While trying to play NBA 2K15 over the past two days, I've seen that error message more than I've seen my created point guard on the court.

I've shot about 30 different face scans, not because of a poorly-lit apartment, or because of any perfectionist compulsions, but because NBA 2K15 has a terrible habit of deleting your My Player profile if a store transaction fails or the game's servers go down.

And since Tuesday, Visual Concepts' network -- despite having the company's "top engineers" working on it -- has been down more than it's been up.

You won't lose any of your player's upgrades or his career progress when you encounter those errors, but you will have to re-enter all of his information again, including his face scan.

Aside from being repeatedly bugged to "fill the window with your face," or "check your internet connection and try again," here is what stands out from playing My Career in NBA 2K15:


More freedom in picking your team

NBA 2K15's career mode starts with your agent showing you a list of teams whose needs fit your created player's position. A successful tryout is all it takes to get you onto the team that you picked. This is a welcome change from last year's randomized draft lottery and unpredictable in-season trades.

Once year one ends, you'll have the option of becoming a free agent, which ensures that you'll eventually be able to sign with the team of your choice in NBA 2K15. You can even ask for a one-year deal, just to keep your options open for future seasons.

Ability to skip games in season one

My Career users were forced to play through every game as a rookie in NBA 2K14, but now, once you get past the initial 10-day contract period, you'll have the ability to play only the games that interest you.

More sensible in-game goals

NBA 2K14's gameday objectives frequently forced users to hog the ball and chase statistical milestones instead of simply being rewarded for playing smart basketball.

The performance goals that your coach gives you in NBA 2K15 are now much more practical, such as "stop fastbreaks" or "prevent outside shots." This allows you to keep playing normal basketball instead of forcing you into situations where you had to play "hero ball" just to hit cheesy points or assist targets.

Realistic crowd responses

Would you stick around to watch the fourth quarter if the Milwaukee Bucks were down by 25 points, or would you leave early to grab a table at a local restaurant? NBA 2K15's fans will start heading for the exits if the home team is getting blown out. Tight contests that go down the final minutes, however, will have everyone in the arena on their feet and yelling like they don't care if they lose their voice tomorrow.

Doris Burke can interview you

No matter how many points or assists you put up, there was no way to get interviewed by courtside reporter Doris Burke in NBA 2K14. This year, Burke might pull you aside during half-time or after the game if you happen to be brightest star that night.

Useful practice gym

Jump shots in NBA 2K15 require much stricter timing than they did last year, so you'll want to spend a significant amount of time perfecting your player's release in the new practice gym. This indoor facility is a great place to try out different shooting animations or perfect fancy dribble moves. You can even look at your hot and cold zones, which will develop over time based on your gameplay tendencies.


Terrible starting attributes

After playing for a Division I college or an overseas professional league, undrafted NBA prospects should not be rated this poorly. Even the guys who don't get their name called on draft day still have one or two skills that helped them attract NBA scouts' attention. Your NBA 2K15 created player, by comparison, is universally awful at everything: he's slow, unskilled, and uncoordinated -- yet your coach still expects you to stay in front of Tony Parker, or keep Dwight Howard off the boards, from the moment that you step onto an NBA court.

My Career's beginning would be more true to real life if your created player's starting attributes resembled someone like Notre Dame's Kyle McAlarney -- who shoots the ball exceptionally well, but was still overlooked by league GMs on draft day because he was a poor passer, incapable penetrator, and weak defender.

Incompetent teammates

NBA 2K15's teammate AI still struggles to support users who want to play as a pass-first guard or run set plays instead of freelancing. On offense, your teammates will often hold onto the ball, drive into traffic, or pass right back to you instead of taking wide open shots. The few field goals they do attempt usually end up being bricks, regardless of how open or how close to the rim they are.

Defensively, your big men do not defend the paint well, allowing too many backdoor cuts and easy entry passes. Despite having John Henson and Larry Sanders in the front-court, my created 5'11" 155 lb. point guard was the only player on my Milwaukee Bucks team who was boxing out, diving after loose balls, jumping to grab rebounds, and trying to swat interior shots.

Superpowered opponents

Even on "Pro" difficulty and "Default" sliders, the CPU performs like a team of NBA All-Stars in My Career mode. CPU opponents seem to scoop up every loose ball the instant that it pops free, even if they were the person who got their shot blocked or had their dribble stripped. Your AI teammates, by contrast, are content to stand flatfooted and just stare at loose balls and rebounds, like they are waiting for your created player to come over and grab it for them.

CPU-controlled scrubs like Ryan Kelly and Xavier Henry are somehow able to drain contested shots and complete acrobatic finishes at an insanely high conversion rate, yet your own teammates have a hard time making completely uncontested looks.

It feels like My Career games are being unfairly tilted in the CPU's favor -- regardless of your chosen difficulty setting -- when it comes to the AI's on-court performance.

Limited voice options

NBA 2K15's face-scanning technology might make your created player look like you, but unless you talk like an AND1 street baller, he's not going to sound like you.

With only two over-the-top voice actors to choose from, there's no way to avoid awkward moments like calling your coach "dawg," or greeting the owner who signs your paychecks with the same goofy slang that you exchange with your teammates.

Uninteresting coaching cutscenes

Many cutscenes will show a generic assistant coach talking to your created player whenever he's on the bench, inside the locker room, or at the team's facilities for practices and film studies. So far, these interactions have been nothing but bland, boring "coach speak" that you'll want to button through as quickly as possible.

It also seems strange that your team's head coach never talks to your player, and does not appear during most of these motivational/tactical speeches.

Buggy My Player store

Frequent server errors have made it difficult to purchase items and upgrades from NBA 2K15's virtual store. I haven't been able to load the shoe section and change my home/away sneakers since I got the game on Tuesday. Errors that occur inside the store often freeze the application, cause it to crash, or result in a deleted player profile.

What issues have you come across in NBA 2K15's MyCAREER?