosters in general since the first time I ever touched a basketball game 17 years ago! So to see something like a myleague mode evolve into what it is today is exciting. I made a video briefly discussing some of the new features so make sure you check it out down below, and subscribe, videos released weekly!

One thing I did not see mentioned in the article was the ability to fully customize created players in MyLEAGUE. For some reason once you start up the mode you can no longer customize hair, facial features etc. If you're someone like me that plays ML in franchise mode then that can be pretty annoying. What player do you know that never switches their style up over the years? Come on 2k, this needs to be added to the game! Now the article does state, "Player Create Added To MyLEAGUE NBA 2K18 adds the ability for you to add new created players to your already ongoing MyLEAGUE saves (even midseason)." Hopefully this means the ability to fully edit them. NBA 2k18 will also be adding "Player Accessory Frequency" This seems like a pretty cool feature, I'm always switching things up on many players on my roster. Now there will be actual slots that the user can choose from and how frequently you want players to wear certain accessories. "Players will now decide on a per-game basis which of their accessories they will wear on any given night. And because this is MyGM/MyLEAGUE, you can fully customize how much or how little this happens. All 17 accessory slots come with five frequency options (Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Always) that you can customize to determine if a player will ever not wear an accessory, or if he oscillates on his wear frequency." Another feature that really stood out to me was Bookmarking Favorite Creators As a content creator this is a big deal. I love to create court logos, fully custom courts etc. I've noticed MANY people like to download my content, with this new feature it makes it easier for people to find my content without having to search for my name every time. Look for the username TruKING187 in NBA 2k18 because I will definitely be uploading some heat for everyone to download! Now I don't want to make this too long so lets move on with a few new features of MYGM. If you want to read SimBallers article once again here is the link. READ HERE NBA 2k18 will actually have a little backstory for MyGM. It's called MyGM: The Next Chapter "Not that long ago, you were one of the brightest stars in the NBA. Personal accomplishments long since satisfied, all that mattered to you was getting another ring. On a warm, May night at the 2011 Western Conference Finals in Dallas, it all came to a sudden end. Your knee, it was finished. Now what? Fast forward six years and you find yourself at the outset of MyGM: The Next Chapter. After a number of interviews over the last couple years, you have just landed a job as the GM of an NBA team. Widely respected for your on-court success, you have finally found an owner that believes the very drive that propelled you to the top of the NBA will help you propel his team to an NBA title."
Now personally I'm not a huge fan of MyGM it feels like there are too many restrictions and seems IMPOSSIBLE to keep your team happy, it's pretty frustrating, which is why myleague is so much better, in my opinion! But if you're looking for something a little more challenging and realistic with certain restrictions MyGM is definitely for you. With this new storyline they've come up with it, I myself may even have to play more than my usual 3-4 games.
MyGM: The Next Chapter put's you in the driver seat and allows you to view the NBA behind the scenes, so to speak. "Centered around you, the GM, you will need to navigate backroom scenarios while dealing with expectations from your owner, your staff, the press, other GMs, and of course, your players."
With all of the features they've added to these two modes it definitely will make for hours of interesting gameplay. Make sure you check out the full article and stay tuned for more!

NBA 2k18 beta testing Officially announced August 3rd

Ronnie2k officially announced on twitter that they have invited a few beta testers for NBA 2k18 on August 3rd. Now like every year the community looks forward to community day team-up. Getting input from our peers is extremely important, we expect THE REAL, REAL FEEDBACK. Last year was a huge let down. Now I'm not saying everything in NBA 2k17 is terrible, trash etc. I'm just saying the bad outweighs the good! Last year so many lead the community to believe that NBA 2k17 would be a huge upgrade from NBA 2k16 and it was nothing of the sort. I know I'm not the only one that feels like we got a NBA 2k16 2.0. We have the same forced animations along with a whole slew of NEW forced animations. Same bump steals / TO collisions issues, same parks, same hairstyles, do you get where I'm going with this? Now there is no way that  the community day participants could have known that we would get the same parks and hairstyles (at least I don't think). But they had to see a lot of the forced animations, bump steals, terrible shot meter and things of that nature. Yet nearly most of the feedback was nothing but a lot of praises and everyone saying how NBA 2k17 was going to be so great. Skip to several months and 13 patches later. People have been crying about how broke NBA 2k17 is since the first week it launched! I made a video addressing these very issues. Check it out down below and share it with EVERYONE #weneedchange

NBA 2k18 first OFFICIAL SCREENSHOTS!

