Thankfully, the longer I spent with NBA 2K MT Coins the new shot-stick mechanic, the greater NBA 2K21 started to separate itself. The new shot meter, which requires aiming shots rather than just timing them, is used completely with the ideal analog stick. It needs a straight pull down (or upward, when pushing toward the basket) and then centering the rod inside of the sweet spot on the meter. Not only did I find this brand new shot meter vastly harder, in addition, it fixed a few of other problems I’ve had with NBA 2K for ages.

First of all, I never need to worry about accidentally throwing up a shot when I’m trying to make a dribble move. Pulling back to the analog stick and holding it there will lead to a shot, while some flicks or alternative faster motions will end in a rotational movement. The brand new shot meter opens up the right-stick to be used completely for dribbling moves, which includes the ability to size-up or use escape dribbles. Everything feels a lot cleaner, which is a wonderful change to get a series where things were starting to feel overly cluttered to control.

The shot-stick mechanic also feels just like a direct answer to issues with latency online. Even though the demo does not feature the capability to play online games, it’s easy to see a future where most online players will use the aimed shot meter instead of the older timed meter (which is still available via the square or X button). Rather than attempting to guess how much latency there will be with each jump shot, it should be a lot more efficient to pull back on the analog stick and aim the shot rather.

However, aiming shots is certainly the more difficult of the two options as things now stand. I am eager to Buy NBA 2K MT have a fresh ability to master, but it is very good to have both options available.