Ready for another dose of over-the-top blacktop action? The first NBA Playgrounds wasn’t quite the NBA Jam successor players were hoping for, but NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 (yes, the game is now an official 2K Sports product) promises an improved on-court experience, better online play, and a variety of new modes and features. Check out a new Playgrounds 2 trailer, below.
Two of the most notable NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 additions are the new Season mode and online league play. Here’s a rundown of the new features:
Season mode is a new single-player experience that recreates the feeling of leading a team through the regular season, playoffs, and, ultimately, the NBA Championship itself.
Championship mode introduces a new worldwide ranked league system, featuring a wide range of competitive solo and co-op division ladders for players to climb.
There’s also improved matchmaking with dedicated servers, the arrival of four-player online matches, the return of three-point contests, custom matches, and more – pick your team and play without limits!
Of course, teaming with 2K Sports means Playgrounds 2 will be packed with more legendary ballers, from both the past and present...
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will feature over 300 players at launch – including legendary new additions like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – with nearly 200 additional players arriving after release. The game will release with ten new and exciting playgrounds from around the world, including courts in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Seoul and Australia, with additional courts planned for after launch.
In addition, the game will boast well over 100 signature moves, including showstoppers like Michael Jordan’s free throw line dunk, George Gervin’s Iceman finger roll and LeBron James’ self alley-oop. There are also many new customization items, such as jackets, shirts, pants, shorts and shoes. NBA 2K Playgrounds 2’s soundtrack will feature tracks from hit artists like Run The Jewels, Oddisee and DJ Premier.
Sounds like developer Saber Interactive is pouring a lot of effort into Playgrounds 2. The NBA 2K games have been stuck in a bit of a rut the last few years (check out my NBA 2K19 review here), so hopefully the Playgrounds series can step up and provide a fun arcade alternative.
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 fast breaks onto Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on October 16.
