 We're gonna have an honest conversation about NBA 2k18 for switch, and again, I apologize. I'm still sick I'm still recovering and still the sore throat So bear with me So I was gonna review NBA 2k18 for switch. It was my number one goal to do today and I put a lot of work into it actually I recorded a ton of gameplayer. You're seeing some of it right now And I realized that I don't feel it's appropriate to review this game because I spent Over half of my written review just talking about getting the game working And then just about differences between it and the other consoles and then we realized that I don't think it's appropriate to review this game on switch Because there isn't a prior version of the game released on the platform or even released on the Wii U Unless you want to date back to 2k13 To really review it as this is an annualized franchise. It makes more sense to Review it based on the predecessor. So again, if there's an NBA 2k19 on switch next year That game to me makes more sense to review than this one. However, I did still want to talk about it because some new details came out today and obviously I did some my own experimenting and It's It's hard to recommend NBA 2k18 unless you're like me and you love sports and you love sports simulation games You love the NBA and you want to take it on the go and I say that because the switch is quickly becoming not an ideal platform now my experience installing the game which I bought the digital version at midnight is Interesting you can technically download and install it on the internal storage However, you cannot you know load the game up because you need 5.1 gigabytes allotted for save files Okay, fine. So I put an SD card in hoping that or micro SD card hoping that that I could put my save file in there Nope, you have to install to the SD card and put your save file on the system. It's a really dumb setup I don't know if that's the fault of Nintendo or the fault of 2k Somewhere along the lines People should be able to choose pick and choose where they want their save files and where they want the game because I would love the game on The internal storage to reduce load times versus having it on an SD card that can't keep up Well, that's besides the point What's interesting is that each save file takes 5.1 gigabytes and that's each save file So every time you start a new profile every time you start a new You know my career a new season 5.1 5.1 5.1 that can add up in a hurry You have five save files as 25 gigs. There goes all of your internal storage just for save files. So I Don't know if that's the way it is on other platforms. I don't remember it being that way on my Xbox one last year, but Kind of interesting. I'm hoping that that gets patched. I don't think they need 5.1 gigabytes per save file Maybe 5.1 allotted total for as many saves as people want 5.1's a lot for the data that it has to save I don't think that that's really necessary. I'm hoping that that gets fixed, but There were things about this game that I applauded in the past I talked about how NBA 2k 18 is the ideal Way that third-party ports should happen on switch and I made a big video about it It did pretty well And it seemed that a lot of people were interested in how 2k 18 handled their switch port and let me say this right now Barring, you know visual aesthetic choices or Personal preferences in different art styles NBA 2k 18 on switch is quite literally the most visually impressive game in the switches library It is beyond a doubt Fantastic. Yes. It's lacking in some anti-aliasing. Yes. It doesn't run at native 1080p Yes There is some Downgrades in the shadows that are very noticeable at times especially in the my career mode, but That aside it is stunning Here I'm showing some some gameplay back and forth of the Xbox one version and the PlayStation 4 version and the switch version in the beginning of my career and You'll notice that the switch version visually is Mmm, like it's right there when they said they were pushing the switch to its absolute maximum I can kind of believe it my switch when I was playing this game The fan was blasting at full blast the entire time I was in any sort of gameplay or cutscene situation Not so much on the menus. Of course, of course menus don't take up that much so it yeah, it pushes the switch hardcore and The fact that outside of anti-aliasing some shadow work that it's almost I you know an obviously resolution It's almost identical to the Xbox one of PlayStation 4 visually is just an impressive feat And that's a lot of what I was basing my praise for 2k on is that you know what? Yeah, they sacrificed in frame rates, but they went for the visual aspect that's going to appeal to to a broader audience and I Was all up on that train and now I've played it and I admit it's playable. It's fine. I've gotten a use to it But the dip in FPS from 60 to 30 is quite noticeable and while I don't have a way to measure frame rates right now on switch I swear that there are a few times. I've noticed in gameplay where the frame rates actually dip We'll have to wait for digital foundries full analysis of the switch version to see But I don't know that it actually holds a constant 30 FPS So that's part of the problem is that I don't think it holds a constant 30 in gameplay Another part of the problem is like as I was recording the Xbox one footage And then I switched over to switch It was quickly apparent how jarring the drop in FPS was and I'm usually not someone on consoles anyways