Consequently, I anticipated a difficult experience when writing this NBA 2K22 review. I was not disappointed. I was not disappointed in the slightest. Anyone who is a part of the NBA 2K community is well aware that the people who are the most critical of each installment are also the ones who return first every year, which is well known in the NBA 2K community, and that this is true for every installment. Over the years, they have become all too familiar with the criticisms leveled at them by their most ardent supporters, and as a result, they have established an annual tradition of churning out the same half-baked gameplay year after year, albeit with a different number at the end of it, in order to appease their most ardent supporters, which is well-known in the business world. Even though NBA 2K22 is by no means a perfect game, I am pleased to report that it represents a significant departure from the franchise's previous formula as well as a significant step forward for the franchise as a whole.

It doesn't matter how much our memories of previous NBA 2K games color our opinions (your favorite 2K is almost certainly the one on which you first started playing with your friends), NBA 2K22 is unquestionably superior to the franchise's previous few installments. Despite the fact that NBA 2K22 does not "reinvent the wheel" in the traditional sense, it does an excellent job ensuring that the fundamentals of the game are understood and executed properly. Despite the fact that it is not without flaws, the most recent iteration of the game from developer Visual Concepts feels like some of the routine criticisms have finally been heard, resulting in the best basketball game we have seen in years, perhaps decades.

NBA 2K22 by Visual Concepts is notable for several reasons, the most important of which is that the more skill-based gameplay feels significantly more realistic than the game's predecessor. A number of things appear to have been eliminated, such as the possibility of losing a game due to a last-second move from one baseline to another, or the algorithm deciding, seemingly at random, that your critical uncontested 3 should not be taken into consideration.

When playing on the defensive end of the court, the haptic feedback provided by the DualSense makes it feel significantly more substantial, which is a significant advantage. You will receive pushback whenever you press or hold any of the buttons on the keyboard. Due to the fact that you are backing down your opponents and posting your opponents, this is the case. If you switch to a player who is defending against a more dominant opponent, your controller's shoulder buttons may even tighten without your input if you switch to that player's position while the game is still running. With things like alley-oops and ball-handling, precision and timing are far more important now than they were previously, and there are a slew of new signature dribble moves to try out.

The defensive AI is revealed to be quite ruthless throughout the course of the game, as evidenced by the actions it takes. When all of the computer-based players are enabled on the court, it becomes nearly impossible to score because they move more quickly and can read the majority of the players more easily than the human players on the court. The use of computer-based players makes scoring on the court all but impossible when this feature is turned on. Despite the fact that it is currently unclear how the new shot contesting system will function in practice, the developers claim that the influx of new block animations is a lot of fun to use when on defense.

With the addition of each and every new animation, a significant improvement has been made in the overall quality and enjoyment of the gameplay. On the other hand, today's stars are different versions of themselves; for example, Luka Doncic moves on offense in the same manner as Luka Doncic moves in real life, rather than moving in the same manner as any other type of generic point guard; and LeBron James is different versions of himself. As a result of the incorporation of these game-changing enhancements, NBA 2K22 Battle Pass appears to be a completely different game, one that is well-suited to ushering in the Next Generation of basketball games.

The new shot meter did not impress me at all, to put it mildly. My first impressions of it were decidedly negative, to say the least. In the end, it turns out that my first impressions of the game, which were that it was extremely stupid and overly-sized, were correct when I first opened and looked through it. My assessment turned out to be completely correct. Because I've spent a significant amount of time playing it, as is typical of all sporting video games, I've become accustomed to it and have come to understand and appreciate the advantages of having a higher shot meter on the field. In terms of game mechanics, the first thing to note about it is that it shrinks as your player's fatigue level increases, which is a unique take on that particular aspect of basketball when viewed through that lens.