NBA 2K15 steps onto the court as the reigning champion of basketball sims, but it’s a champion with an asterisk next to its name due to the extended server debacle of last year. Some of those online issues are repeated this year, which cripples some of NBA 2K15’s coolest features. But thanks to some good tweaks and the outstanding MyCareer mode, it’s still a game I can recommend as a strong offline basketball game.

This game is drop-dead gorgeous. Running at a smooth 60 frames per second, the seamless player animations really make it feel almost as authentic as the real thing. Just like in the real NBA, Tim Duncan will hug the ball before each game, Dwayne Wade will do pull ups on the rim, and Kobe will complain when he thinks he got fouled. 2K has paid great attention to detail, and it pays off.

2K15 reuses last year’s excellent TV broadcast-style presentation and heavy use of slow motion, and it looks just as stunning. That wasn’t broken, so it’s good that it wasn’t fixed. However, there’s one sloppy oversight so glaring it’s hard not to laugh at: in the real world, Steve Kerr is now the Head Coach for the Golden State Warriors, and that’s reflected in-game. However, 2K15 re-uses his voice commentary from last year anyway. It’s a bit odd to hear him talking about the game one second and then seeing bizarro Steve Kerr roaming the sideline the next.

In the win column, a new pre-game segment featuring Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal does a surprisingly great job of distracting from the long load times with some entertaining contextualized commentary. Another addition is an in-game, live-action show called NBA 2KTV, which 2K says will be updated weekly to feature player interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, tips from the developer, and even Virtual Currency giveaways. This is front and center on the sleek looking and easy-to-use main menu, though it can get pretty annoying because it restarts every time you return there.

On the court, NBA 2K’s core basketball gameplay is as strong as ever, with only slight adjustments from last year. Running the pick-and-roll or even the newly added triangle offense just feels so right, especially with the changes made to the defensive AI that make it more aggressive in stealing the ball from you. And including a shot meter was a brilliant idea - it gives me simple and immediate feedback, explaining exactly why I just missed an open jumper.

I’m sad to say that online franchise mode is an afterthought in NBA 2K15. It’s missing meaningful options, such as simple free agency. Conversely, the single-player franchise mode, MyGM, received a lot of love. There are almost no microtransactions (good riddance), the conversation system has been improved to give you more than just yes or no answers, and you can now earn XP even when you sim, which let me zip through a rewarding season as a manager without feeling cheated out of progress when I didn’t want to play full games.

The star of NBA 2K15 is MyCareer mode, which has been completely upgraded in nearly every way. The brand-new story has your player go undrafted, rather than being a top pick, and having to earn my way onto the roster was a fresh and welcomed change. The way you upgrade your MyPlayer is more streamlined, too, so there’s much less busywork involved. Rather than micromanaging each individual attribute, skill sets are now grouped together into categories, like Defense and Athleticism.

One of the most impressive things about the new MyCareer mode is that the veteran teammate that takes you under his wing finally found his voice. 2K Sports got a real NBA player from each team to actually speak for their game character, like Steph Curry for the Warriors and Demarcus Cousins for the Kings. They’re obviously not voice actors, but it still makes a huge difference to the overall experience. Loading

2K15 also uses the PlayStation Camera or Xbox One Kinect to digitally map your face onto your MyPlayer, with hilariously ugly results. And, when I finally got a good scan, a server hiccup erased my face. It’s a fun thing to do at parties, but I wouldn’t want these monstrosities in my game.

But again, the 2K servers have completely destroyed several online modes. MyPark, the game mode where you take your MyPlayer onto the blacktop, is broken, despite splitting players between three separate communities. Crippling lag makes defense a guessing game, and that’s only if you can stay connected. When it does work, however, you can join and create crews with your friends, and even venture into the Jordan Rec Center to play full- length games with NBA rules.

MyTeam, the card collecting game, is also crippled. It’s too bad, because it’s full of additional content this year, with numerous single-player challenges that force you to think outside of the box. But the cumbersome UI just confused me, since the overall player ratings were nowhere to be found.