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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on what keeps a few of my old favourites out of my basketball gaming rotation.
A few weeks ago, I discussed some of the basketball games that I’d like to bring back into my rotation at some point this year. Unsurprisingly, four of the games that I listed – NBA Live 96, NBA Live 2004, NBA Live 06, and NBA 2K13 – are among my all-time favourites. It only stands to reason that they’re prime candidates as I continue to get my virtual hardwood fix from retro and classic titles. And yet, despite holding those old favourites in high regard, to date I haven’t been in a rush to make them part of my rotation again. Instead, I’ve sought out new retro kicks.
It’s something that I’ve been thinking about since I posted that Friday Five article. My disappointment with recent NBA 2K titles has pushed me towards retro gaming, and to that end, you’d think I’d reach for my old favourites before anything else. After all, they’re the basketball games I’ve enjoyed the most. Familiarity and nostalgia should make them an ideal alternative whenever a new release fails to impress me. To that end, I have dusted off these old favourites here and there, but again, I’ve mostly been revisiting games that I overlooked, and discovering new favourites. Upon reflection, there are a few reasons why some of my beloved old favourites remained benched.
The first is a sense of completion and closure. Take NBA Live 06, for example. I’ve played two full seasons in my Bulls Dynasty: 82 games plus Playoffs, on 12-minute quarters. Sure, there are plenty more seasons that I could play, and I won’t rule out the possibility of continuing that journey. At this point though, I’ve certainly gotten my money’s worth out of the game with the thousands of hours I spent playing it, to say nothing of all the time that went into creating roster updates! To put it another way, there’s more that can be done with NBA Live 06 PC and I’m open to doing it, but I also don’t feel as though there’s any unfinished business compelling me to return.
I can say the same for NBA 2K13…well, to a point. I’m halfway through my second season in a MyCAREER, so I do have a save file that’s in limbo. At the same time, I had a blast playing through my rookie campaign, as it was my first proper career mode game. I’ve held onto the file because I know the pain of lost saves all too well, and I’m definitely open to picking it up again. As I said in my previous article, I did actually play another game recently on a whim. There are also other modes of play that I can enjoy in NBA 2K13. Nevertheless, making it through an entire season in MyCAREER and loving the experience has given me some sense of completion.
In contrast, games that I haven’t played nearly as much have untapped potential for enjoyment. Whether it’s finally appreciating the gameplay in NBA Live 10 and setting up some makeshift classic matchups, playing a co-op Association in NBA 2K9 with Dee, completing multiple seasons of a Hall of Fame MyCAREER in NBA 2K14, or giving an overlooked game a second chance, there’s novelty that’s harder to find in my old favourites. That’s not to say they’re too boring to revisit, but I know what they’re like and have already enjoyed them immensely. There’s freshness in the unfamiliar, not to mention an opportunity to expand the selection of titles for my retro rotation.
Those overlooked games are also novel because of modes and content that I can’t find in some of my old favourites. The fact that Charles Barkley makes an extremely rare official appearance in NBA 2K6 for Xbox 360 was a major factor in my decision to give the game another chance, and I subsequently came to really enjoy it. Similarly, the classic teams in NCAA Basketball 09 – not to mention the fact that I wasn’t able to get my hands on that series for years – have made it a game that I want to spend more time with. I’ve been delighted to develop more of an appreciation for NBA Live 18 and NBA Live 19, though I’m wistful to have lost Ultimate Team and its Legends.
Technical issues can also keep old favourites out of the rotation. NBA Live 2004 PC is a great example of this. It’s a simple enough process to bypass the now-unsupported disc protection in order to run the game on modern Windows, but the frame rate is choppy. While modern PCs have more than enough power to run NBA Live 2004, games of its vintage obviously aren’t guaranteed to be 100% compatible with newer hardware and operating systems; at least without some tweaks to settings and other fixes. I expect that it is possible to get NBA Live 2004 and other older titles running smoothly on a modern PC, but I need to do some more research and troubleshooting.