2k FINALLY released a few official screenshots of NBA 2k18, and by a few I mean THREE screenshots. But  hey, when it comes to 2k, you have to take what you can get, however small it may be! The body types look a little different. I noticed Paul George looks a lot less buff in NBA 2k18 than NBA 2k17. The lighting looks much better and the jerseys look 100% more realistic. The players seem less shiner (so far) than NBA 2k17, which in my opinion makes them look more realistic. But aside from that there is not a huge difference graphically (so far). The graphics in NBA 2k17 are already pretty realistic, especially when it comes to certain players. You can definitely see it's starting to get more challenging for 2k to 1 up themselves when it comes to the graphics of current gen.

I decided to do a little comparison of the new screenshots to NBA 2k17, check out the video below. Like, share and subscribe to the new channel, stay tuned for more.

 

NBA 2k18 official soundtrack!

2k has officially released the NBA 2k18 soundtrack, I recorded a live "listening party" so enjoy the video down below and hear my thoughts and reaction!

NBA 2k Create A player history

Welcome back to another NBA 2k history lesson. Make sure to check out my newest video and witness how far 2k has truly come.

Now create a player is the best feature in ANY game, in my opinion. It's 9/10 the first thing I do, create a custom player. 2k has made great strides over the years to bring better created player features, from 2k7 to around 2k11 you can see the biggest changes as far as last gen is concerned. 2k has also dropped the ball in many ways. NBA 2k17 was a huge disappointment when it came to creating a player. We had the same hairstyles, same tattoos, pretty much same EVERYTHING. This was almost as bad as NBA 2k14 on current gen when they took away create a player, PERIOD, like myself, I'm pretty sure it left long time fans of the game completely deflated.

2k definitely redeemed themselves with the release of NBA 2k15. They were heading in the right direction. With the release of NBA 2k16 there were even more new hairstyles, and we were finally able to have tattoos again. It seemed like NBA 2k's created player features were getting better with each new year. That's until September 2016, the release of NBA 2k17.
After hundreds of videos uploaded to youtube by the 2k community, millions of views world wide, begging for new EVERYTHING. 2k completely dropped the ball. We literally, I mean LITERALLY had the same exact hairstyles, tattoos, etc. Very little explanation aside from Ronnie 2k tweeting out, and I quote. "we are more than a barbie dress up game #ThisISNotAgame"

If that is not a lame excuse as to why they got lazy and basically gave us NBA 2k16 2.0, I don't know what is! Now that's just one of the many let downs within NBA 2k17, but that is a whole other rant. Let's stick to the topic. There is no real excuse as to why 2k did not add any new create a player features, let's be real, they just got lazy and comfortable! There was no competition, they were the only game out, and it's like they really didn't care how we felt about it either, for that very reason.

Now here we are present day, a couple months away from NBA 2k18.  2k can redeem themselves once again, just like they did with NBA 2k15. With EA making a come back with NBA Live 18, 2k definitely has to step it up. I'm predicting it right now, NBA 2k18 will be NEW and possibly ground breaking. If you look at the NBA 2k blueprint they do something new every 2-3 years, just remember where you heard it first!  

NBA 2k Blacktop history 2k3-2k17

NBA blacktop is a great feature. You get a chance to hone your skills against the best superstars in the league, or cheese your way to victory by playing scrubs in a streetball setting. Blacktop is one of my most favorite modes and something I look forward to each year. Make sure you check out my latest videos dedicated to the history of NBA 2k blacktop.

 2k has definitely gotten lazy over the years, more and more features have been taking out. 24/7 mode was a great feature, not only that we had the option to play against friends on the blacktop,  and play 21. And yet these features have been missing on the blacktop for YEARS. In this current gen 2k has become more so geared towards their multiplayer online modes, it brings in the most money yes, but that is NO reason to leave single player modes behind.  NBA 2k used to be fun, now it just seems more like a grind than anything, grind for badges, grind for top rep (not my thing, but so many waste their time just to be seen on the leader boards). The fun has literally been sucked out of the game and it’s time to bring that back. MAKE 2k GREAT AGAIN! Single player need some kind of summer league, able to visit multiple courts, and even a mode like 24/7 would be nice to see in NBA 2k18.

