More NBA Playgrounds footage, details
A new article from Polygon offers up additional footage of next week’s Switch eShop release NBA Playgrounds. Additionally, information about the game is present. We’ve rounded up everything from Polygon’s report below.
– Inspired by both NBA Jam and NBA Street
– More Jam than it is Street
– Two-on-two experience
– Plays out very similarly to NBA Jam on both offense and defense
– Can swipe at the ball to try to steal it from an opponent
– You can also shove the player to knock it loose (as long as you’ve got some of your sprint meter left)
– If you shoot while sprinting toward the hoop, your player will attempt a dunk
– Over 300 dunks in the game
– Crossover dribble move can be done with the right analog stick
– As you sink baskets and play good defense, you’ll build a Lottery Pick meter
– When full, you’ll get a random special ability for a limited time
– One of these is a debuff for your opponents rather than a boost for you: their shot clock runs twice as fast, giving them only six seconds instead of the game’s usual 12
– Another boost puts star icons in various locations on the court; if you score from those spots, a multiplier will double, triple or even quadruple your point value
– Can be played by four people in the same room
– Two-player head-to-head play online built in
– Four-player support coming soon with an update
– Will be patched in the future with content and roster updates
– More than 150 NBA athletes, including current players such as LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard as well as retired legends like Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing
– Progression mechanic focused on unlocking the entire roster gradually
– Start with three card packs, which give you five players each
– Earn a new pack each time you level up.
– No microtransactions
– If there’s a demand for the ability to buy card packs, Saber can add that feature later
– Each of the 30 NBA teams has at least three active players, plus retired athletes
– Hundreds more will be added in post-release updates
– Earn experience for individual players
– This gradually unlocks new moves like dunk animations
– Tournament modes for offline and online play, in addition to one-off exhibition game
– Dunk contest and a three-point contest will be added
– Saber Interactive can add almost any player, with a few exceptions such as Charles Barkley and Kobe Bryant
– Saber was “shocked” that Saber pulled off the NBA license
– Saber flew out to 2K’s headquarters to reassure the company that NBA Playgrounds won’t interfere with NBA 2K