To that point though, it’s easier to just play something that already works perfectly. While the frame rate issues don’t make NBA Live 2004 PC completely unplayable for me, I’ve gotten into the habit of recording my gameplay for both posterity and content creation. As such, I’d prefer to get NBA Live 2004 and a couple of other older games working optimally so that my footage is as good as it can be. I could always play the PlayStation 2 version of NBA Live 2004 via PCSX2, but I want to make use of my 1996 season mod, and do some more tinkering. I intend to resolve those issues, but until I do, games that are working flawlessly are a quicker and more logical option.
There’s also the question of what I want to do in those old favourites. Do I pick up where I left off in one of my preserved save files, or do I start something new? If I’m mixing things up by revisiting a variety of old favourites on a whim, do I just play a series of exhibition games? If so, which games have the most appealing content for once-off showdowns, either as part of their default content or by way of mods? Much like the titles with technical issues that I still need to troubleshoot, it’s easier to just play a game that’s already in the rotation than make plans for one that I want to dust off. Choice overload strikes yet again, causing me to second-guess my decisions!
That brings me to the elephant in the room when it comes to making old favourites part of the rotation again: it’s putting your nostalgia to the test. Even though I believe many classic basketball video games hold up years and indeed decades later – at least to my taste – I won’t deny that even the best ones show their age in some ways. That’s inevitable, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t still enjoy them. With that being said, there’s always the possibility that an old favourite I haven’t played in a while won’t stand the test of time. It doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a great game for its era, but it may no longer be a viable retro gaming option. It’d be disappointing to discover that that’s the case.
Conversely, the stakes are much lower if I’m seeking out new retro kicks by revisiting games that I didn’t play enough, or completely overlooked when they were released. If I enjoy a game enough to keep playing it, that’s fantastic! If it doesn’t wow me enough or it’s a total bust, no harm done; plus, it’s still content for Wayback Wednesday and the NLSC Podcast. When you fire up an old favourite, there’s always the chance that a nostalgic bubble will be burst. It’s one thing for an old game to show its age – you’re generally prepared for that – but another thing entirely to discover that it’s no longer enjoyable at all. It feels safer to leave the memories alone, and avoid tainting them.
Mind you, that concern is probably unfounded when it comes to the four games that I mentioned in my previous article. I’ve revisited all of them a handful of times to play a full game in recent years, and greatly enjoyed doing so. I suppose it remains to be seen if they’re fun enough to still play regularly – I won’t know until I try – but I highly doubt that they’ll suddenly feel unplayable to the point of never being able to revisit them every now and again. The biggest roadblock will most likely be figuring out exactly what I want to do with them, in order to remain hooked long-term. Once I’ve made some decisions there, it’ll be time to challenge my nostalgia for those games.
Of course, even if those old favourites re-enter my basketball gaming rotation, they’ll be vying for time with other games that I’m enjoying. It’s been a while since I played my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER – I decided to take a break after finishing season six – but I know I’ll pick it up again. There’s my NBA 2K9 Association with Dee, which we’re both keen to continue. I have an NBA Live 16 Bulls Dynasty that I’ll jump back into when the mood strikes. Between the classic teams and All-Time College DLC, I love throwing NBA 2K17 on for a quick session. As much as I’m eager to bring some old favourites back into the rotation, I’m also enjoying the games I’ve been playing.
Ultimately, getting some of my old favourites back into the rotation comes down to making an effort, and being decisive. Yes, I have to ration my gaming time just like everyone else, but instead of sticking with a familiar routine, I need to decide what I want to do in NBA Live 06 and NBA 2K13, and play one of them instead. I still need to troubleshoot NBA Live 2004 to achieve optimal performance, but the other old favourites I’m keen to bring back into the rotation are ready to fire up at any time. It’s easy to stick with what’s convenient – especially when overwhelmed by choice – but if you want to change things up, you’ve got to make a conscious decision to take action.
After all, that’s how I discovered my new favourites! NBA 2K6, NBA 2K14, NBA Live 10, NBA Live 18, and NBA Live 19 all entered my rotation after I was inspired to give them another look. If I can be open-minded and curious enough to grant those games (and others) a second chance, then I can certainly make an effort to play my old favourites, and put my nostalgia to the test. With that in mind, while all of the factors that I mentioned do come into play, ultimately I’m the one keeping my old favourites out of my rotation! There are no automatic substitutions here. Moving forward, I’m just going to have to do my best to manage a deeper gaming lineup.
