Visual Concepts/2K Sports
NBA 2K18 is out now and arguably the biggest draw to the game is the new Neighborhood mode. The new mode gives players a wide open hub area to roam around in and get a new haircut, work out at the gym or play pick up games at the park. However, the mode is not available to you from the start.
If you’re looking for the Neighborhood mode, you’ll first have to start the MyCareer mode and create a player. It helps if you’ve played The Prelude before you pick up NBA 2K18 because it will actually allow you to play through all the parts leading up to the new mode.
Once you fire up MyCareer, you create your character and choose a favorite team. You’ll then go through a couple games and soon you’ll find yourself in the new area. All in all, it’ll take up about a half hour of your time if you didn’t play The Prelude first.
Once you’re put into the world, you’ll see a lot of dudes who look pretty much the same as you – white shoes, brown shirt and gray sweatpants. What is different is the team practice facility which will match whatever you chose as your favorite team. From here, you can head pretty much wherever you want to go. There is a T-Shirt vendor that will allow you to create your own design but you will need to reach 80 overall with your character before you can do that. Unfortunately, all characters will enter the Neighborhood with a 60 overall, barring some pre-order bonuses or other things to boost your attributes.
We’re not entirely sure how many players can be in the hub world at one time but first glance will show that a lot of people can be here at once. 2K Sports isn’t really a household name when it comes to quality servers so we’ll see how it holds up once the game launches for everyone this Tuesday.
2K Sports has raised the bar with this new mode and it’ll be tough for this year’s sports games to match it. What started with the MyCareer with Spike Lee has turned into a huge playground for all players. There’s a lot to discover in the Neighborhood so don’t let us hold you back.
NBA 2K18 is out now for those who pre-ordered. If you didn’t pre-order a copy, you can look forward to the official release this Tuesday, September 19.
