BASKETBALL SEASON IS UPON US!
You know what that means? That's right, another year of NBA 2K! 
*PS5 game key provided to me by 2K. I was provided a code and not paid for my opinions
I am going to get this out first: I LOVE this year's game. (All thoughts and opinions here are expressed from the Next Gen version.) Truthfully, I wasn't the biggest fan of last year's and I feel it was because of the current/next gen tweaks that needed to be ironed out. That being said, we do have our fair share of problems here as well. They seem pretty miniscule in the overall sense of things, though.
I can safely say that 2K22 feels great this season. Dribbling is fun, defense is THERE and the MyCareer makes you want to grind it out (in a good way). Shooting felt like I didn't need to spend 5 million VC to actually be able to shoot on the court. I am happy! Let's take a deeper dive, shall we?
MyCareer
This is what you're here for.
The meat of the game is right here in MyCareer. I really believe this is where the majority of players spend their time and 2K has spent some of theirs transforming the traditional story mode into an RPG-like experience. What I mean by that is you have quests spread throughout the city. You go and meet characters and accept challenges to do from them throughout your career or in the City games. One example is meeting Jake From State Farm (seriously) and wearing his outfit on the new Fashion Walk stage, Some quests are silly while others can get pretty difficult if you are new to the game.
I found that discovering more challenges spread throughout was pretty fun, especially when I knew it was something I could do on my own. You get a menu that shows how any challenges you have and what you completed/have unfinished/etc. It was a bit overwhelming at first because you have personal quests alongside the new Season quests. Mixing the two took me a bit to grasp but it wasn't too bad.
Working towards your badges is still a tough job but you always feel that "WHEW" moment when you get Gold or Allstar status on your selected builds. The challenge rewards help because they will give boosts and such to push that progress along a little faster.
The City is pretty big as well. It actually feels crowded and full of life. Pedestrians are walking around, sunbathing and even doing yoga. Players gather up in social hubs waiting their turns to be next. It's great! You get new ways to travel via skateboards, BMX bikes and even...Go-Karts. Yep. They do feel a bit clunky at times, running into a bunch of weird physics, slowdown, and long animation times. It is a nice switch but keep in mind, this isn't Tony Hawk's Pro Skater so they don't feel really good. There are plenty of things to do, though, like visiting the shopping center, hit the Gatorade workout center, play on the MULTIPLE courts spread about and even show off your threads in the catwalk mentioned earlier.
GAMEPLAY & MODES
Most of the modes you have played before return here, Play Now, MyTeam and the W. Most of these remain largely unchanged with some presentation upgrades being the bulk of the difference. MyTeam remains a mode that I personally have not dove headfirst into. I'm contracts expiring on players, finding the cards for said players and such seem like a money pit and I get too anxious.
Newly added was the Season Pass. You rank up and get some neat items in the process. These are introduced in MyTeam and in MyCareer! These are free and you just have to get the required XP to level it. They do contain items that give you stat boosts as well so going through them is worth it.
The gameplay, though. My goodness. This is what made me happy. Being able to dribble and shoot feels amazing. Having a player with a good steal rating is satisfying and then the DEFENSE. Being a big defensive player in 2K22 is extremely beneficial now as your shot contests and blocks are more crucial and meaningful. I played mostly perimeter shooting and noticed the big guys got some boost and love this year. Fantastic!
In terms of negatives, some of the AI still feels really...not so smart...and will make very strange plays. Especially for NBA players. Walking out of bounds blissfully, strange picks and even had an entire team stay on one end of the court as I ran up to make a play on my own. If you're really into solo play against AI or love the MyPlayer career games, expect some wonky play.
In any event, 2K has stepped it up this year in terms of balancing and feel. Your position choices absolutely matter and it really reminds me of a sort of "Hero Shooter" in the sense that if you get a good and balanced squad, you can take over the city/MyTeam pretty easily!
one of the races found in NBA 2K22
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I am not the best at the 2K games. I'll be the first to admit that. What I found here were the aspirations to be. Achieving the LEGEND status and raising MyPlayer's stats to be able to compete with everyone around me were something I wanted more and more of. And still do. Learning new jumpshots or completing various challenges to get higher tiers in the new Season Pass, gave me that "one more game" feeling I haven't had in a NBA 2K game in a few years. The graphics look great on Next Gen and the 2K Beats are here to give you an extra musical lift to your balling experience.
The bugs DO need to be addressed as well as some of the server latency experienced. If the gameplay stays where it's at and the seasonal content keeps coming as promised, this is easily the best NBA 2K game made in some time. I would highly recommend you pick this one up.
Overall I give NBA 2K22 an 8/10.
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