2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Let me know what you think about my reviews.
User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 14th, 2017, 12:11 pm

Let's hear your thoughts on my latest PS4 reviews.

User avatar
Stalvern
Posts: 1952
Joined: June 18th, 2016, 7:15 pm

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby Stalvern » March 14th, 2017, 12:32 pm

Zombie Vikings doesn't have a patch... it has eight of them.

If anyone (Critic included) wants to see a professional rip into this game for five or so pages, Destructoid's review is a great read.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 14th, 2017, 2:44 pm

I think these reviews are a perfect example about how the online culture has wreaked havoc on the quality of console titles. Publishers just pump out junk as fast as they can, leaving responsibility to the consumer to clean up the mess.

When I see people lament the lack of online support for the Switch, I think they are looking at it wrong. The less they rely on online, the better the consoles and games will be. These things should really be able to stand on their own.

I think professional reviewers should start holding publishers to account. Review only the initial (shipped) version, and do not assume all the glitches and bugs will be fixed at a later date. By giving publishers free passes reviewers are just perpetrating this sham.

User avatar
Retro STrife
Posts: 2531
Joined: August 3rd, 2015, 7:40 pm

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby Retro STrife » March 14th, 2017, 7:03 pm

I'm a long-time NBA 2K fan. Been playing it since the Dreamcast original. I poured dozens of hours (maybe 100+ hours) into the last two NBA 2K games that I owned-- 2K9 and 2K11 for the Xbox 360. I got so addicted to both games--online and offline. I started playing 2K11 again just a year or two ago and got right back into it, like riding a bike, and worked on it for a few weeks and it was still a great game.

I've taken a long hiatus from the series--partly to avoid the time-drain that happens from getting addicted to it--but I finally bought 2K17 for PS4 a few months back. And I've played it all of 3 times... Now, part of that is because I've been working on other games. But the other part is that it is such a complicated mess that I feel like I have to spend the first 20 hours just learning how to play. You're dead on about that. Never has a game screamed for a manual more than this one, and yet they've done like everyone else and gotten rid of them. Sure, you can pull up an online manual, but who can easily reference that on their phone or tablet while playing? If nothing else, would it be so hard to include a 2-page sheet with the game that gives the basic controls? (And then maybe I'll venture off to the online manual when I'm ready for the more advanced stuff...) I love how game publishers will throw a 1-page ad inside a game case, but can't be bothered to include a 1-page list of the basic controls. It's like they mock you with the ad, and then claim that they're "saving the environment" when they don't give you a manual.

I haven't played enough 2K17 to pass judgment on it yet, so I'll let you know if I change my mind. But, for my initial impressions, I share your thoughts.

(The only thing I'd add as a critique is that I think you should switch the photo on your review. Looks sort of grainy and isn't representative of the game since it's from the never-used street mode rather than an NBA game.)
Last edited by Retro STrife on March 14th, 2017, 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
BlasteroidAli
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 7:50 pm

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby BlasteroidAli » March 14th, 2017, 8:22 pm

I have heard that zv on the bone is a real buggy mess. After this review and that rumour I think I will give a miss. :lol:

User avatar
Gentlegamer
Posts: 787
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 1:01 am

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby Gentlegamer » March 15th, 2017, 12:02 pm

I buy most of my games used from GameFly, and it has had Zombie Vikings for cheap for some time. It looks like the type of game I would love... but looking into info on it revealed that it's a total mess, as confirmed by Dave.

What a shame.

Image

User avatar
Retro STrife
Posts: 2531
Joined: August 3rd, 2015, 7:40 pm

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby Retro STrife » March 22nd, 2017, 10:43 am

Well, it's happened.... I finished up Uncharted 4 this week, so I am finally got around to starting work on NBA 2K17. And I have to take back some of what I said in my last post, because I am definitely getting addicted all over again. Like, to the point that I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. on Sunday night when I needed to be up at 6:00 a.m. for work the next morning... And 3:00 a.m. last night, with 3 more hours of sleep. Just like I used to do in grad school with NBA 2K9 and NBA 2K11. Yes, it's a problem...

I do continue to agree that the game is way too complicated, though based on past experience I was able to quickly get to a point where I could do all the basics and some advanced moves. (I feel like newcomers would not have the same luck.) But I could never learn all of things that you can do with the controller in this game...there's just too much, and plus some you just don't need.

2K Sports has fine-tuned the gameplay so much over the years that I think it's hard to expect them to change much now from year to year..."if it ain't broke...". As a result, where I think they try to grow now is in the modes of play. And, in that sense, there's definitely been a lot added since I last played in 2K11. As a single-player experience (this is for you, Critic), I think the best mode is the MyPlayer mode. Unlike most sports games that focus on a Franchise Mode, the NBA is about superstars rather than teams, and thus the MyPlayer mode is the bread and butter of the single player game. You should really give it a shot. It has a storyline and everything, with real Hollywood actors used.

But to me, the best part of NBA 2K is and always has been playing online (or in person) against real opponents. There are tons of modes for doing this online. As you'd expect, you can do NBA games where you control a team and play against another team controlled by another online person. These are fun and I played those a lot back in 2K11... but my strong preference now is for the MyPark and Pro-Am modes. In these modes, you use your MyPlayer character and you solely control him. In MyPark, you go to an actual "park" that has like 10 basketball courts there and you can enter yourself in to 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 games with other players (all human controlled, so you play with actual people as your teammates). As you walk around the park, you'll see all the games being played. Even if you don't enter games, you should really go to the MyPark just to see what it looks like! Pro-Am is a 5-on-5 team up mode using your MyPlayer.. and all 10 players on the court are human-controlled people using their own MyPlayer character. As you'd imagine, many of the people you team up with are ballhogs, awful, or just idiots in some other way...but when you get a good team going and all working together like a real pick-up basketball game, there's no better sports video game experience in the world IMO.

If NBA 2k17 was the first of it's kind, it'd be an easy A+... but in the sport gaming world, we compare games to prior year versions, so I'd give it a B+.

Tron
Posts: 870
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 8:02 pm

Re: 2017/3/14: Playstation 4: Zombie Vikings, NBA 2K17

Postby Tron » March 22nd, 2017, 6:12 pm

I'm still happy with NBA 2k16 & am not ready to change


Return to “Review Feedback”