Try out NBA 2K21's brand new gameplay controls using its presentation in two weeks

Seriously, if you put video of MT 2K21 side by side with NBA 2K20 I would challenge you to spot the gap in the graphics. This isn't a dreadful thing, since this franchise has a long history of being among the best-looking sports games out there, but it is a bit disappointing to see how little has changed year over year. That means last year's flaws have taken over: gamers still seem good, but out of those superstars such as Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James there's something a small generic about the designs.

Some faces have too little detail and unusually large players like Shaquille O'Neal (who is rostered on the"All-Time Lakers" squad available in the demonstration ) don't have the identical kind of enormous presence they do in actual life.

Luckily, the longer I spent with all the brand new shot-stick mechanic, the more NBA 2K21 started to distinguish itself. The brand new shot meter, which requires preparing shots rather than just time them, is utilized entirely with the perfect analog stick. It needs a straight pull down (or upward, when pushing toward the basket) and then centering the stick inside the sweet spot on the meter. Not only did I find that this brand new shot meter vastly more challenging, additionally, it fixed a few of other issues I've had with NBA 2K for years.

First of all, I never need to worry about accidentally hurling a shot up when I am trying to generate a dribble move. Pulling back to the analog stick and holding it there will result in a shooter, whereas any flicks or alternative quicker moves will result in a dribbling move. The new shot meter opens the right-stick for use completely for dribbling moves, which contains the ability to size-up or utilize escape dribbles. Everything feels a lot cleaner, which is a nice change for a series where things were beginning to feel too cluttered to restrain.

The shot-stick mechanic also feels like a direct answer to issues with latency online. Even though the demo doesn't feature the capability to play online games, it's easy to see a future where most online players will be using the aimed shot meter instead of the old timed meter (which remains accessible via the X orCheap 2K MT square button). Rather than trying to figure how much latency there will be with each jump shot, it should be a lot more efficient to pull back on the analog stick and aim the shot instead.