Tag Archives: Grand Theft Auto

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 a confession: I can’t (totally) hate the open worlds in NBA 2K.

I’ve discussed the problems with MyCAREER incorporating open worlds before. I dedicated a Monday Tip-Off column to explaining how it gives the mode an identity crisis, forcing an ill-fitting concept into a genre that doesn’t need it. I further outlined some of the major issues with mixing open worlds with sports games in a Friday Five article. From pointless time wasting to propping up recurrent revenue mechanics to putting an end to offline MyCAREER, there’s a lot to dislike – even hate – about NBA 2K’s open worlds. I stand by all of that criticism.

However, I have to confess that I can’t and don’t completely hate the open worlds of The Neighborhood and The City! That’s not to say that I believe they’re absolutely necessary, because again, I stand by my previous criticisms. Nevertheless, I do have a certain appreciation for them, and they ultimately didn’t prevent me from enjoying my time with MyCAREER in NBA 2K19. Granted, you don’t have much choice except to grow accustomed to the open world approach if you want to play MyCAREER! Still, when it’s done right, the concept definitely has its moments. And so, I won’t deny that I’ve found The Neighborhood and The City to be engaging and enjoyable…at times.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #577 of the NLSC Podcast!

While we’ll never get sick of basketball gaming, we’re taking a quick timeout from the virtual hardwood this week as we join the community in listing and discussing some of the other video games that are currently in our rotations. This includes reflecting on the aspects of those games that are keeping us hooked on them, while also noting some of the similarities to our basketball gaming habits. We also discuss finding new ways to play old favourites including self-imposed challenges and choosing different classes or character builds, and fondly recall the fun we had getting a small taste of some classic games thanks to shareware and demo discs back in the day.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:22:30 — 57.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #574 of the NLSC Podcast!

The community has some questions, and fortunately, we’ve got some answers! At the suggestion of listener Rene, this week we’re holding a Q&A with questions taken from our social media. The Q&A covers a little bit of everything: favourite foods, favourite video games of other genres, our preferred strategies on the virtual hardwood, Tom Chambers’ Hall of Fame credentials, experiences meeting NBA players in real life, our top basketball movies, and more. We hope that you enjoy hearing our thoughts on this array of fun topics – and maybe learning a thing or two about us as well – as we definitely enjoyed answering all of your questions!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 58:45 — 40.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!

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 thoughts on the ups and downs of the early stages of MyCAREER.

It’s been an interesting, but at times frustrating, journey for career modes in NBA 2K. As popular as franchise modes became after being introduced in the early 2000s, there was undeniable interest in a similar experience from the perspective of a single player. Being an RPG style of mode, as My Player evolved into MyCAREER, it began to incorporate cinematic stories. These days, many gamers see the traditional/NBA side of MyCAREER as a means to an end; a way to grind and level up their MyPLAYER avatar for the online scene. Of course, others still enjoy the NBA career experience.

Something that has remained fairly constant, however, is that it’s a long way to the top. Sure, the grind is worse now, in no small part because it encourages paying for quicker upgrades, and boosting Take-Two’s recurrent revenue. Even if you’re willing to pay to skip the grind, it costs more than before. I’ve talked about that many times, and that isn’t really what this article is about, but it does bear acknowledging. In any case, while there are issues with pushy microtransactions, and occasionally a story that doesn’t match up with our starting ratings, the early stages of MyCAREER are about a raw prospect’s journey to success. As tough as it is, it can also be quite fun.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with some comparisons of my basketball gaming habits to my video gaming habits in general, and considering how they reflect one another.

In many ways, basketball gaming is notably unique compared to other genres of gaming. For example, in a basketball game, you participate in the sport of basketball. In other genres – outside of mini-games – you don’t. I know that these are the thought-provoking insights that you all come to the NLSC and read my articles for! In all seriousness, basketball gaming naturally involves different expectations, activities, and habits compared to other video game genres. One generally approaches sports titles with different ideas and methods than, say, an RPG or First Person Shooter.

And yet, some gaming habits cross the boundaries of genre, and habits in general are difficult to break. To put it another way, we each have our own gaming philosophies that influence how we play all our favourite games. I’ve stuck with a certain type of MyPLAYER build for years for the same reasons many of my Fallout playthroughs ended up being remarkably similar. That’s just one example of how my basketball gaming habits resemble the way that I play other games that I enjoy, even when those games have very little to do with the virtual hardwood. It hardly gets in the way of my enjoyment, but it does make it difficult to change things up when I feel so inclined.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with a look at basketball’s presence in other genres of video games.

Here at the NLSC, we cover basketball video games; you may have noticed! We were founded as a fansite for NBA Live way back in 1996, existing for many years as the NBA Live Series Center. As the NBA 2K series grew in popularity and was finally ported to PC, we began covering it as well. When we re-branded ourselves as simply the NLSC in 2011, we decided that we’d officially dedicate ourselves to basketball gaming as a whole. Be it NBA Live, NBA 2K, NBA Jam, NBA Playgrounds, or any other hoops title, it’s a welcome topic in our Forum, and something we’ll consider creating content for.

Of course, while we’re passionate about basketball games in this community, most of us tend to play a variety of other genres, too. From platform and action games to first person shooters and RPGs, our interests extend beyond the virtual hardwood. The funny thing is that basketball tends to follow us around, showing up in settings where elements such as playcalling AI, realistic stats, and accurate player ratings are of no importance. Just for fun, I thought that I’d take a look at some other games where basketball makes a cameo, despite the title otherwise not having anything to do with the sport, or any of its most famous players.

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