NBA 2K16 still holds up well

[RetroDee4Three]

Hi all,

I often go back and play past 2K's, especially prior to 2K18. Went back last night and played some NBA 2K16, and it holds up quite well.

In fact, several advantages exist in the gameplay department.

1. Better foot planting (Less skating/floating)
2. Shooting feels better
3. Better collision detection (Not perfect, trust me)
4. Less speed/acceleration breaks

Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But I find myself enjoying the 2K's (2K14 through 2K17) more than the current titles, mainly based on the players movement/flow to the game.

Of course, my reasons for enjoying a basketball game are not going to be the exact same as others. So many can look past the skating/floating, and pace issues in the newer titles. And, 2K20 does have some positives over 2K16 in some gameplay areas (IMO).

This gameplay video is from my modded roster for PC, its the 08-09 Lakers vs the 11-12 Thunder (First half). Game speed is turned up a tad in order to help with flow, but overall the game flows pretty nicely by default. And, IMO this game had the second best SFX on this gen behind 2K14.

No 2K16 sections exist, so I figured I would post this here. I still play and mod 2K16 and 2K17, mainly because I still enjoy the gameplay experience overall.

Maybe you can look at this as a 2K16 appreciation thread.

[ILLSmak]

14-15-16 are all good. I dunno if I feel the same way about 17. I'm thinking of moving on to 16 now, but I'm really digging 15. 14 (ps3) is probably the best, but it's too easy vs the computer once you warm up to it. It would be great to play against friends.



I really like the power lay ups in 14 and 15. I don't like how money the fade away is in 15. I forgot if it's like that in 16 or not. Plus my whole mygm staff + badges in 15 has everyone I get on my team with an A- or above potential, so I got a team that is ridiculously overpowered.



But it's still fun to play because I really like all of my players. I'm way in the future where it's all generated dudes, but I have fun just messing around.



-Smak

[jkd32332]

2K16 is the greatest 2K in my opinion. At least on this current generation of consoles.

[BasketBalla21]

I miss how loud the blocks were. And being able to game capture with sound -_-

[Luke Skywalker]

2K16 was a good one for sure. I am still playing 2K18 and having a blast. Surprised there are still people on MyTeam and All Star Team Up.

[The 24th Letter]

NBA 2K16 is still my favorite 2k of this gen all things considered...it did so much right

[RetroDee4Three]

Quote: Originally Posted by BasketBalla21

I miss how loud the blocks were. And being able to game capture with sound -_-

The SFX were amazing. The sound of dribbling, rim sounds, blocks, tips, etc. The SFX have not been the same since.

Quote: Originally Posted by The 24th Letter

NBA 2K16 is still my favorite 2k of this gen all things considered...it did so much right

I prefer 2K17 over 2K16, because it fixed almost all the small issues I had with 2K16. However, the things I love about 2K16:

1. Sim look/feel - They talk about "simnation", and how the new games are supposed to be more advanced in realism and sim wise, but this is not really the case IMO. Between blow bys, and easy scores in transition (And player movement in general), I don't think it stacks up to 2K16 sim wise. You have more control in 2K16, the pace feels more organic and like real life, and outside of the big man trailer three, the defense is tighter and smarter.

Look wise, the lighting and overall appearance IMO looks more sim. But others may like the lighting in the new games. Close ups are better in 2K20, but from the gameplay camera angle are the graphics anymore realistic? I don't think so.

2. Foot planting - Players planting when you want them to, movement that makes more sense in accordance to real life. Fastbreaks where the speed makes sense, drives where the speed makes sense, etc

3. SFX - As mentioned above, the SFX were awesome. I think 2K14 and 2K16 had the best SFX

4. Post game - I feel like we had more control, and going into a face up stance and making a move felt more organic, with no slow side by side drives, or being forced to pick up the dribble.

5. Shooting - It just made sense, the whole motion. You felt the proper weight in your shots, the animations looks fluid, the release made sense.

6. Sizeups - Front, back, and both sides all had size-ups... how cool was that?

Some issues I had with 2K16

1. Player weight - At times, players felt a tad heavy
2. Dribbling - Overall it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as loose and reactive as 2K15 or 2K17 IMO. They forced you into extra dribbles at times that you didnt intend to do (Even on simple crossovers)
3. Protected shots - This could be curved a tad with the sliders, but protected shots seemed to happen a bit often in 2K16, even when you clearly had enough space to get your shot off in a normal straight up motion

I understand why 2K16 is a favorite of many, as you can tell by my game highlights video the game is flowing really nicely. I love the pace (watch the way the players move up and down the floor fluidly, filling the proper lanes and making realistic moves on the go, with proper foot planting and speed).

I like 2K20's player size relative to the court (Reminds me of 2K11), the classic teams lighting, animations at times going to the hoop, the many cool dunk animations (More dunk animations than 2K16 even), and some things about the new dribbling system.

2K17 also had a lot of 2K16 in it, and it really flows nicely (Even out of the box, with default sliders). These highlights have slider adjustments by me (And is my roster mod), but you can see the good bones of the gameplay. This was the first game with the "Body up sensitivity" slider option, which helped curve the brick wall defense when placed at 0. But look at the flow and control on these highlights.

Note: Not trying to promote my channel, just having gaming discussion. I don't monetize or care about "clout", these are just gameplay videos that I have made in the past that help get my points across.

[The 24th Letter]

2K16 vs the CPU was a lot of fun, felt fair even on Hall of Fame.

2K16 vs. a human is still the standard IMO

One on one defense felt amazing, L2 didn't glue you to the offensive player, but if you anticipated correctly, you were rewarded.

biggest issue for me was transisiton defense and the inability to react to the ball in passing lanes...which kind of go hand and hand...

It was pre overcomplication of the shot meter..... Shot meter and jump shots indeed felt great. Layups were fast and non metered.

2K17 was personally my least favorite game of this gen though...