ThereвЂ™s simply far too much ludonarrative dissonance floating around here to consider Visual ConceptsвЂ™ gamble on Spike Lee to be a success.Д®ven though Mењњareer, which is blatantly being billed as the reason to by this yearвЂ™s version of NBA 2K, starts off on the wrong foot, there is still a great deal of agency over your MyPlayer after the conclusion of Spike LeeвЂ™s self-indulgent in-game film. This isnвЂ™t necessarily Spike LeeвЂ™s fault, after all, he isnвЂ™t a video game developer, but inserting long diatribes about death and relationships into a story riddled with characters that the main player doesnвЂ™t have any desire to care about makes for a slog of a narrative experience. Lee could take the material in this in-game film and turn it into something entertaining on the big screen, the fact of the matter is that it doesnвЂ™t make for a very good video game story at all. Because you arenвЂ™t getting to make the choices that youвЂ™re accustomed to making in an NBA 2K Mењњareer mode, thereвЂ™s no sense that this is anyoneвЂ™s story other than Spike LeeвЂ™s. Sadly, thanks to an engine that, while initially breathtaking at the beginning of the generation, is starting to feel its age, Livin вЂDa Dream feels little more than corny and tiresome by the end of its six hour run. This was meant to be a mode in which you feel immersed in an NBA story loaded with hardship, difficult choices (that again, you donвЂ™t actually get to make) and genuine drama. ItвЂ™s as clear as the day is long what Visual Concepts, 2K and even Spike Lee himself were going for here. Oh, and as an Ohio State alumnus, itвЂ™s painful to see the ability to attend The School Up North with no option to be a Buckeye. This was likely an oversight resulting from Spike LeeвЂ™s relative inexperience with the video game medium, but itвЂ™s a clear example of how NBA 2K16 removes a lot of MењњareerвЂ™s customization features in favor of Livin вЂDa Dream.В Outside of picking which college you go to from a limited pool of schools and which NBA team youвЂ™ll sign with after your first year, there are quite literally zero choices to be made, which gives Mењњareer the impression that youвЂ™re simply along for the ride rather than being the one driving the car itself. ThereвЂ™s something to be said about the ludonarrative dissonance that comes from being forced into a storyline that doesnвЂ™t give the option for any semblance of real racial diversity. This does create an awkward situation if youвЂ™re any race other than African American and use the face-scanning technology to create your own player, as the idea of having a biological cross-racial family with no hint of genetic relation whatsoever makes for some awkward moments whenever your birth comes up in conversation. No matter how perfect your face scan is, youвЂ™ll always grow up in HarlemвЂ™s projects, always have the same twin sister, the same parents, the same agent, the same team owner and the same friend in Vic Van Lier that is always up to no good. From the moment you begin вЂњLivin вЂDa Dream,вЂќ the section of Mењњareer that is written and directed by Spike Lee, itвЂ™s clear that you are merely a participant in someone elseвЂ™s narrative. However, earlier iterations, most notably last yearвЂ™s NBA 2K15, never swayed away from the idea that this is your journey, and youвЂ™re allowed to handle it in whichever way you please. As time has gone on, this particular mode has been looking towards giving players a real sense of participation in an actual NBA story.

Visual Concepts clearly took a risk letting Spike Lee, a man known for his movies, direct an вЂњin-game feature filmвЂќ about your playerвЂ™s journey from high school through his rookie season in the NBA. NBA 2K16 still feels like the best basketball game in the world, though this yearвЂ™s version feels like this seriesвЂ™ first hiccup in quite some time. Instead of having a sense of agency over the proceedings, players will find that Mењњareer feels a bit more like SpikeвЂ™s Career.

While there is a level of intrigue that comes with playing a Spike Lee Joint as opposed to watching one, the best part of Mењњareer came from the childlike wonder players experience when they live out their personal NBA dream. Sure, the latest iteration of the number one basketball simulation in the world is still mechanically sound, loaded with features that will keep NBA fans busy for months and fun to play, but letting Spike Lee have such a large role may have been a mistake.

For all of the hype surrounding NBA 2K16вЂs revamped Mењњareer mode, it seems downright shocking that Visual Concepts would forget the most exciting part of its signature mode.

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