2k, come on man! 

NBA LIVE 18 exclusive gameplay!

As we get closer to the release of NBA live 18 more and more footage is being released to the public, and I do have to say myself, it’s exciting. It’s exciting to see that EA has not given up on the Live franchise, it’s exciting as a long time fan of NBA live to see a comeback, it’s exciting as a basketball fan period to have a new game to play. Check out my latest video reaction to exclusive NBA live 18 footage.

I can't say it enough, the graphics are looking great, especially the courts. But there are some things that I’m really concerned about on the defensive and offensive side gameplay wise. I saw A LOT of contested green lights going in. I’m a huge fan of the green light feature. I feel we should be rewarded for a excellent release when shooting WIDE OPEN. However, I saw WAY TOO MANY contested shots go in GREEN. That’s NOT something I’m a fan of. This is a video game, not real life where so many good shooters are clutch on contested shots. In a video game on multiplayer modes, contested shots need to have the LOWEST and I mean the lowest percentage, like damn near not even going to hit that, chance of going in, and SHOULD NEVER, I repeat, NEVER be green, especially with a hand in the face. This would be a nail in the coffin for a competitive close game. Imagine a game is tied, and the winning bucket was a green light contested with a hand in the face. Man, I’d be PISSED! And that’s to say the least, I’d really probably be raging lol. I’m big on defense, If I’m clamping someone up they better not be hitting greens with a hand in the face EA!

Another thing that I saw that bothers me are the park games go up to 16, I definitely hope they fix that and put it back to 21 or at least have the option to pick what number you want to play up to. 

Now one thing that HAS NOT been confirmed yet, is will we be able to edit the rosters?!!!!!!! That is a huge feature that has been missing since last gen. I keep saying this, I keep hitting up the devs, I don't understand why this feature has been taking out from Live 14-16. Being able to edit the rosters is a huge feature that should ALWAYS be in any sports game. Hopefully EA pays attention to the community and add it to the game, we shall see. 

Other than that, for now, everything else is looking amazing. I got to see more footage of the one, Drew league and so many new features, like winning crates that feature dope shoes and gear, man it’s lit! EA has really stepped up, it’s looking like 2k just might have some competition this year.

August is around the corner, y’all ready for the demo?!

IS THIS THE END OF THIS BLOG?

I'm really thinking about of selling my 2K channel, I've already deleted about 50+ blog posts, most of which were ideas for future games (I know some ppl be lurking on here stealing my wishlist ideas foh). I don't know if my heart is really in the game anymore, Not a huge fan of 2k17, NBA 2K is on the decline in my opinion, and I don't foresee NBA 2k18 being much better. Check out the video down below for my full explanation on why I may be leaving the 2K community soon.  

NBA 2k18 fully customizable mycourt

Imagine being able to upload your own custom logos and customize the colors of your court from top to bottom! Check out my latest video.

Customization is the greatest part of ANY game, in my opinion. 2k introduced customizing courts in NBA 2k16 it was a step up from NBA 2k15 shooting in the gym. Each year they seem to be moving in a better direction (minus so many other issues wrong with their NBA games). NBA 2k17 they could have really done something special, but they fell more than a little short in so MANY ways. With NBA 2k18 around the corner they still have time to add a few more little gems like this to their game. A fully customizable Mycourt! I mean it is called MY court for a reason right? It’s time to allow users to create something exclusive to them. Not only exclusive content, but have the option to upload and share creations, this feature is in myleague (best mode in my opinion). This level of customization is needed in NBA 2k. 

Stay tuned for more

NBA 2k18 college career

Could a college mode be in our near 2k feature? Make sure you check out my latest video.

Just imagine for a second if you could pick your favorite college team and enjoy a full season in NBA 2k18! This is something I’ve wanted for awhile, way before we got to experience college in an NBA 2k game. NBA 2k16 gave us a tiny glimpse with a few high school and college games. In both story lines it looked for but a brief moment we would be able to choose to be one and done or stay in college. Unfortunately in both games we were forced to leave college after a few games.  To be able to stay in college or actually play the full season or even have the option to play 8-12 games would be better than having no option at all. 

Mycareer is long enough I know, 82 games is way too long and BORING for so many of us, but with an option to have a shorter NBA season this is ideal. I would personally choose around 28 games at the very least. At least give US the option 2k, it's called "MYcareer for a reason right?! 

