For next-generation games, there's an unwritten rule that the console must start alongside at least one sports game, and everyone has to manipulate how the sport has ever looked best in the video game format, but then they admit it's a race to get a generation. The following always means that patterns must be dropped during the process.

So the rule of thumb is to buy a boot game for visual splendor, but noting that next year's update is "real" when all the features are brought back. Madden NFL 06, FIFA 06, we look at you. Fortunately, the NBA 2K21 won this trend to some extent. It may not be a revolutionary remake of the game that some fans are hoping for, but it will add at least one or two new features and space that won't show up in the current September release.

First, we focus on the obvious and immediate selling point of the next generation of NBA 2K: visuals. There is no denying that the NBA 2K21 looks better on the Xbox Series X than the previous generation. Put these two side by side and you can take on the next generation game right away without any problems. The player models are clearly more detailed, but the whole arena gives a more sense of hustle and bustle, more events, and the stadium is full of more people - staff, artists, coaches and stadium safety - during breaks and at the end of each quarter. Even with improved lighting, 4K playback with HDR looks phenomenal.

The animation has also been revamped, and it does a great job of giving players more character. While there are clear examples of gestures like gestures made by players on the field, the small details make a big difference when you notice them: the way the eyeballs move more realistically as they follow the ball during reps and through your fingers. Bending when catching and throwing a ball is a way for their feet to plant the ground more realistically as they move.

To make sure you see these new details better, the game's virtual camera angle has dropped a lot and closer than before (similar to the way real NBA games were filmed recently when players stayed in the "bubble"). This is undoubtedly an impressive perspective that not only emphasizes detail but also gives a better idea of the scale between player heights, but the truth is that the game is very difficult to play from this perspective as it is very difficult to assess depth at the back of the player. Court. As such, it looks good, you'll probably want to go back to the previous generation camera soon and stay in the taste of graphics during close-ups.

Another noteworthy modification is the shooting system, which has been widely criticized among players who had too long to get used to shooting in the previous generation of NBA 2K21. While the 2K is stuck in its rifle and kept the shooting system intact, it has at least adjusted it to make it easier to handle. The scale now stays the same regardless of the size of your player (it shrank and became harder when the player was away from the camera), and the scale has now been redesigned to have an arrow (to make the track easier) and a black line to indicate where the sweet spot is. As a result, the shooting seems to be less frustrating.

Looking better at the game would have been enough for 2K: in fact, it was good enough for most publishers to make the first next-generation leap over the years, including 2K. The fair game then includes some new modes in the X-Series version of the game that make it look more than just a visual update and give players more to do.

Most notable is The City, a new space that replaces The Neighborhood (and before that, The Park) from previous games. This is a surprisingly large environment that you can explore by creating a MyPlayer character. You start from a small area called Rookieville where you have to reach certain targets to open the city gates. When this happens, you will be assigned to one of four different groups and you can then participate in different games to try to gain influence for your class (naturally improving player stats along the way).

The scale of the city is impressive: in addition to the choice of fields, there is also a collection of small basketball rings around the streets that you can use on the spot to practice shooting and eventually find yourself playing H.O.R.S.E. With a stranger. Then there are many clothing stores, a large gym and a large square in the middle designed for scheduled events. In addition to all of this, the city is also home to a number of non-playable characters who can offer single or multiplayer missions to keep you busy (2K promises are updated every 4-6 weeks). Possibly some players will buy NBA 2K21 and would be completely happy to play The City mode alone.

Almost surprisingly, the addition of a suitable single-player career mode to the game's WNBA division. Women's basketball was added to 2K20, but it was limited to demonstration and singles. However, Next Generation 2K21 has a new mode called W, where you create your own player, select one of twelve WNBA teams and take him on a career path, update statistics, and select various extracurricular activities to build their position both in and out of the league.

Sometimes W can be small: Sometimes you get text messages from other players who are interested in your new hairstyle, and one stat you can add is the "Portrait Icon". In addition to these slightly low moments, the situation does a much better job of giving women basketball a significant place in the game as a whole, rather than becoming a symbolic side show that isn't very in-depth. Better yet, it seems to sit in that sweet place that's important enough to list, but not important enough to commercialize, because W doesn't have any of the nonsense nonsense you see in other situations, so it's a clean career that refreshes a showy situation Like something 360 era (in a good way).

So that's great news overall, but it's not without its flaws. The aforementioned microtransactions are still common in other states, especially MyTeam. This mode has always been a huge hurdle for new entrants, and it's even more of a problem now because it's one of the few modes that can be ported from the Xbox One version of the 2K21. This means that any new player in the game is two months behind everyone else, so it can't take part in the numerous very specific challenges without certain types of players on their team who are players that are more than a little hard to get without a cashier.

MyPlayer's story mode, The Long Shadow, hasn't changed for the most part either. This is a good thing for those who haven't tried it yet, as it's one of the best NBA 2K story modes in recent years, but it's disappointing for those who have already played it on Xbox One. MyPlayer's progress doesn't take generations, so if you turn your gaze to The City, you'll either have to start with a hopelessly skilled player, call through The Long Shadow again to enjoy the stats it offers, or - you guessed it - dig into your wallet with NBA 2K21 MT.

Finally (which is pretty simple, but still annoying), many close-ups still shoot 30 frames per second during the game, while the action itself is 60 frames. This isn't a big deal because you're not playing anymore these moments, but it can still be really annoying at the beginning of every match when you announce at 30 frames per second and then control the game in second installments before moving to 60 frames per second. It's a complete illusion break, and we'd love to see an improvement next year, albeit a small one. Fortunately, when the second year under the belt of this new console, we hope 2K can also have these 60 scenes for a really smooth change. About the game before the game.

We already know that it will improve over time. The game's main producer has already said that the game will load far fewer faces from the next generation of players than he would have liked because 2K didn't have access to NBA players during the "bubble" of the pandemic, so it couldn't scan it: In other words, only about 40 the player has it. The real details of the next generation on their faces. Whether new players are updated with fixes later in the life of 2K21 or 2K sits on them so that 2K22 remains unknown, but it's worth bearing in mind that now, despite its good looks, the studio has already acknowledged that there is room for improvement.

It shouldn't be a big shock that Next Generation NBA 2K21 is the best basketball game ever. Perhaps most surprisingly, 2K has added two primary modes (in the new multiplayer WNBA, W, and The City machine game) to make it the most feature-rich mode ever. Much of its content still carries the burden of the micro-events attached to it, but as long as you don't care to ignore it and put grinding instead, this is a great purchase for NBA fans: especially if you're on fire and haven't played 2K21 on Xbox One yet.