Video Game Review: NBA 2K13 on the Wii U

Video Game Review: NBA 2K13 on the Wii U

Visual Concepts

NBA 2K13 makes a few impressive baskets, but features a few air balls.

LOVED IT: Great touchscreen integration, plays well on the small screen, content matches up with PS3 and Xbox 360 versions

HATED IT: Strange bugs, random freezing issues, limited user base

GRAB IT IF: You need a basketball game for your Wii U

It’s everything that’s right about the brand spanking new Nintendo Wii U. And everything that’s wrong, too.

Welcome to the mixed bag that is NBA 2K3 on the Wii U. Visual Concepts’ first basketball game on the new console shows us so much about the potential of gaming on the fledgling console, while simultaneously reminding us of the pratfalls of first-generation games on new systems. On the one hand, it’s a fully-featured game with brilliant visuals and sublime Wii U Gamepad integration.

On the other hand? It’s also filled with strange glitches and bugs that will drive you right back to its PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 cousins.

Start with the good, because there’s plenty of it. This isn’t some stripped-down version of NBA 2K13; it’s the full game, including everything from MyCareer mode to accessories to deck out your player to a full complement of online and franchise modes. The sheer wealth of options is almost overwhelming â€" you’ll find yourself likely gravitating to one mode and barely touching any others â€" and it has something for just about everyone.

The game looks spectacular, too. It can be played on the Gamepad or your big screen, and don’t be surprised to find yourself switching back and forth. That versatility makes full 12-minute quarter games just a bit easier to stomach; instead of pausing let your girlfriend watch “What Not to Wear,” you can simply let her change the channel while you focus on the Wii U’s tablet screen. The lone disappointment here is that there’s no way to actually turn off the function in the game that lets you see the energy level of all players by holding up the Gamepad. 2K13 really should have taken a cue from the Wii U version of Batman: Arkham City here, letting you toggle directly from the Gamepad to your main screen.

Visual Concepts also makes brilliant use of the Gamepad’s touchscreen functionality. For years, trading has been a somewhat laborious task in console sports games, requiring plenty of scrolling and tabbing and switching fields. Gamers have grown used to this necessary evil, but the Gamepad changes that, and NBA 2K13 takes advantage of this. You can now go through any menu using a touch interface. It’s a shame that you can’t tweak the font size, though, because while NBA 2K13’s text looks great on the big screen, it’s squint-worthy on the tablet screen.

There’s plenty of shame to go around this game, though, which is terribly disappointing. For all the good things NBA 2K13 does on the Wii U, for some reason, I can’t save a Franchise at all. In order to start a Franchise and get it to work without the entire system freezing up, I need to disconnect my Wii U from the internet, go through the process of choosing a team, etc., then save it as an offline Franchise. Playing it online creates an error.