NBA Playgrounds Review (Bench)
I bought this game looking for something to play for 2 hours and then be done with it, but little did I expect to get a full day worth of enjoyment. NBA Playgrounds is a switch on those classic NBA Jam & NBA Street games. It is much more fast paced and fluent than those past games. You Start the game with a handful of "Player Packs" in order to get your dynamic duo of a team started. I really enjoy the Pack System in this game because it gave me some incentive to want to level up. I have played past NBA 2K games (2K10-2K17) and I feel as though that 2K can learn something from Saber Interactive. The soundtrack and art style of this game is phenomenal and it only add's to the games zaniness and laid back attitude. NBA Playgrounds doesn't take itself too seriously, which is something I am in love with. Allen Iverson teaming throwing a 20-foot high alley-oop to Demar Derozan while dabbing is something I can highly appreciate and watch all day. There are over 150+ players for you to collect through player packs with NO MICROTRANSACTIONS, yes that means that you will have to actually play the game and gain some knowledge and skill in order to get some of the best players (Take a hint 2K). Some issues I have with the game are the Lottery Pick system and the game's content going forward. I feel as though the Lottery Pick system is a bit too RNG based for this game, I feel as though maybe if it wasn't earned as easy it would be more balanced. As for the long term, I hope they do not mess up the system of which they have already. I do hope they release more packs and tournaments throughout the updates but please DO NOT MAKE THEM BUYABLE. One of my favorite things about this game is how satisfying it is to unlock your favorite character after an hour or so of leveling and I feel as though putting in any sort of microtransactions would solely kill that feeling altogether. All together NBA Playgrounds is a fantastic game with some very minor tweaks. NBA fan or not, this is a definite pickup for anybody looking for some crazy fun.
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**EDIT AFTER WRITING**
I totally forgot about the online portion of this game when writing my initial review, so let me address that here. The online portion is very fun... when it decides to work. I love seeing all of the combinations of players other players put together and it makes for some very interesting games. However most of the time I find myself lagging majorly or losing connection midway through a game. It seems as though multiple people are currently having this problem, so as the game is updated more you can most likely expect this problem to be fixed.
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PROS:
-Very fast and fluent gameplay
-Art Style and Soundtrack are very fitting
-Loads of replay ability
-Tournament Mode
-Pack System
-No Microtransactions
-In-depth Player Information
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CONS:
-Lottery Pick System
-Online Servers
-Longterm?