NBA 2K18 Reviews
Rarely have I had as many conflicting feelings about a game as much as I do with NBA 2K18. So much about the basketball sim is top-notch, but there are also so many elements that make me want to put it down and never touch it again. From gross business decisions that get in the way of enjoying modes to adding so many elements that get in the way of simply enjoying the on-court action, it winds up being its own worst enemy. Those who just want a solid basketball game to play exhibition matches won't find anything better, but the rest of the package winds up stepping on its own feet all too often.
With a robust offering in the franchise, single-player, multiplayer, and collectible card modes, NBA 2K18 delivers hundreds of hours of fun
Its generation-long strengths hold true, and just about prevail over an increasingly cynical microtransaction creep. My Career's jump to an open-world setting throws a new gauntlet down to the rest of sports gaming.
2K has the basketball simulation game locked down. Microtransactions aside, this game is straight up ballin'.
2K Sports seemed to get really greedy this year with the implementation of VC in MyCareer, overshadowing the new Neighborhood layout in the mode. Regardless of this major flaw in the game, fanatics that focus more on online leagues or general play are going to absolutely love what NBA 2K18 has to offer.
There's so much to love about NBA 2K18 on the Switch, but there's no denying that there are some major flaws here, especially in the flagship MyCareer mode. As much as I love NBA 2K's ambition in creating a full portable port, it's tough to wholeheartedly recommend in light of its persistent technical problems and other niggling flaws.
NBA 2K18 returns to be the star of the sports games. The effort of Visual Concepts continues to surpass year after year is evident in this release to recreate the entire NBA perfectly, with The Neighborhood as a great novelty and a lot of content and game modes with which you will have endless hours of entertainment. All this with a spectacular graphic aspect.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
2K didn't learn from the Evolve fiasco. NBA 2K18 is one huge Pay2Win game, especially in story mode which could have easily been the best mode in the game. But grinding endlessly for success is not the definition of fun. Other than that the Nintendo Switch version is filled with bugs and technical breakdowns. What a shame because NBA 2K18 is a full port of the game with no cutoffs.
Review in German | Read full review
NBA 2K18 is fresh in the places it needs to be. Which is a really positive sign for future 2K titles.
A handful of technical hiccups mixed with an aggressive monetisation strategy could very well leave a questionable taste in peoples' mouths.
Now, if you don’t care about playing online, don’t care about optional microtransactions, and can stand the ups and downs of bugs that will be patched, NBA 2K18 is the best basketball game of the year and probably of the past decade. It’s a shame that some polish and poor business choices weigh it down.
NBA 2K18 is once again king of the court, proving why the series has managed to remain so superior in recent years.
You absolutely cannot ignore how NBA 2K18 is a full price game that also integrates the business model of a free to play/pay to win title and the way that the enjoyment you get from it suffers because of it.
NBA 2K18 is the biggest departure that the series has had in recent years, which is both good and bad. Elements such as MyPlayer feel like they have the potential to be fantastic, but are still too mired by microtransactions and bugs in its current form to truly be the experience that I was hoping for. Gameplay continues to be the reason to pick up any NBA 2K game however, and NBA 2K18 doesn't miss the mark when it comes to putting forth the most realistic basketball sim on the market. With a few patches over the course of the next year, I'm hoping NBA 2K18 can continue to improve and fix many of the issues that I have with it out of the gate this season.
In the end, 2K manages to innovate their most popular mode with the addition of The Neighborhood. It has a lot of potential and refines a lot of minor issues the game had like faster load times and now being able to see who your opponent is user controlling.
A new defensive approach, a new mode and a bunch of fixes are just a few of the spearheads of NBA 2K18, a game that's very easy to learn, but very very difficult to master indeed. The best title of the series without any doubt, and one of the best sports titles published thus far.
Review in Italian | Read full review
NBA 2K18 offers a great story mode, which has some RPG elements and in collaboration with great gameplay, it leads to one of the best basketball games in the store. NBA 2K18 may not be the perfect game, but has enough content to make everyone happy.
Review in Persian | Read full review
If you're looking for a solid Basketball experience, you'll get it. The Gameplay feels great and is easy to learn. Despite some questionable Microtransactions and the open question if the ps3 and xbox 360 Version of the game still holds the full potential of the PS4 Version back you'll still enjoy every part this game has to offer.
Review in German | Read full review
NBA 2K18 has many flaws, but the core gameplay is on the highest level possible as always. Promoted The Neighbourhood mode is screwed up and micropayments are just awful. Nonetheless, the game is worth playing... unless you have 2K16 or 2K17.
Review in Polish | Read full review
It's no surprise that this year as well, NBA 2K18 is a very strong entry in the franchise. If the developers bet very much on the Neighborhood, it seemed quite uninteresting and even rather painful to use, but at least the strength of NBA 2K18, as every year, is in the precision of its gameplay, and the richness of its game modes. A must for fans of the NBA and basketball.