At the stroke of midnight on September 9th, 2016, NBA 2K17's long-awaited "The Prelude," an appetizer for the game's new and improved MyCareer mode, finally hit the open market for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.

The hype surrounding this game mode since the release of the MyCareer trailer and developer's blog has been at an all-time high, and it is fair to say The Prelude gave us the sample we needed to confirm our excitement. 

Sony may have delayed the release of the game, and my campus' incredibly slow WiFi extended the download time, but after about four hours of impatiently waiting, I finally had the opportunity to hop on the sticks and draw my opinion.

In short, Visual Concepts and 2K delivered.

There are many areas I want to touch on, from the storyline to the gameplay and everything in between. Without further ado, let's jump into my first impressions of NBA 2K17's The Prelude.

Before heading into the MyCareer mode or the player customization, there was an option to select 2KU, 2K17's tutorial, which I'll quickly skim.  Here, one can play a ten-minute scoreless game (basketball time, not real time) with fictional players to get a feel for the new controls, which I highly recommend completing before playing the MyCareer mode.

The tutorial screens that popped in the middle of gameplay will be annoying for long-time gamers who already know how to play the game, but because there are new controls, they will be worth a read.

With no practice mode in The Prelude, playing a game at 2KU was a good way to warm up for MyCareer and become accustomed to the flow of 2K17.

2KU was a solid way to get the feel of 2K17, but no one in their right mind downloaded The Prelude for a tutorial. 

MyCareer is the star of this downloadable game, and while playing through it may only last an hour and a half at most, there's a ton of content to which gamers should be excited.

I'm going to skip the player customization menu because I have already touched on it in my previous two articles about MyCareer. I will say that based on my hands-on experience, making a decision was slightly challenging, but players should not spend too much time thinking about archetypes.  Mike Lowe stated in a Q&A that players can exceed the attribute cap with the "Doin' Work" meter, and that is what I plan to do once the full version of the game comes out next Friday.

As for my MyPlayer's build, I went with a 6'3" 200 pound Point Guard with an 80" vertical. I chose the Shot Creator archetype because I've feasted off losing my defender off a screen, creating space, then knocking down a jump shot off the dribble.

The only attribute group a Shot Creator can max out is Shooting off Dribble, with the Agility being a close second. I may regret choosing this archetype over a Playmaker, which has better overall ratings, but I didn't fret too much about my decision.

Once the customization process was complete, the screen transitioned to the introduction of MyCareer, starring Kobe Bryant and Michael B. Jordan, just as expected.

Jamie XX's "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" and a piano sample played in the background while Bryant and Jordan discussed the Mamba's illustrious career, both the good times and the bad. Kobe then introduced the game mode, and the video begins to play a Jay-Z classic, "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)." The introduction was beautiful, yet simple, and the music selection was perfect for the occasion.

Considering G-Eazy's "Me, Myself, & I" and Drake's "Pop Style," were the only two songs available in the main menu, which got old very quickly, Jamie XX and Jay-Z were a warm welcome. 

The introduction was only two minutes long, which already puts 2K17 lightyears ahead of Spike Lee's uncomfortably long cutscenes in 2K16.

Speaking on the matter, none of the cutscenes were too long, running between one to four minutes. It wasn't possible to skip them, this inability to skip shouldn't be a problem because the cutscenes will most likely be short. 

Aside from length, the cutscenes, both in performance and substance, were much better than that of 2K16. I won't go into each cutscene, but rather look at them as a whole.

The cutscenes and the characters were considerably more realistic, nowhere close to the catastrophe that was the Spike Lee Joint, and because of that, I felt more of an emotional investment.

While the majority of them weren't flashy or braggadocious, they were entertaining in different ways. In one cutscene, we see Pres's future girlfriend shyly talking to him in his dorm room about a biology project. A few cutscenes later, they're cuddling on the hood of a car, talking about their future as Pres prepares for the draft.  It was a cute sequence that felt strange in a basketball game, but at the same time, it was fresh and unexpected. This exchange between the two was just one of the many that had me wanting to watch again and again.

I was surprised to realize that performance does indicate the cutscenes. After I had played through the six games regularly, I let the game run its course while I ran errands, meaning my MyPlayer stood around doing nothing during all the games. This poor performance resulted in different cutscenes. For example, after Pres had a bad game, Jason Richmond began his show by saying, "We may need to impeach the President."

Pres's supporting cast is down-to-earth, acts realistically, and make the cutscenes far more enjoyable. For example, Pres's best friend in college, a senior Shooting Guard named Alabaster, is a far better acquaintance than Victor Van Lier. He was real and genuine, and his character made for amusing cutscenes.  Although probably not possible, I would love to see him the team that drafts my MyPlayer to sign him in addition to Justice Young and Denver Levins. 

The camera work was fabulous as well and moved in a fashion similar to video games such as Grand Theft Auto V.  It zoomed in on a character talking in one frame, then cut out to show all the characters in another. 

Thanks to the writing of Aaron Covington, the days of annoying and somehow forgettable characters such as Cee Cee, Dom Pagnotti, and Yvette are gone. 

There was only one knock I had on these cutscenes, and that was the nickname President of Basketball. 2K needs to do a better job on these names, and that's an understatement, but maybe it's a small price to pay for a quality game. 

The caveat of this mode, of course, is the gameplay, and once again, 2K hit the nail on the head.  

It was a disappointment that we once again have to start the game as a 55 OVR player, especially when announcers and sports journalists touted Pres as the number one high school prospect in the country, yet he was one of the slowest players on the court and cannot make layups.

I noticed during free throws that my MyPlayer already had a 90 free throw rating, which was a solid addition because missing free throws, especially as a point guard, are an infuriating part of the game.

There were a plethora of new animations, and it was much harder to exploit the game. In my first game, I used the spin move a couple of times, and it didn't leave defenders in the dust as I am accustomed. To get by defenders, I had to mix up my moves, whether it be the pick and roll or to get open by setting screens. Personally, it was great to know I could still knock down mid-range jump shots off screens like in past iterations.

One aspect I especially took note of were the double teams. Once the double team swarms Pres, it was nearly impossible to dribble around them, yet there is an upside in that the player who double teams leave a shooter wide open for a jump shot.

2K also did an excellent job of capturing the collegiate atmosphere. The student body collectively reacted based on what occurs in the game. They cheered when someone on their team hit a big shot and groaned when someone on the opposite team does the same. I wish 2K17 gave us the option to play more than one year of college to not only improve the overall rating but so one can enjoy the college atmosphere just a little bit longer. Abandoning the one-and-done may mess up the NBA rosters once we hit the league, but having the freedom of choice would be nice if the game could pull it off.

Overall, I enjoyed The Prelude, and I'm excited for what 2K has for us once the entire game comes out next Friday. If this snippet is any indication of what is to come for 2K17, then, just like I said before, this may be the best game since 2K11.