A fuller college experience is more realistic as well. To hone our skills in college, earn badges and special attributes would be more ideal. We would actually give these NBA teams a reason to want us on their team. Realistically, what team would want a 55 no badges? What team would even put that kind of player in the game, unless their teams is up by 30?! Come on 2k!

I was the #2 draft pick with a 60 overall no badges in NBA 2k17. You can pretty much do anything in college, then when you get into the league, it’s brick city unless you upgrade your player. That’s a drag if you decide not to buy VC. I do have to say it’s much more rewarding to grind your way to the top rather than sell out and buy that VC. But for those that don’t have the time to grind or just don’t like the grind I completely understand, most just want to get to the park and ball out, I feel you! I’ve done it both ways, and I have to say, I always regret buying VC (lol). 

Stay tuned for more

NBA live 18 NEW Archetypes!

Uploading and blogging back to back? 2k and EA has a brotha working over time today! 

EA released a new NBA Live 18 trailer. My first reaction was, FIRE. I saw new hairstyles, ultra  realistic courts, new moves, and better graphics. EA also officially confirmed there WILL be a demo and it’s dropping in August. I don’t know about y’all but I wish August was tomorrow, because I’m ready to get my hands on a new basketball game.  Now this is just a teaser trailer and I’m sure like me you have a tone of questions and want to see some live footage. Check out my new video reaction!

I personally am looking forward to finding out about the career story, I’m a career player aside from being active in the park. Sometimes I just like to chill alone and enjoy the game. EA has been lacking on the career story since, well the beginning of Live. But with games like fight night champion and FIFA 17 we know that EA has the ability to give a fire immersive story. Come on EA, we know you have it in you! 

Let’s get into the meat and potatoes of what’s NBA Live 18 player build is going to be like. As you can see from the screens shots, we have some of the same options from live 16. Slasher, Shooter, Big man, but there’s EVEN MORE! We now  have the ability to choose play styles like back court defender, Wing scorer, Hybrid wing, the options are crazy!

Now I am not a huge fan of being stuck to one play style, I’ve said this about the poor execution of NBA 2k17 archetypes caps. Hopefully EA does not make the same mistake of having terrible caps on each of these play styles.

With all of the options in NBA live 18, I have to admit, it’s kind of overwhelming. In NBA live 16 I went with a 6’5 SG shooter from the start, stepping out of my comfort zone of always choosing a PG first, then a Center. Unfortunately on  NBA Live 16 you can only make one player and you have to delete that player in order to make a new one, major thumbs down.

 Hopefully EA will fix this with NBA live 18 and we'll be able to make multiple players. I did not like my SG shooter at all due to the fact that EA had poor execution with the shot percentages no matter how open you shot, one second I was cash the next bricking. The jumpshots overall were not great. The meter was nice, but the execution, TERRIBLE.  Lately I've been playing Live 16 a lot more. I deleted my shooter and made a 6’7 slasher PG, and I do have to admit I’ve been having a lot more fun in the game. The game still has a ton of issues, and makes me want to rage out at times, but like I said, it’s been a lot more fun than previously.

 With all of these new play styles NBA live 18 has to offer, like I said, I really hope they allow us to make more than one player. I’m so used to being a shooter, if the shooting is better, I will most likely go with that, at first. But I definitely would like to try some other play styles.

Start the count down now, August will be here before we know it. Stay tuned for more NBA live news

NBA 2k18 News

2kTV laid out a lot of new information on us regarding NBA 2k18, from archetype expansion to possibly no more green releases. As fan of greens I have mixed emotions, who doesn’t love to see a green light? It’s like a pat on the back for taking higher percentage shots. However, with how much disdain I have for NBA 2k17 shot meter, anything is better than we what we have now. Check on my newest video regarding the latest episode of NBA 2KTV. 

I want to really touch on the Archetype expansion. I’m not a fan of 2k17 archetypes at all, they are just too limited, especially for people like myself who prefer a more of a balanced all around player, especially for mypark where I spend a good amount of time ( I play over 2000 park games per year). I can understand why they implicated caps for multiplayer, but as a fan of Mycareer I hate it. We can’t fully create an NBA superstar because of those caps. When you look at a James harden, or Kevin Durant and compare their caps to your own, you can clearly see how trash these caps are. I have been saying this for some time, there needs to be some kind of separation for Mycareer and Park/ProAM. There should be NO limitation in mycareer. Although I’m not a fan of the archetypes hearing that they are expanding is keeping hope alive that we won’t be stuck with a one way player again. Hopefully they execute the archetype system much better than they did in NBA 2k17. 

