If we can blame the current sports games for rarely daring the facelift, we can salute NBA 2K for the batch of small (and not so small) novelties made to its MyTeam collectable card game mode. However, we honestly seemed to be heading towards a copy / paste between the two versions, with 2K21 stuck graphically between two generations of consoles, and NBA 2K22 taking shape next gen. It was an opportunity to fine tune the system of seasons without straining too much. In the end, without moving all the furniture and rushing the regular player, 2K did not give in to ease.
Table Of Contents
What’s up Doc?
Yes, the title of this paragraph may echo in you the dreadful Space Jam Nouvel Ere, a film that forever changed your image of LeBron James. Sorry, sincerely sorry. But stop talking and let’s talk about these changes. What’s interesting is that the most visible, the most prominent, aren’t the ones that change the player’s experience the most.
First there is the flagship addition, Draft mode, unfortunately 100% multiplayer, which allows you to build your team with picks and face opponents. Small interesting element: this mode allows you to perform XP challenges with cards that you do not have in your collection, but that you have picked in the draft. That is cool. Adding a similar single-player mode and that’s great.
To push players towards the Triple Threat Online which does not spare the noobs (now!), The 100 mode is here. Then again, it may echo in you the series The 100 which got lost in limbo, the fault of the perched writers. Sorry, sincerely sorry. The principle of this mode is to hold as many 3v3 matches as possible before collecting 100 cumulative points. The best defense is… defense.
The players, never happy, ungrateful, not nice (present!), Complained about too few solo matches. This is no longer the case. Signature, skill challenges, Spotlight, match moment, etc etc… There are many more, especially since a nice mode called “improvised match” has arrived which offers you to face a random team of an equivalent level cheers. Note, and this is very cool, that you no longer have to complete the challenges of the same series in a specific order that could, in fact, block you.
The treasure cards
Let’s talk about the players now. The first really cool thing is Series 1 which doesn’t match last year’s roster but a medley of legends from each franchise. We have Jordan in Gold, okay, but we have Jordan right off the bat. The collection is immediately more interesting. Bronze and Silver cards are no longer to be found, Gold being the bottom of the basket now. No trace of the On Fire cards as well, which is good. Level rewards against tokens, there is something new too. It’s discreet but very nice: from the Amethyst cards, you only have to buy one to go to the next level. Hello token savings. Goodbye cards bought out of spite. Each card can be evaluated and have a rating that gives bonus NBA 2K22 MT. It’s not drastically phew, but it can be caught, like the very rare Holo (gray) versions of cards that sell very well at auction. The evolution is still there, but seems less wearing than in the past. We can in particular evolve a sympatoche major five by starting the game (Trae, Mitchell, Tatum, Zion, Jokic).
On the personalization side, the shoes have seen their system completely changed. You now choose the stats boosted by ability cards. It’s cool and it allows you to auction these cards, get rich and not ride a Lamborghini because your wealth will only be fictitious. The outfits are obtained as rewards and not in the packages, which is very cool, like the logos but also the stadiums and the floors (the two are differentiated). In terms of outfit, there is a small change that is really nice: you can equip an away jersey (always the most beautiful) at home and vice versa. Be careful, however, of the backlash: if you have the black jersey of the Blazers and your opponent the black of the Heat, GL HF to get something out of the game.
“There are no more seasons my good sir”
Yes, there are still some. Introduced in 2K21, the seasons are making a comeback since they totally impose the rhythm of the game’s life. 2K has announced the color: they will be at the heart of MyTeam all year round, each lasting 40 days, with a acceleration of the intensity towards the end of 2021 with the addition of a great novelty that is still mysterious.
The principle remains the same for the moment: 40 levels, an ultimate reward at the end, rewards at each level, challenges to complete to collect the necessary XP. These are very similar to what we have seen in the past: score points, take rebounds, make passes, get three points, with specific cards, Series 1 or regular outings, daily challenges , weekly or related to rewards.
There are, however, some interesting changes, especially with Ascension picking up where you left off on your last attempt from AOEAH.COM. It always takes a bit of luck, but the Grand Prize (the best card in this random reward mode) appears less accessible. A small addition immediately appeals to you: a follow-up of the progress of the challenges in the middle of a match. There are also a number of challenges that don’t go away at the end of a season, to collect various rewards like outfits.
So new, sometimes discreet but very appreciable and downside, obviously. In particular on the difficulty related to the new gameplay, more demanding, which will leave average players (present!) In PLS, especially shoot and dunk level.
Season 1 review
It was Carmelo Anthony, who starts this NBA season in the Lakers jersey, who had the honor of being the ultimate Season 1 award called Call to Ball (in tribute to LaVar Ball and his children certainly).
Among the highlights of the first 40 days is the return of a well-known series of cards, the Signatures, comprising two cards from the same player, one without and one with an autograph. Rudy Gobert was there. Flash and Glitched cards are also back. That of Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas caused a sensation, recalling John Stockton at the start of 2K21. Tuesday cards, called Primetime, came out later than usual, at 10 p.m. to further appeal to the American market (to the detriment of Europeans since the first auctions end at 2 a.m.).
In the final days of the season arrived the very first Moments cards saluting a player’s performance in a specific game. They are therefore dated with a photo of the match in question (normally). The first concerned was Nemanja Bjelica who signed a very big first game with the Warriors after having wandered to the Kings. The excellent surprise rookie, thirteenth pick, Kevin Duarte, had a Sapphire Moments card offered via a locker code.
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