Nowadays it is the main objective of sports games to be a realistic as possible. This is something much appreciated by gamers who follow their favorite sports in real life and like to compare the real-life game to what they see when they play titles such as “Madden NFL” or “FIFA.”
“NBA 2K” has been one of the leaders in providing an authentic experience for its gamers. In “NBA2K 13” we saw the addition of signature skills, one of the best ideas to hit the videogame world.
However, this year, I would like to see them take it a bit further.
Currently, the signature skills are pretty general—clutch, knock down shooter, defensive anchor, etc.
However, what if they were geared toward a specific player?
For example, Steph Curry is the best shooter in the NBA and can heat up from three in an instant. Why is it that he should get the same “microwave” signature skill as someone like Nate Robinson or Jamal Crawford?
Steph Curry should have a skill specific to his shooting ability which makes him unstoppable from behind the arc. Maybe once every 10 games throughout a season Curry’s “3rd Quarter” skill will activate, where he literally can’t miss from the three-point line. (For those of you who don’t know Curry had a trend this season of getting hot after coming out of halftime.)
Or what about Blake Griffin? BG has had some pretty transcendent dunks throughout out his young career—especially his dunk over Timofey Mosgov or the one over Kendrick Perkins. Why not give him a “Lob City” signature skill where his likelihood of catching an alley-oop pass or posterizing a defender hits 99 for a certain portion of the game.
Finally, there’s LeBron James. LeBron’s rating will stay at 99 only because it technically can’t go any higher. (This was a topic recently discussed by Ben Sin of Sports Illustrated.) However, I think the best player on the planet deserves a skill that separates him from everyone one else in the game—“LeBron Mode.” * Quite frankly I don’t know how this would be portrayed in the game. If his team is down by 15, would he automatically make his next 6 shots? Or would all of his ratings hit 99 if you are playing a Game 7 in the playoffs? I’m not sure how 2K Sports would portray LeBron’s complete dominance, but it’s definitely something they must add to the game.
Now, I understand making these players unstoppable may add more to the video game aspect than the authenticity aspect. However, every so often player’s provide transcendent plays and performances and their video game counterparts must be able to do the same.
“NBA 2K14” hits stores October 1 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4. It will debut for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year.
Update 2:43 7/29
It seems 2K was already offering the LeBron James signature skill if you pre-order the game. It will be interesting to see how the "NBA 2K" team plans depicted the signature skill within the game.
