NBA Live 07 First Look
We drive to the hoop in our first look at the Xbox and PS2 versions of NBA Live 07.
It's interesting to hear the producers of EA Sports NBA Live series refer to last year's game as a "dunk-fest." Of course, they aren't completely dismissing NBA Live 06. While the freestyle superstar controls introduced in last year's game were an appealing control scheme designed to show what the league's elite are capable of, the producers realized the limitations of the feature. Or more specifically, they realized the lack of limitations players ran into when using freestyle superstar controls. For NBA Live 07, one of the first things the development team at EA Canada addressed was the freestyle controls. We got a chance to see the current-gen version of game for the first time during a recent trip to EA's offices in Vancouver to see how the company is refining the game's approach for next season.
While driving to the lane with Kobe or Lebron was more or less a guaranteed basket in NBA Live 06, one of the first things the development team wanted to add was traffic--particularly traffic in front of the basket to clog up the shooting lanes. After all, opposing teams don't make a habit of opening up the lanes for Kobe and King James to dunk at will, and neither will the virtual teams in NBA Live 07 anymore. Adding more collisions under the basket essentially means the computer-controlled opponents will be playing tougher defense than in previous entries in the series, but it also has some interesting consequences for the animation. Consider your standard dunk animation--this year, if you're flying toward the rim and an opposing player gets in your way, it won't necessarily end your chance for scoring. Instead, the development team has been working on ways to gracefully transform that dunk into a layup animation.
Beyond the traditional roles included in the game--including scorer, playmaker, high-flyer, and so on--NBA Live 07 is also introducing the concept of the X-Factor player. Each game will have an X-Factor player--a guy who isn't a full-time superstar but is able to rise to the occasion at the right moment. Think of Robert Horry in basically every crucial playoff game he's ever played in, and you'll have a good idea of what an X-Factor player can bring to your game. Bringing that player into the game at the right time and getting him on a hot streak will allow him to temporarily raise his game to superstar levels, and then you can ride his skills all the way to victory. The boost won't last forever, however, so you'll want to sub him in wisely and make sure he keeps his hot hand as long as possible.
Defensive animations have been improved this time around as well. The team is working on what they refer to as "scenarios" between players on the court, which are all the minute physical dramas that happen hundreds of times during a typical NBA game. Instead of a defending player stepping in front of a driving offensive player and impeding his momentum, that player will now attempt to lock up the other player and stick with him. It's a little reminiscent of the shutdown defense featured in last year's March Madness game, except that it happens automatically--a defender runs in front of the player with the ball and makes it tough for him to get around and continue his progress to the basket.
When it comes to the freestyle superstar controls themselves, a tiered system has been introduced to separate the standard superstar controls from the more-advanced controls. Specifically, the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions of the game will feature three levels of superstar control: regular, star, and superstar; while next generation versions of NBA Live 07 will add one more level of control above that to create some truly spectacular moves. By mixing the right analog stick with the trigger button, you'll have a wealth of NBA-caliber jukes, shots, and blocks at your fingertips. Another important tweak to the system is that dunks and layups are now assigned to different buttons on the controller: X for layup and Y for dunks on the Xbox controller.
How players contribute in a game depends largely on their role, and in NBA Live 07 the idea of playing roles has been tweaked for the superstar players in the game. Specifically, NBA Live 07 will allow the game's elite to play more than one role on the court. Everyone knows Lebron James is more than a great scorer. He's also able to pull off amazing playmaking passes on a regular basis and has been known to dunk the ball once or twice. NBA Live 07 will take this into account as well, and the best player in the game will be allowed to play all the roles he is suited for in real life on the virtual court. By pressing the trigger button when in control of a player, you can cycle through his multiple player roles. You can take Lebron up for a big rebound, for example, and then switch to his playmaker icon, make a great pass down the court, then get the ball back to James once he's in the lane, switch to high-flyer and rock the arena with a rim-rocking dunk. It will take some quick fingers to make the most of the on-the-fly role-switching, but we suspect it will soon become an integral part of most folks' game.
NBA Live 07 Quick Links
Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices
Games you may like…
-
NBA 2K7
(XBOX) -
NBA 2K6
(XBOX) -
NBA Live 2005
(XBOX) -
NBA Live 06
(XBOX) -
NBA Live 2004
(XBOX)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games
38 Comments