LD2k touched on myteam as well as other modes like Myleague. I'm a HUGE fan of myleague and spend a good amount of time playing the mode.

The fact that it sounds like it will be getting a face lift is a good thing to hear. As for as Myteam, they definitely can improve, a TON. We need daily challenges, weekly is not enough. I prefer more solo on Myteam, and the fact that if someone rage quit it give you an L is a huge turn off for me, 2k logic. Multiplayer MT is just not fun for me personally anyway. I enjoy the challenges and domination more. It would be good if they add the blacktop to single player myteam to go against friends or CPU. The challenges also need to have less lineup restrictions
It's still pretty early on the 2k18 news tip, but we can definitely get a glimpse of where the franchise is heading, stay tune for more.

NBA live 18 news! Drew league & beautiful realistic courts!

NBA Live 18 court screen shots have surfaced! EA is known for having realistic looking courts and man did they show out with these! There were whispers a couple months back that the legendary drew league would be in NBA Live 18, now we can safely confirm this is true, well at least the court is. How integrated drew league will be in NBA Live 18 has yet to be confirmed.

 For those that don’t know the drew league was founded in LA in the 1970’s for local basketball talent to shine, and since then it has been apart of street basketball history, it even has featured well known NBA players like Kobe, Durant, Lebron James, JR smith, Metta world peace, PG 13 and more!  For this to make it into the game is pretty huge.

I do have to say I am even more hyped for NBA live 18 to drop. Check out my newest youtube video, Like, Share, Subscribe, follow this blog and stay tuned for more news! 

NBA live 18 WISH LIST!

I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say, the entire basketball gaming community has been waiting for EA to drop a new game. We we’re pretty let down when 17 was canceled, especially with the upset of 2ks copy and paste 2k16 2.0. Now we’re finally starting to get a little more news on live 18 and things are looking up for the basketball gaming community. It feels good to be back in the mix of things after taking a long hiatus after 2k17’s let down. NBA live 18 is right around the corner and EA still has a little time to make sure they put out a solid game that the fans like myself have been waiting for. So let’s jump right into this wish list.

Create a player

NBA live 16 stepped it up from the fails of 14-15, but the game still fell short. The body types was a plus, but would be better if they actually add body sliders. We were not able to make custom players from scratch, they gave us default heads that we could NOT edit! WOW. Check out my latest video for a look back on how much creative control EA gave us on old gen. We should be able to make as many created players as we want and edit their facial features. And PLEASE for #$#%# sakes fix your app so all phones can download the face scanner. To this day, the app still doesn’t support Android 5.0.

Hairstyles

 I’ve already made a video and wish list for NBA 2k18 so feel free to take the same inspiration from that, and read my last blog. I will add this though, we should be able to change the hairstyles to any color and option to have two tone styles. And we need better and more realistic facial hair options!

Check it out

Career story

I’m not a huge soccer fan but Fifa 17 career story blew me away. I rented the game just for the story! Frostbite has to be in NBA Live 18 along with a great IN DEPTH storyline. We know EA has it in them to create some great stories, just look back at Fight Night Champion, one of the greatest sports games stories ever created. With their lackluster efforts in previous years, EA continues to miss out on a huge market for people who love to play career.  Now is the time!

Edit rosters

This is huge and it was a huge let down in 14-16 that we could not edit rosters, especially for people like me who love to create a dream team every year and add an op created player to the squad. This is a must have feature in ANY SPORTS GAME.

Black top mode & load into gym on start up

I don’t understand why EA took away loading into the gym on start up, it’s not only convenient for new players to get used to the layout of things, but it’s fun to shoot hoops and work on your dribbling before going to another game mode. And a Black top mode is a must have, like summer circuit (one of the greatest modes ever created, minus the op cpu.) It would be fun to challenge friends to a 1v1-3v3 or go against cpu 1v1. Keep summer circuit but have the option to play offline!

Hopefully EA actually takes the time out to listen to the community and give us what we’ve been asking for. I guess we’ll find out in a few months.

THE ULTIMATE NBA 2k18 WISH LIST!

