NBA 2K16: Early Review of Online Connectivity and Gameplay

To put it plainly, NBA 2K16 is one of the most stacked, well-made video games I've ever played. The MyGM and MyLEAGUE features, slightly disjointed MyCAREER options, awesomely upgraded MyTEAM and unparalleled customization make this a strong candidate for game of the year.

Even with all of its excellence, there's still a lingering concern with the series. Games Radar's Rich Grisham broke it down best when he wrote this in his review:

"If—and this is a big if—its online servers manage to stay afloat, NBA 2K16 is not only the best sports game of the year, but one of the best of all time."

The saying goes: So far, so good. Through the four days of access the Early Tip-Off Edition (ETOE) has provided, I'd have to slightly amend that saying to: So far, not too bad. 

While there were a few early hiccups with MyTEAM Domination games—and the new and exciting 2K Pro-Am concept—for the most part, the online experience has been solid.

I've played several "play now online" games—which is another of the game's awesome new features—and I've had zero lag. The matchmaking has been almost instantaneous. It's always a great thing when the response time is so good that is causes you to momentarily forget you're playing online.

In NBA 2K15, MyPARK was hit or miss for me. So far in NBA 2K16, I've been able to access it without issue.

The biggest problem I've seen as it pertains to online play came with 2K Pro-Am. The mode was billed to offer instant matchmaking, but that hasn't been my experience. It takes a while to locate enough players to begin a game, and even once a session gets started initially, there appears to be a delay to the start of the game.

Once it gets going, the action flows smoothly. Your level of enjoyment in the mode will have a lot to do with the teammates you have. Some people just don't pass the ball, so that sucks, but you can't blame 2K for that. That element can be a deterrent for some gamers who don't want to be bothered with bad teammates.

That said, the concept of taking your MyPlayer online to play with up to nine other human-controlled players is a great one. Even if it's just a couple of games, virtual hoops fans owe it to themselves to at least give the mode a try.