That is big and all it has to be locked 60 FPS has to be you know unlock 30 FPS or whatever, but It was very jarring to me and I played a lot of NBA 2k 17 on Xbox one So I was used to 60 FPS with the with the NBA 2k franchise so it was pretty jarring and I realized that I'm trying to look at this switch version in a bubble because it was obviously gonna have some sacrifices Personally and I said this in my video when I was praising 2k. I would have preferred a lower visual fidelity but Higher frame rates and that's not what they did and I still think it was probably the right choice because it is playable Unless it you know, I'm not imagining this and the frame rate drops aren't real But it's playable playing it portably is where it really shines because obviously I can't help when it's docked to compare it directly To other home consoles, but when you're portable, there's no experience like this for NBA The NBA 2k 18 app on the phone is an embarrassment compared to what you get on switch here And the fact that's fully feature parody online play works fine You're probably watching a bit of a game. I played online I sucked and I know I sucked and that's just because I need to play around more with the controls there are some slight differences control wise between the Xbox one and the And the switch so I got to get used to my audible is my play calling I couldn't even get a screen called at the top of the key, which you know Really baffled me. Anyways, the controls are all there. I just have to play some tutorials and get used to it, but It's it's one of those things that I feel like There almost might be too many sacrifices for me to stand by my stance that this is out there party board should happen because You had that the download issue and the digital issue between the micro SD's and everything and then you have to consider Now we heard the physical version Is only like six point two gigabytes on the cartridge Otherwise you download sixteen point two gigabytes When you buy physical that means that 2k not only didn't opt to go with a 32 gigabyte cartridge Which could have held the entire game and made it so you only needed say file room. They Didn't even go for the standard 16 gigabyte size they literally went for the eight gigabyte size they went for the smallest cartridge size possible to save as much money as they possibly can and Part of me wants to get mad at 2k for that decision because Really couldn't go with the standard size and just take a little less per unit sold and then there's Nintendo side of things where because of the cartridges Nintendo can't eat the cost and But publishers not have to play a premium to have those cartridges it's fine balancing behind the scenes and I don't know who to blame. I don't know if it's 2k is fault or Nintendo's fault Obviously we have plenty of third-party games using the 16 gig cards. We have Dragon Quest out in Japan using the 32 gig So the options are there and obviously I'm upset with 2k for choosing an option that led to this entire issue I mean having to download 16 gigs and you didn't buy it virtually to me is ridiculous I thought it was only gonna be like 10 gigs. Maybe they could put 16 of it on the cartridge or whatever But no, then that's not what happened. So it's a bit of a frustrating situation and 2k 18 itself It makes me question my stance on whether it is better than the FIFA port now I'm gonna have to play FIFA for myself, but I Think I still think the 2k 18 is a Stunning game the fact that they got the full console version running on switch as is is impressive It's visually stunning. I I literally and blow my mind even when I'm watching the between quarter things Where I have bango out there shooting t-shirts up into the crowd walking through the BMO Harris Bradley Center and It's great. I think it looks fantastic and stunning. There's a little pop-in with some of the cheerleaders hair I noticed at times that was a little jarring, but whatever a little bit of pop-in in the in-between scenes that don't involve gameplay is fine but it's It's just a an interesting experience and if any of you guys own NBA 2k 18 out there plan to get it I'd love to know what you think about how 2k approaches because I still think overall. I think 2k made all the right decisions Again, my personal preference now is definitely they should have went 60 FPS, but again They made a game that's visually on par I didn't even think that was possible even at 30 FPS and they did it So You guys let me know what you think I'm still frustrated with really frustrated with the install of the digital version. I'm really frustrated with how they're handling the physical version I was Really happy about getting a day-in-date game From 2k that was on par with the rest, but man, they made it pretty difficult as a switch owner Yeah, that's all I got to say anyways folks I'm just having an honest conversation here about my experience of NBA 2k 18. I'm still gonna play the hell out of it I'm probably gonna end up singing hundreds of hours in because I love sports simulation games. I love being a GM I love managing my Milwaukee bucks and trying to take them to the title every single year with Yanis out of catumbo just leading the way but you guys let me know your feelings on this whole situation and Thanks for joining. Hopefully my voice was a little better today than yesterday and Like this video if you like it dislike give you dislike it Subscribe for more videos like this and I'll just see you in the next one