About the game
NBA 2K14 is a 2013 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It is the fifteenth game in the NBA 2K series. It came out on October 1, 2013 for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions came out on the launch dates of those consoles. It is the successor to NBA 2K13 and was followed by NBA 2K15.
LeBron James of the Miami Heat is the cover athlete and also curated the music for the game. Pre-ordering gave 10,000 VC, bonus content for the LeBron: Path to Greatness mode, James in the Blacktop mode and a signature skill for MyCareer. The Path to Greatness mode is not on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions. Crew Mode returned this year.
New in this game are signature skills, including the pre-order LeBron Coast to Coast skill, One Man Fastbreak, Pick Dodger, Tenacious Rebounder and Flashy Passer, and a new way to pass by holding a trigger and pushing the stick toward the receiver. A player's potential now limits how high his overall rating can grow, which stops too many players turning into superstars in Association mode. There is more than 50 hours of new commentary from Kevin Harlan, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr, and a Training Camp mode to teach the new controls.
2K Sports signed an exclusive multi-year deal with EuroLeague on July 2, 2013, so EuroLeague teams appear in the series for the first time. They replace the Celeb team, Team USA, the Dream Team and the 2001 to 2002 Sacramento Kings classic squad.
On the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One a patch added an always-online check, so MyCareer and MyGM need a connection to 2K's servers. NBA 2K14 received generally favourable reviews, with Metacritic scores of 86 on Xbox One, 87 on Xbox 360, 85 on PlayStation 4 and 84 on PlayStation 3. IGN gave it 9.3 out of 10 and called the gameplay tighter than ever. Critics were less happy with the lack of improvements to MyCareer and Association. It was the best-selling sports game on eighth-generation consoles shortly after release and was nominated for Sports Game of the Year at the D.I.C.E. Awards.
The text above is adapted from Wikipedia and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What critics said
Metacritic 86 out of 100 (Xbox One). Metacritic 87 out of 100 (Xbox 360). Metacritic 85 out of 100 (PlayStation 4). Metacritic 84 out of 100 (PlayStation 3). Individual reviews: IGN 9.3/10, GameSpot 8/10, Game Informer 8.5/10, GamesRadar+ 4/5, Giant Bomb 4/5.
Extra content
The pre-order pack gave 10,000 VC, extra LeBron James content for the Blacktop and MyCareer modes and the LeBron Coast to Coast signature skill.
- Pre-order bonus pack: 10,000 VC, LeBron James in the Blacktop mode, a MyCareer signature skill and LeBron: Path to Greatness content.
Good to know
- The Xbox One list has 50 achievements worth 1,000 Gamerscore. The Xbox 360 version has its own separate list.
- LeBron: Path to Greatness is on the older consoles but not on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.
- A patch made MyCareer and MyGM need an online check-in on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions only.
- It was the last NBA 2K on Windows where players could change the button layout.
- The Xbox One version was a launch-window title for the console.
- EuroLeague teams replaced the Celeb team, Team USA, the Dream Team and the 2001 to 2002 Sacramento Kings.
Made by
Developer Visual Concepts, Publisher 2K, Commentator Kevin Harlan, Commentator Clark Kellogg, Commentator Steve Kerr, Cover athlete and music curator LeBron James.
