NBA Live 09 Hands-On

Because NBA basketball games feature competing titles from both EA Sports and 2K Sports, there is always a great deal of anticipation to see how they evolve from year to year. Although we have yet to see what headway 2K has made on NBA 2K9 (besides getting Kevin Garnett on the cover), we recently had a chance to check out NBA Live 09 at EA's spring press event and, again this week to get some hands-on time with the latest build. Although some of the major additions to the game are still under wraps, we do have the green light to break down how NBA Live 09's presentation, controls, and gameplay feel this year.

From the loading screen alone, it's obvious that EA intends to bring more life to the practice sessions that precede the game. Gone is the solitary half-court shoot around; in its place is a full training facility complete with two full courts, as well as fellow teammates practicing their jump shooting, ball-handling skills, and of course, their dunking. The addition of the NBA Live Academy (as it's known) isn't purely aesthetic though. In addition to giving gamers familiar with the series a chance to brush up their game, the training facility features a series of tutorials geared toward the fundamentals of the game. The tutorials are presented in the form of minigames in which you run actual basketball drills with the rest of your team. Drills include boxing out, low post defense, and outside shooting, among others. One drill that seemed particularly interesting was the fastbreak drill in which you need to score in transition before the defense can recover.

As with all of the drills, subsequent levels in that discipline become progressively more difficult. In the case of the fastbreak drill, for instance, the drills start with 2-on-1's, while higher levels require successful conversions of 3-on-2 and 3-on-3 breaks. While the more than 20 drills do hone skills you may use in a normal game, the focus on fundamentals (especially without the ball) has far greater application to Online Teamplay (OTP), a 5v5 online game mode released via patch for NBA Live 08 and returning for 2009. While OTP has undergone exciting changes, we won't be able to discuss it for a few more weeks (but trust us, it will be worth the wait).

As is routinely the case, every iteration of NBA Live features better visuals than the last, and NBA Live 09 is no different. New animations have been added for layups and dunks. Players now shoot off-balance fingerrolls and their bodies seem to adjust in midair to avoid defenders as you would see in an actual NBA game. In addition, the subsequent motion to the other end of the court has been tied in with the finish at the rim to eliminate the herky-jerky transition following a basket. One example of this was the wide arcing path that Kobe Bryant took following a baseline jam. The motion was exactly what you would expect from his momentum. Collisions near the basket also factor in the weight of the colliding players to determine which animation plays out.

The most important animation tweak this year, however, may actually be a fix to an issue that plagued NBA Live 08. Many of you have probably experienced the frustration of being stuck in an animation in NBA Live 08 where you could do nothing but watch as your player was forced out of bounds. This year's game addresses that issue in two ways. First, the addition of sideline contextual animations, such as leaning up against the defender while tight roping the sideline, should eliminate many of these turnovers. Essentially, there is a soft barrier that prevents animations from taking you out of bounds (though you can still run out of bounds on your own accord). Second, NBA Live 09 gives you the ability to break out of driving animations such as this at any time by disengaging from the defender (left analog away from the defender). Between the two additions, there should be much less cause for ripping out your hair this year.

NBA Live 09's shooting has changed for the better as well. Much like the system used in NBA 2K8, players must now release the shot button as close to the peak of their jump for the most accuracy. The difference is that NBA Live 09 will also offer a visual indicator to help players time their release. As of yet, the visual indicator has not been finalized, so we are unsure how intrusive or helpful it will be once the game is released.

The evolution of last year's "Quick Strike Ball Handling" feature, the "Quick Strike Ankle Breaker" feature places greater impact on the first step and its impact on the defender. By EA's own admission, last year's rendition brought flair to dribbling but was often unnecessary to blow by the defender. While the Quick Strike Ball Handling controls remain in this year's game, holding down the right bumper while initiating the dribble move will cause the ball handler to make a pronounced hesitation move directly prior to his next move. This is significant because it signals to the defender that a move is coming and that he must react in order to shut it down.

As with the low post game that debuted in NBA Live 08, the defender must correctly choose the appropriate counter or risk getting beat. For instance, if the move that follows the hesitation is a drive to the right, the defender must slide to his right to counter the move. Although this may seem to favor the offensive player (especially considering the array of options he has following the hesitation), the offensive player also risks turning over the ball or picking up a charge if the defender reacts properly. Other factors play a part as well. A Shaquille O'Neal may turn the ball over on his own accord while initiating an ankle breaker, whereas quick players, such as Chris Paul, will recover quickly on defense even if guessing the wrong way.

