Following a mediocre jump to the next-gen systems, 2K Games found itself in an interesting situation — needing to step up its game despite a lack of competition. Sure, the NBA Live franchise still exists in some sense of the word, like “a game actually came out this year” and “it’s not the worst basketball game ever.” But no one cares about NBA Live.

Last year’s offering featured some shoddy UI choices, a tumultuous save system and a barren selection of game modes. It was also beautiful in motion, and the gameplay felt great once you managed to make it to tipoff. What does 2K15 bring to the table? Well…

THE GOOD

• The MyPlayer mode is back and better than ever. At first, the decision to have your player start off undrafted seems weird. You’re forced to earn a tryout with a team and then earn 10-day contracts before someone will offer you a job for the rest of the season. That turns out to be a blessing in disguise, though — you have much more control over which teams you join, including a depth chart at your position for interested organizations. And because you’re not stuck on a four-year rookie contract, you have the ability to become a free agent after each of your first two seasons. Tired of a bad situation? Sick of an incompetent teammate? You’re not stuck passive-aggressively demanding a trade anymore.
• The gameplay feels as smooth as ever. Some of the additional animations go a long way, especially contested drives in the paint. Finishing through contract feels extremely satisfying, as does running a crisp play and ending it with a perfect pass. The newest change is a shot meter that gives you instant feedback on your jumpers. Let go of a shot a hair too early or way too late? You’ll be able to tell without having to consult letter grades.
• The presentation received a big bump from last year, from smarter and more intuitive menus to some hefty upgrades in MyPlayer. Every team has a real NBA player ready to take your young prospect under their wing. While some of the players have some awful line reads, it’s surprisingly endearing — though I did get tired of Markieff Morris’ mumbling after a half season with the Suns. The choice to make these voiced this year instead of text adds an impressive amount of immersion. On the broadcast side, the team of Kevin Albert, Steve Kerr and Clark Kellogg is still among the best in gaming, with plenty of new dialogue to keep things fresh.
• I’m not sure 2K deserves credit for this just because they botched it so horribly last year, but…game modes are back and here to stay. MyGM is a much more enjoyable experience, MyTeam is no longer burdened by an influx of microtransactions, and online play received a bit of improvement as well.
• The new MyLeague mode takes the traditional association/season idea to a level we haven’t really seen yet in many sports games. You have a ridiculous amount of control in how everything plays out. You can simply play a regular 82-game season if that’s what tickles your fancy, or you can substitute a bunch of European teams into the NBA’s divisions, crank up a fantasy draft and create your own dystopian league. I’ve only scratched the surface of the depth that this mode has to offer, but I’ll be diving in more once/if we decide to start recording some videos with 2K15.

THE BAD

• I had some praise for the broadcast team before, but we’re also nearing the end of the broadcast team’s shelf life. Clark Kellogg and his constant food references need to go away, and it’s a little jarring to have Steve Kerr in the booth while he’s also on the sideline coaching Golden State. (I’m sure that couldn’t be helped because of when he was hired, but still.)
• There’s a new concept in this game called “shot fatigue,” and it drives me up the freaking wall. So…2K listened to feedback and decided that some players were taking over games with individuals too frequently, especially online. Their solution to this was to tank field goal percentage in the fourth quarter if the game feels like you’re taking too many shots or dominating the offense too much. The problem is that it’s way too stringent to the point of frustration. My point guard regularly heads into the fourth with a line like 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting, with eight or nine assists. I run the plays that the coach calls and only shoot open jumpers that the game marks as “good shot selection.” My reward for being a good team player who shoots well? I miss every single shot I take in the fourth in almost every game, no matter how wide open I am — the only exception is dunks and layups, presumably because there’s no shot meter with those. It has to be one of the dumbest design decisions I’ve ever seen.
• Hold on, I need another bullet point just for the same problem. Some idiots on forums have tried to justify this decision by saying “well hurr durr you’d get tired shooting a bunch in real life too herp derp”…which would be great if shot fatigue only applied to people shooting 84 times with LeBron and not the ones playing the game correctly. Also, I don’t think Kevin Durant’s arms suddenly fall off just because he’s got 30 points through three quarters. His foot might, but that’s a different situation (too soon?). The point is, I’ve seen shot fatigue in ludicrous situations. Maybe I’ve only taken three shots until the final quarter, but if I’ve made them all, you best believe I’m going to miss my first shot in the fourth. It’s a horrible system and 2K needs to patch it out IMMEDIATELY.

THE VERDICT

NBA 2K15 is what 2K14 should have been; a gorgeous-looking next-gen basketball sim that is extremely fun to play and has plenty of options under the hood. There are a couple of small issues that prevent this year’s game from truly shining — and shot fatigue will confuse me until the day I die — but that doesn’t deter from the overall experience. Like basketball? Get 2K15.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars