NBA 2K20 Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

3. Abandon Exceeds Execution In MyCAREER

MyCAREER remains 2K's most engrossing gameplay experience this year. This fully-formed basketball simulation follows a similar path as previous editions but stands out for its collaboration with SpringHill Entertainment, who count LeBron James as one of their co-founders and are currently working on Space Jam 2.

This brings a more cinematic experience to MyCAREER. Titled "When the Lights are Brightest," this tight, professional story mode eschews goofiness like 2K16's Frequency Vibrations for a more grounded narrative featuring Idris Elba and Rosario Dawson. Get past that and you hope into the standard 2K career everyone is familiar with, but while "When the Lights..." does succeed on a number of levels (we'll get to those later), the developers' execution doesn't match SpringHill's ambition.

LeBron has never been shy of holding his tongue and his social commentary is reflected here, with your avatar, Che, the subject of a story primarily about standing up for what you believe in.

It's a great idea that doesn't always hit. Most characters are well fleshed out, but Elba feels particularly under-utilised, several key story beats are as on-the-nose as a punch in the face, and "When the Lights..." systematically fails to generate drama at important moments.

It's a shame, as SpringHill and 2K potentially had something special on their hands.