This year's annual installment of the basketball juggernaut from developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K Sports is the first to be optimized for next-generation consoles and gaming systems. Taking advantage of the increased power, it promises—as prospective players might expect—improvements in presentation and, most importantly, on-court feel. It's difficult to argue that NBA 22 MT isn't one of the most highly anticipated sports games of all time.

Because of this, it's only fitting that the cover features Luka Doncic, a rising star on the Dallas Mavericks roster. In 2022, it's reasonable for players to anticipate that the series will follow a similar trajectory to one of the league's rising stars as he continues his rise to prominence. Before anything else, players should be aware that mt 2k22 will undoubtedly feature a plethora of massive game modes. Whether or not the on-court action is a true upgrade will determine whether or not this installment is remembered as the beginning of something special or as a stumbling block. This might be the most comfortable 2K has ever felt on a digital court before.

That sounds a little exaggerated, doesn't it? However, one major hurdle has been cleared: there will be no overhauled mechanic this year that will receive widespread criticism, and there will be no difficult-to-learn or difficult-to-see element of the game that will cause a dramatic, negative shift away from previous entries. For the most part, the significant changes to gameplay serve only to improve the simulation's overall feel.

This year's emphasis was clearly on finding a way to strike a healthy balance.2K22 is all about defense after years of offensive mayhem, including tweaks to the shot meter and timing, and the game's first-person perspective. Shot contests and paint defense were reworked, which, ironically, placed a greater emphasis on the offensive player taking more high-percentage shots than ever before. Defensive positioning is more important now than it has ever been. The game will no longer have phantom-contest shots for the player; if a player is in the wrong spot when an opponent goes up for the shot, the shot will not be contested well, increasing the likelihood that the offense will score a point.

When defending, there is a greater emphasis placed on player ratings as well. If a player attempts a steal, a star with a poor steal rating will feel as if he or she is moving in slow motion, giving the offensive player an opening to the basket.

For some players, however, this may prove to be a difficult transition. Even on lower difficulties, it's clear that defenses are better than they've ever been thanks to some of the power of new consoles and tweaks behind the scenes. However, the super-rotations an entire unit can perform and the ability for one defender to watch over two opponents at the same time can feel suffocating, even on lower difficulties.

All of this is not to say, however, that the issue of offense was not addressed at all. Clearly, the game has removed a large number of pre-recorded animations in favor of giving players more control over things such as dribble speed and stops when using the pro stick instead of removing them entirely. The same can be said for post-play, where fakeouts in one direction and a fade to the other can all be accomplished with two swings of the hockey stick.

Additionally, the shot meter has increased in size this year, which addresses a major complaint from previous years. Its actual composition varies depending on the player's rating, so players must pay close attention when putting up shots against everyone. The shot meter changes in response to the player's stamina as well. Proper stamina management is now more important than ever for offensive success than it has ever been. Sprinting and dribble moves deplete it quickly, which plays right into the hands of defenders who now have a new arsenal of tools at their disposal.

More players with distinct signature styles mean more players who are comparable to their real-world counterparts. It's a convenient feature to have, not only for the sake of authenticity but also because it can often have a greater impact on the actual court than something as arbitrary as overall ratings.

One of the two things that make this feel like a significantly improved game is the increase in stamina. The other type of logic is that of artificial intelligence. It's clear that the team behind the game could do more with the new hardware's increased processing power, which would allow them to improve A. I.'s on-court behavior. Defenses now have a fighting chance, and there are fewer loopholes to exploit while forming a meta, and the increased stamina makes it more like a chess match than before. The game also takes advantage of the new haptic feedback on the PlayStation 5's controller to do some really interesting things, such as increasing vibration and tension when squaring up against a dominant force in the paint. It's a small detail, but it's the kind of innovation that allows gamers to experience a deeper level of immersion in next-generation hardware.

As a whole, this is the most comfortable 2K22 MT PC has ever been on the court. It is, without a doubt, more time-consuming, but more methodical and thoughtful play will result in players putting points on the board more quickly.