Your decision whether to buy NBA 2K14 or not comes down to two very simple factors.

Are you a fan of sports games and do you have a strong interest in basketball?

If you answered no, this probably isn't the game for you and it's unlikely anything will convince you it is.

If you answered yes, this game should be added to your collection, especially if you haven't picked up any of the past few years' instalments in the long-running hoops series.

For B-ball aficionados, this game should have you dribbling with excitement at the prospect of slam-dunking it into your console because it's another feature-rich and authentic simulation of the sport from developer Visual Concepts.

Your Local Guardian: NBA 2K14

With EA Sports' basketball series benched for the past few years, VC and publisher 2K Sports have had the court to themselves but rather than get complacent they have continued to put out high-scoring, as in critically acclaimed, annual releases - and they haven't dropped the ball with this latest version.

As you'd expect with the NBA licence, the game features all the official teams and players of America's pre-eminent basketball league, along with a few European sides thrown in this year too.

As soon as you get started, you notice all the pizzazz and swagger in the presentation which you'd expect from a hoops game, with a soundtrack which has a strong rap and hip-hop flavour (with some Coldplay and Phil Collins too).

Your Local Guardian: NBA 2K14

In line with other top-level sports sims, NBA 2K14 features a wealth of game modes to choose from, both single and multiplayer, online and off.

You can obviously play one-off match-ups, set up seasons or play-offs, or you can go deeper still with the career mode using a player you create and the Association (dynasty) mode in which you become a team owner.

Returning is Crews, apparently the “single-most requested game mode”, allowing you to team up with friends and do battle online against other squads.

New for this year is Path to Greatness which focuses on star player Lebron James. In a reverse of 2K11’s Michael Jordan challenges that followed past achievements, it gives you a chance to shape King James’ future. There’s a choice between sticking with Miami Heat and trying to win more titles or attempting to turn other NBA teams into champions. If you’re not a Lebron fan this mode will hold absolutely no appeal, but if you are an admirer of his it’s an interesting addition.

Blacktop mode is a cool feature, providing a less formal outdoor setting for matches using real players from the game. It’s nothing like as fun or arcade-like as NBA Street Homecourt from a few years ago or NBA Jam, but it’s a nice diversion from the standard format.

Of course the main action takes place inside proper packed-out NBA arenas and is presented in a TV broadcast style complete with swishy graphics, sponsored mid-game segments, cutscenes of cheerleaders and coaches’ team talks, action replays, courtside summarisers and so on.

Match commentary is one of NBA 2K14’s big strengths, with a team of pundits providing seamless analysis that flows incredibly well alongside the fast-paced play. It sounds more live than pre-recorded, and hasn’t once (at least so far) become repetitive or annoying. Other audio, such as crowd noises, is also very good.

Your Local Guardian: NBA 2K14

On the court, the action also moves along in a very smooth and fluid way. Physics are generally very good, with players’ weight and build conveyed realistically and the ball behaving believably. Players have a good range of animations and I would suggest have more personality than their counterparts in other sports sims such as Fifa.

The visuals aren’t perfect, with animations between plays occasionally being a bit unstable and also player models being rather rough and unrefined when viewed close up – either this or there are some very ugly men in the NBA.

Overall though, I’d say the presentation is about as faithful to the real thing as it’s possible to get on current-gen consoles.

The main thrust of the control scheme is the two analogue sticks, with left controlling movement and right acting as a kind of multitool by taking care of ball-handling tasks such as dribbling and shooting. Various turns and flicks of the right stick, sometimes in combination with buttons, perform the different moves and tricks.

It provides much greater control and feels more organic than just pressing and holding down buttons to move the ball around the court.

Your Local Guardian: NBA 2K14

However, it's also a very daunting system to learn with its multitude of moves to memorise - and this brings me on to my main gripe with this game.

NBA 2K14 has a real attitude problem towards new or novice players and it's not afraid to show it. It's really not a welcoming or warm game for the less skilled players.

There is a training camp mode where you can get started but with a massive 66 tutorials to get through it’s not easy to remember everything. Plus, the training takes place on an eerily empty court and from a different camera angle to that used during games, so it’s not very good overall.

The best way to learn NBA 2K14 is by getting on the court and playing actual matches, but this approach isn’t without its problems.

Your Local Guardian: NBA 2K14

Opposition AI is fiendishly tough even on rookie level. Some sport sims ease players in and give them the chance to get a few confidence-boosting wins under their belt but definitely not this one.

If you’re relatively new to basketball or this series of games, you’ll have to contend with trying to master the tactical nuances of the sport and picking up the controls while facing off against stubborn defences and ruthless attacks.

Chances are you’ll have to suffer through some disheartening defeats with stray passes and turnovers aplenty before you achieve your first satisfying victory.

If you're someone who gets easily frustrated or has been known to throw your game controller across the room in a fit of anger before, you might want to steer clear of this game so you don't blow a gasket.

It's a proper hardcore sim, and definitely not for the casual pick-up-and-play crowd.

This is why I said at the start you’ll need a love of sports games and a strong interest in basketball. These are the minimum requirements if you’re going to persevere with this game. “Basketball isn’t easy” are the first words you hear after loading the game, and it turns out to be a very truthful statement.

Despite being so punishing, NBA 2K14 is also a game which has many fine qualities.

It deserves a place among the premier sports titles such as Fifa, MLB The Show and NHL due to its level of detail and depth which forms the foundations for the impressively convincing depiction of the real sport it provides.

8 out of 10

Out now for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC – PS3 version played