NBA 2K19 Reviews
Whatever viewpoint you're coming from, NBA 2K19 is both slightly better and a bit more competent than its predecessor, but there are still issues that need to be addressed. It is still clearly designed so there is an underlying temptation to invest in some VC just to get to the good bits, instead of spending days, weeks, months slowly building up your player or your team. That said, whatever score it's given really won't matter since the NBA 2K series will remain dominant when the competition isn't as strong as it could be. While NBA 2K19 is competent it has also, for me at least, continued down the road of not feeling as fun or exciting as previous NBA 2K titles. This year, the feeling isn't so much of outcry as it is fatigue at having seen the gradual changes take place over the last several years.
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NBA 2K19 is a fun basketball game held back by unnecessary bells and whistles alongside intrusive microtransactions. The basketball is second-to-none and the players feel and look incredible. It is a true shame the game is shackled by microtransactions which make progression a grind both for MyTeam and your player.
Improved in many ways, this year's NBA 2K continues to drag behind some historical problems of the series, among which there is certainly the absence of an anti-cheat for the online sector, which has other annoying design flaws, and the rather invasive presence of microtransactions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I don’t see myself ever really going hard for that 99, because the ability to do that requires the use of my wallet just to get started, because grinding for VC for free is insanely slow and I think they made it that way on purpose to push microtransactions.
There is a lot to like about NBA 2K19, but it's hard to come away from it without a bad taste in your mouth. Its pay-to-win nature and occasional hiccups are hard to swallow.
NBA 2K19's on-court disappointments are somewhat remedied by the hugely entertaining off-the-court shenanigans, but a steep learning curve may leave less experienced players a little overwhelmed.
the basketball gameplay in NBA 2K19 is brilliant, and it has been for the last decade that I've been reviewing this series. But the way VC is used in the game needs to be re-evaluated, as it has become ridiculous and is blatantly pay-to-win. This greedy freemium model within an already fully priced game needs to disappear.
If you're new to the series or would just like to have a really good basketball game to dip in and out of over the year NBA 2K19 is a solid choice, but if 2K18 frustrated you with its microtransactions and you don't want to grind or pay to be competitive with your own player then not much has changed from that base model.
Purchasing NBA 2K19 for yourself just depends on what you plan to play within its larger package. If you were already put off by MyCareer last year, then not much has changed to win you over this season. If you're looking for the best basketball sim on the market though to just play with friends or play by yourself in some of the more team-based game modes, you cannot do better than NBA 2K19. Despite there being so many fundamental changes that I want to see from this series moving forward in regards to many of its abrasive practices, at least the actual basketball has continued to be phenomenal without skipping a beat.
If you've passed on some NBA games, now is the best time to return to the court. It features a ton of refinements across the board and took into consideration some much-requested features from fans. If not for the blatant microtransactions and VC-driven progression system, NBA 2K19 would be the best basketball game on and off the court to date.
NBA 2K19 had a real opportunity to learn from last year's mistakes, and in some ways it did. The Neighborhood is more convenient, the Prelude is way more interesting, and the gameplay has seen some subtle but important improvements. Unfortunately, all this is marred yet again by the game's predatory microtransaction system, which turns the MyCareer stuff into a grind-heavy, pay-to-skip farce.
This year's iteration of NBA 2K packs plenty of game modes and deep mechanics that occasionally falter. And unfortunately again, VC rules everything around it.
I think 2K19 is totally fine. The game is huge and if you like a grind the game will be long too.
NBA with LeBron James looks promising, but it is just another year without bigger inovations and with almost same gameplay as 2K17 and'2K18.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
It's nice to see NBA 2K19 working to get back to being a powerhouse franchise. This year's MyCareer mode is titled The Way Back, and it feels appropriate for this latest entry - the first step in climbing its way back to being the best.
NBA 2K19 is still a quality basketball sim full of content and strong gameplay. However, it offers an overly familiar experience and is brought down by a litany of issues that are hard to ignore.
For every step in the right direction, NBA2K19's price tag keeps it from being a truly outstanding installment in the 2K series.
NBA 2K19 is better than ever on the court, but, like a lot of top NBA stars, the game is a bit too obsessed with making money by any means necessary. NBA 2K19 struggles to strike the right balance – the game offers some refreshing story and gameplay improvements, but they don't quite make up for an aggressive monetization scheme that hasn't been updated in any meaningful way. Much like its Special Edition cover star LeBron James, you can't help but respect the accomplishments of NBA 2K19, but sometimes you may not actually like the game that much.
NBA 2K19 is again a top sports game as an all-round upgrade from 2K18. But microtransactions and Pay2Win are annoying.
Review in German | Read full review