Yeah I'm late, and YES, it's been a LONG time. I contemplated if I even wanted to do a wishlist this year, last year my youtube videos did pretty well, hundreds of thousands of views

2k viralish sensation I guess you can say. Then 100+ videos later, I got drained and wanted to do some traveling and other things, hence the big absence and why I left the 2k community for the last 8 months, aside from the 2k community being cancer.
Here it is june 2017 and I'm starting to get the itching I want to create basketball content again feeling. It might be the fact that 2k18 and Live 18 are only a few months away! I just made a new youtube channel specifically for basketball, lets go!
On to the goods, the WISH LIST!

The first things I would like to see fixed are the bump steals, collisions and forced animations, that have plagued this game FOR YEARS. Feel free to check out my new twitter FOLLOW this account is more so catered towards basketball. I’m always uploading clips of the crazy things that happens to me during my time on NBA 2k.

Bump TO's in a close game especially, will send anyone into a RAGE! Not only are they the worst, NBA 2k has a terrible grading system that gives more negatives than rewarding you with good performance. Not only will you get a huge drop for these fake steals, if the other team scores you also get allowed score on a TO and another negative for "Lose ball" as if you have control over bump tos or other players spamming you. 😐 PLEASE FINALLY FIX THESE ISSUES IN NBA 2k18.

NEW SHOT METER, I really despise NBA 2k17 shot meter. It all started the first week of launch, YES THE FIRST WEEK, that's when my bar was 100% broke it would snap back to the middle no matter what I did, it literally took 2k WEEKS to fix the bar. Ever since then, it's been issue after issue with the shooting. Especially with Mike Wang tweaking it so many times, Once we get used to it, HEY here's A NEW update 😔.
The bar still snaps back more than half the time when the shot isn't green, it just doesn't snap all the way to the middle. Sometimes the bar doesn't even fill all the way up. It's WAY TOO MANY ISSUES with NBA 2k17 shot meter. Most would choose 15-16 meter over 17 (minus the open red shots) hopefully it's fixed back to the old meter or we get a brand new one. Just never give us this half circle meter again! 🙏

NEW PARKS 
everyone and I mean EVERYONE was bummed about not getting new parks in NBA 2k17, come on 2k, really? I spent $100 on the legend edition and felt cheated with how much the game felt like a copy and paste of NBA 2k16. Hopefully that won't be the case for 18. And we want realistic looking parks like 14 and 15 had. The best thing about park in 2k17 is we could play with any affiliation (great feature).

Sunset example

                                                                     Rivet example

                                                                     
                                                                   Oldtown example

Mycourt

We need to be able to FULLY customize our mycourt from the colors we choose to uploading images, like myleague. This has to be a new feature and would take our myplayer experience to the next level. Option to choose an inside or outside mycourt. Option to exercise in mycourt  on off days (on practice days) like lift weights and run on a treadmill, instead of wasting time loading to go to the practice gym.

Side note (Practice RANT)

If we're forced to go to practice we should be able to run on a treadmill etc. and actually get attributes for doing shooting and dribble drills. The COACH still gets mad if we miss practice, what's the point after we can't earn any more attributes? I don't even have a doing work meter on my player after hitting 95 overall, don't know if it's a glitch or what. 

We should only have to load for the team practices. 

The offensive consistency dribbling drill for example is one of the worst drills in 2k17. Not only does the prompts move too fast, half the time you don’t even get a +1 attribute. And what does dribbling have to do with offensive consistency? We should get that from shooting drills, strength attributes from lifting weights, stamina and hustle from running and jumping drills.

Back to mycourt

We park/career players spend A LOT of time in mycourt, from practicing moves, to tweaking jumpers, to  challenging our friends etc. One of the most annoying features in 2k17 is CPU always invading our space. 99% of the time they don’t ask to come over, it is rare that you get a text and they ask before just walking through your door. It’s cool to have cpu come over and do 1v1s, great feature, but it’s not cool for them to crowd our space. They should ALWAYS ASK FIRST. And a cool feature would be, after we unlock NBA players from gaining notoriety in the league, we should be able to challenge them to a 1v1, and maybe even the announcers talk about it in a future game.

