NBA 2K18

NBA 2K18 is another step forward on the court, improving on the series' already great gameplay. You're rewarded for smart, controlled basketball when dribbling, driving, and playing defense in ways that make sense for the players you're controlling. In the side modes, results are mixed: the new fusion of Career mode elements into The Neighborhood gives it some new life, but the same can't be said for the meaningless story elements within MyGM, and microtransactions now have too much of an impact on gameplay. There's far more good than bad, though, and NBA 2K18 deserves credit for taking chances.

NBA 2K18 is the gold standard for sports simulations, but this year's entry is overloaded with microtransactions.

Of course, it's no surprise that NBA 2K18 looks good; the series has looked the part since its advent on the Dreamcast, staying relevant visually and staking out its own part of basketball culture. NBA 2K18 continues the trend, capturing the feel of basketball's urban centers in The Neighborhood.

Its generation-long strengths hold true, and just about prevail over an increasingly cynical microtransaction creep. My Career's jump to an open-world setting throws a new gauntlet down to the rest of sports gaming.

The franchise, single-player, multiplayer, and collectible card modes deliver hundreds of hours of fun, but expect a fair share of glitches to pervade the experience

There's so little to love [in 2K18 MyCareer modes] that all we're left with is the basketball (which you can enjoy in other modes), Brands™ and a mountain of problems.

If it gets patched soon we'll happily declare this one a highly recommended game, but in its current state we simply can't recommend it at all. Fingers are firmly crossed 2K will issue a patch quickly to solve the problem, but there is of course no assurance of that at present.

NBA 2K18's dedication to the finest of details make it a living, breathing adaptation of the NBA experience.

NBA 2K18 has a few holes in its game -- the series needs to improve its writing, the ballyhooed MyCareer Neighborhood hub falls flat, and the tech powering the series is nearing retirement age. That said, boil the game down to its essentials and you have a rock-solid, well-balanced sports sim that provides an immensely entertaining shoulder-to-shoulder same-couch multiplayer experience. It's that strong core that keeps NBA 2K18 and its vast array of modes and features from collapsing in on itself. NBA 2K18 isn't a milestone entry in the series, but it's a solid playoff contender well worth basketball fans' time.

NBA 2K18 is once again king of the court, proving why the series has managed to remain so superior in recent years.