NBA 2K Playgrounds 2

First published in GRIND I, pages 8–11.

In my opinion, basketball is the most spectacular sport. And strip out the tactical elements and the defensive schemes to put the emphasis on humiliating slam dunks, devastating alley-oops and dizzying dribbles, then we get something along the lines of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2: an arcade take on the tooth-shattering ball sport, one that sits closer to the NBA Jam and NBA Street series than to the realism of NBA 2K21.

What drew me to NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 in the first place was the price: you can pick the game up for under 50 lei on PS4, Xbox One and Switch (and on the first two systems there's compatibility with the new generation). But the lads at 2K haven't shown a shred of generosity or mercy towards players' wallets: in its initial form, Playgrounds 2 ships with only half the content. And there are only two ways to enjoy everything the game has to offer: either you wallow in the pettiness of microtransactions so you can build your dream team, or you grind.

The magazine is called GRIND, so I don't think I need to explain how I ended up approaching this game. But what I can tell you from the off is that it's not really worth sinking dozens (or maybe hundreds) of hours into winning seasons with your favourite team just to earn the virtual currency you can spend on card packs that unlock new players (the loot box equivalent, though somewhat closer to the Panini albums we'd start and never finish). If you'd still rather cut out the luck, there's also the option of playing it safe and buying your favourite players outright (in my case, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird). But quite apart from the fact that the sure thing doesn't trigger the same dopamine hit, it's also more expensive — unlocking a single legendary player costs more than buying a whole pack with players or skins for courts and balls. And there's always the chance of unlocking two or more legendary players in the same pack… but if that doesn't happen, you have to go back and finish another season (or clear one more bank transfer into 2K's account).

But for all the gripes and the grind, the game is fun and it's fast. NBA 2K Playgrounds is exactly the kind of title you can fire up every day for two or three five-minute matches. For newcomers there are surprise elements, like superpowers unlocking mid-match — so the result of a flawless defensive plan can be overturned by a flaming ball that drops into the basket no matter where on the court it was thrown from; and big score gaps can be evened out at any moment by the appearance of circles that double or triple the number of points awarded for a basket.

In basketball there are 1-point baskets (from a free throw), 2-point baskets (from inside the 6.25m area) and 3-point baskets (from outside the 6.25m area). In NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, you get an extra point for perfect execution (when you manage to press the button and release it in perfect sync with the bar in the corner of the screen) and for scoring the first basket of the match. And if you're deft enough to pull off a double alley-oop, passing the ball at least twice in the air before letting fly the coup de grâce, you get a 6-point basket — by far the most devastating and humiliating way to show your opponent who's king of the court.