Store / Closet

 2k has stepped it up on the store, just a little! It's a lot easier to things, but there's room (A LOT) for improvement. There is no zoom in feature, no 360 view feature. We can't even see the actual shoe we're purchasing. Most of the time the shoe doesn't look the same as the picture. We need to see exactly WHAT WE'RE BUYING! NBA 2k18 needs an actual myplayer closet with a 360 view and zoom feature. Let us see the whole head to toe and zoom into certain features of our myplayer, for example, the shoes, the head etc. And last but not least, there definitely  needs to be an offline store option. Not everyone plays online or has access to the best internet. Some can only enjoy the game offline. Ever since 2k has introduced VC to the game, there has not been a way for players to equip gear if playing offline. This is terrible, especially once the game servers get shut down ( I lost everything in NBA 2k14-15). Players should always be able to equip clothing, sneakers, and accessories whether  they're online or NOT, period.

Created players/Myplayer creation

It’s time to have more control over how our players look.

HAIR

Dyed tips or the option to change any part of the hair a different color like WWE 2k17.

Adjustable hair length on any style, designs for fades, 360 waves, hitops, dreads with fade option, curly hair with fade option, blow out afro with fade option etc. like 2k14 on PS4. More Mohawk options and preppy hairstyles for people that like straight hairstyles. Better man bun styles, for example one with the hair faded some call it an undercut, man buns should come in different styles, Afro style like cornrows with man bun, straight hair man bun, curly hair man bun etc. Slits in eyebrow option, piercings for mypark/blacktop mode. Check my video for inspiration 2k! 

Facial customization options

Able to adjust the eyes to however big or small, wide or slanted. Able to move the eyebrow bone higher or lower, more of an arch, or sad or happy look. The cheek bones and jaw bone structure should have more tweaking features as well. And of course something that is missing, customizable BODIES. Look at WWE 2k16 for reference (they messed up body customization in WWE 2k17). 

BODY

We can only make our players taller or shorter, change shoulder/arm/body length. If you use the normal, ripped etc. it looks EXACTLY the same. We should be able to play around with the body shape, really skinny, chunky, ripped, bulky, athletic and everything in between. Some people may want to make a Shaq build while other may be going a KD, Kawhi or Lebron look. For example WWE 2k16 if you go to the skinny side too much you will see bones or the athletic side you’ll see more abs and of course if you go too far to the bulky side you’ll get fat rolls. I already know we’ll be seeing some fat dudes dunking at the park if giving the option. That would be pretty funny though.

We should also be able to put tattoos on regular created players, and change any features while in modes like My league (once you start up myleague you can only change a players gear, not facial changes or hair changes, very annoying if you're like me and like to switch things up mid season).

Blacktop mode (SINGLE PLAYER)

Blacktop mode needs a HUGE facelift, and add back the option to turn fatigue off! Why remove that?! Modes like 24/7 and 21 only the Blacktop were extremely fun to play on old gen, why take that away? 

Why is the crowd so bland and boring? We need more courts, Night/day, sun/rain option (like 2k3)  I remember how fun past games used to be. I still spend a lot of time on blacktop. Blacktop mode is not nearly as fun as it used to be. We need the crowd to be HYPED and a hyped DJ announcer like on NBA 2k14 (PS3). It really hypes you when the DJ yells something out about what you just did or the crowed goes wild over an ankle breaker, dunk etc.

There should be a preferred position for 2v2 and 3v3, for some reason that option is only given for 4v4 and 5v5. Playing one position is great practice for going online to play mypark and other PVP(player verse player) modes, and it’s just fun.

We should be able to use custom created players like in previous titles. There should be NBA league option, Throwback teams, Myplayers, Celebrities (if they bring this feature back) and regular created player tab for Blacktop mode. WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE ABLE TO USE CUSTOM ROSTERS.

Street clothes option, all players are in random street clothes/accessories ( like NBA live 16) Shirts vs skins (shirtless) option.

