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If you make him shorter and lighter, he will be extremely fast and have more control over the ball. If you play a point guard, the taller and heavier you make them, the slower and stronger they will be. In the story mode, you decide which of the five positions you want to play (center, point guard, power forward, shooting guard or small forward) and decide their height and weight. The Måareer mode has received significant improvements, mostly in the archetype setups. Shots are evaluated by two factors now - the shot timing and how open or defended you are - and both determine the success of the shot after it leaves your fingertips. Gone are the days of "wide open" shots just because the game thinks the defender isn't touching the shooter. Wide-open shots with no pressure are the most beautiful moments, since you can focus on the player's shooting animation. I can't remember the last time I felt like I could play with almost any character and perfectly time their shots without needing the shot meter. Once I realized how polished that was, I started to ignore the shot meter altogether and focused on the animation. The shot meter is in the top left, and it's timed perfectly with the release of each player's jumpshot. Similar to the dribble moves, it's easier to execute the move based on how it looks and feels. The shooting mechanics are the second biggest improvement in this year's iteration. If they decide to switch, the game is extremely responsive, so you'll rarely pull off beautiful plays from the pick and roll unless you have a ball handler who specializes in it or a big player who specializes in bullying and screening. It's easy for them to slip under or push above the screen. Due to the ease of blowing past defenders, the defense will have the advantage on pick and rolls. I rarely saw the AI hugging the offensive matchup unless they were an established threat on the perimeter.
NBA LIVE 18 VS 2K18 UPDATE
The AI has received a massive update to how the players analyze and react to these situations. Unless you control a player with strong defensive attributes, you'll probably need some teammates to rotate in and help.
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It's much easier to blow past a defender, but on the flipside, that also means it's difficult to defend the ball. Previously, you'd need to anticipate the timing and acceleration of when the dribble move would complete, so you'd need to learn each player's animation, but now, you can tell when it feels right. After passing to the shooting guard, I put the ball on the court for a couple of dribbles before I scored an easy layup in the lane. I dribbled near half-court and flicked the analog stick to adjust quickly. In 2K18, the player has more control over the ball. During a dribble, the ball no longer feels like it follows the player in previous titles, you could be halfway into a move and decide to shoot, which made the ball snap to the intended hand.