Customizable game settings, for example, no fouls, no backcourt, no out of bounds, keep score option 5-50. Sometimes we just want a quick 7 point game, sometimes you want to play up to 50. Choose only 3’s count, or only dunks count, make it take it etc. Blacktop 

Summer circuit / Summer league 

I have been begging for this since Jan.2016!!! NBA 2k18 HAS to have a summer circuit like EA did for NBA live 16 (the best mode on that game by the way). We should be able to battle with the CPU in a streetball setting, either with other players or by ourselves (like NBA live 16). We can team up with people on our friends list, randoms or of course my favorite,  PLAY ALONE. NBA 2k summer leauge was actually a thing in last gen, it was pretty fun and something that we definitely need in NBA 2k18 

Mypark

We need to be able to test jumpers at park and shoot around before and after a game, especially if a team is waiting for more than a couple minutes.
GOT NEXT, now this is something that I despise. I hate waiting for games to end or waiting for our game to start because no one wants to play us, especially when we’re on 10-15+ streak just waiting and waiting. We should have multiple options. If people want to stand around at the park cool, but at least give others the options for instant matchups like Pro Am, play now etc. There should be an option for squad travel to instant matchups. We should NEVER have to stand around the park waiting 10+ minutes to get into a game.

And the biggest issue, glitched courts. Its never a day I log on to park and NOT see a glitched court. Too many people close app or whatever they do and glitch the courts. Some courts fix in a few minutes while others sit glitched for over 20 minutes. I have seen this so many times while streaking. I'm always checking out other courts after a game, I always see a glitched court! 

Celebrations / button options

Loser animations, that would be funny.
Better button options, the directional buttons are the easiest way to do a celebration. Side note, we also need a special button for flashy dunks for example, tap up on the directional button when you drive and you will go for a flashy dunk. Too many times we get forced into flashy dunks at the wrong time. Not everyone uses analog for shooting, change the pull back L3 to celebrate after shot, directional button down would be so much better and convenient!  

PS4, the steal button should be changed from square to X. I can’t tell you how many times I have stolen the ball or teammates and didn’t realize it, clicked square and shoot from FULL COURT. It’s the same with the analog stick, for some reason even if you have your settings changed, every now and then the right analog stick will make you shoot. I can’t count how many accidental full court shots I have taken because of that. Change the analog pump fake/shoot, I have my shooting settings on buttons for a reason!

Mycareer / College mode

I am a huge fan of mycareer and have been let down these past two years. 2k14-15 (PS4) so far still remain champ for the best mycareer, minus a few teammate grade issues and bump TO's. We were able to create any type of player and truly create an NBA superstar. These career caps HAVE TO GO. I understand why caps are used for the park, (even though they don’t seem to matter.) I literally can do everything with my players regardless, minus dribble very well on the bigger guys. But like I said, I understand why these caps are put into place. But mycareer is not the place for caps! We should have the freedom to do whatever we want in mycareer.

 Maybe it’s time to split mycareer from park.

                                                                  BADGE TRACKER 

                                            (I made this for my old 2k17 wishlist),
WHY IS THIS STILL NOT IN THE GAME? If you are a badge grinder like me, then you know how frustrating it can be to not know how far you have left. THIS IS A MUST ADD FOR NBA 2k18!

Option to have shorter seasons. We should at least be able to play a 44 game season. 82 games is just TOO LONG for some people, (like me). And 5+ practices for ONE attribute is too many. That would only be fair if we could skip games WITHOUT skipping over off days. Even then it’s still TOO MANY.  3 practices, we should be able to upgrade a new stat. I hate that it’s even like this in the first place. But I’m sure this was added to keep people from getting to 99 quickly. Which really did nothing but make people (not me fk no!) spend hours and hours on the game fouling out until they got to 99. Mycareer is no fun when it feels more like a grind for badges and attributes. 

 2k16 My highest player (2k deleted him, my fav player!) was a 96 overall, I was done, that was enough for me. 2k17 my highest player is 95, and I'm good with that. 

99 overall means nothing in the game, especially with the terrible attribute caps. It’s basically a WASTE OF TIME.

We should be able to have the option to choose how long the playoffs are like My league, seven games are too many even when you sweep . I would personally choose 1, 1 and done! But that’s just me, best out of three seems fair though.  

Back to these caps I personally think that it’s crazy that players like Kevin Durant and Melo, Harden etc. have better ball handling than myplayers (BECAUSE OF THE CAPS) Just because you’re taller or shorter does not make you a better or worse shooter, ball handler etc. The Caps in NBA 2k17 are terrible.

I can understand they did it so that bigger players like SF etc. wouldn’t be so overpowered, but they really just ruined it. Now the most over powered offensive position is little 5’10- 6'2  sharp shooters, although it does seem like centers shoot better than most, I know my Stretch goes crazy.

September is still a few months away, 2k you still have time to give the community what we've been asking for!