Although much of the focus in the past few years has been on the offensive end, NBA Live 09 does introduce one feature that may help to level the playing field for the defender: Lock Down Defense. Although LDD may sound a lot like the lock-down mechanic introduced last year and is mapped to the same button (right trigger), there are significant differences. First, LDD is not simply a means of staying in front of the ball handler and countering his movements. Instead, initiating an LDD will cause the defender to close the gap on the offensive player, forcing the ball handler to turn his back on the basket. While the offensive player can still slide to his right or left, his motion directly toward the basket is restricted as is his ability to shoot or pass. The move serves as a quick closeout on an open shooter because proximity to a shooter in NBA Live 09 will automatically affect his shot (no need to manually raise the defender's hands or jump). The defensive animations on a shot default to a conservative hand raise but can be overridden by the user if he or she chooses. Another difference from last year's version of the lock down is that the defender will not follow the offensive player automatically. Instead, the defender cannot even move while engaging an LDD and must release the right trigger in order to move.

Despite being a powerful defensive tool, an LDD poses many risks. While an LDD can serve as an effective counter to the ankle breaker (as the offensive player will not be able to initiate the move while facing away from the basket), if the offensive player initiates his move while the defender is closing in, he will blow past the defender. Alternatively, the offensive player can disengage from the defender by stepping back, provided he hasn't picked up his dribble.

Another new feature, pick and roll control, allows you to control two players at once, both the ball handler and the player setting the pick. Although this control is not unique to NBA Live 09, the feature implements a unique control by which you can direct the screener either toward the rim for a pick and roll or away from the basket for a pick and pop. Pressing and holding the appropriate trigger calls for the screen. As the ball handler comes off the screen, a meter fills up. Letting go of the trigger early directs the screener toward the rim while a late release directs the player toward the 3-point arc. This mechanic gives the offensive player a greater amount of control in both directing his offense and playing to the strengths of his personnel on the fly.

One of the most exciting features of last year's game was the introduction of the dynamic playcalling, which featured play art displayed directly on the court. The play art would serve as a guide to progress the play. Although the play was precise, the feature suffered from two issues. First, triggering the play itself often took a few seconds; seconds that the offense has lost to engineer a quality shot. Second, the play was structured to allow only one possible sequence of ball movement. If the precise passes dictated in the play art were not executed, the play would be abandoned leaving the offense with few seconds to find another shot.

NBA Live 09's signature playcalling feature solves both issues. First, playcalling no longer involves displaying complex play art over the court. Instead, the intended recipient of a pass will have a letter (corresponding to the button), which will light up when the player is ready to receive the ball. This removes much of the court clutter from NBA Live 08. Each team can dynamically call eight plays consistent with the offenses used by their real life counterparts. Each play is designated not only with a generic name, but also with the focal player for which the play is targeted. The eight plays available are dynamically chosen based on the personnel on the court. For example, if Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are on the court at the same time, the vast majority of plays will be targeted to getting one of them an open look. If, instead, Lamar Odom is on the court with the Lakers second team, two plays may target Odom while another attempts to get Sasha Vujacic a 3-point look. And, yet another, may attempt to get Luke Walton a backdoor look near the rim.

In addition to being contextually based, the plays offer multiple branching options. In case the defense is playing ball denial to the primary pass target, the offense can hit a secondary target to trigger a variation of the initial play. This serves to keep the defense honest and also allows the offense to adapt on the fly to the defense. The onus of player movement is now entirely up to the player hopefully facilitating a better understanding of why certain movements are necessary rather than a simple dictation to the player. Unfortunately, there is no option to simply have the game call plays for you.

NBA Live 09 also boasts revised turnover mechanics to allow for ball interceptions in midair. One example we saw was of Tracy McGrady picking off a lame pass and immediately progressing up the court for a dunk at the other end. The animation played very smoothly throughout. The players, in general, seem more aware of passing angles and are more willing to come off their man to make a play for the ball.

The franchise mode has been expanded slightly to allow for the evaluation of the current draft class in scrimmages at the team's training facility. You will be able to evaluate how well these players perform in your team's particular offense and defensive schemes, as well as draft, based on the results of what you learn. So far, this is all we have seen of the franchise mode, though EA has mentioned other additions to the online leagues as well, which we will cover once we learn more.

Limited to just eight nations and somewhat generic gameplay last year, the FIBA game mode has seen a good overhaul in NBA Live 09. The list of available teams has been expanded to 24 and the actual FIBA playoff format will now be used in game. The authenticity is further enriched with the implementation of both the actual FIBA courts (trapezoidal key, for instance) and the FIBA basketball rules (slightly different from the NBA). The mode not only features all of the players from the actual FIBA tournament but each team's play also mimics its real life counterparts. In contrast to the flash of the NBA game, FIBA teams tend to move the ball around more, play more zone defense, and their bigs can typically shoot from outside. The mode even features full online stat tracking.

Although we are still many months from the game's release, it is clear that EA focused heavily on improving the gameplay in NBA Live 09 to make it more consistent with play seen in the NBA. While the game still plays a bit too fast (luckily this is adjustable with sliders), there does seem to be a balance between tools available to the offense and defense. Ball movement seems to play a bigger role this year than in years past, while such elements as Lock Down Defense provide the defense with a quick way to close out on jump shots. EA's focus on the fundamentals of basketball suggests a greater emphasis on player lock game modes, both online and offline. We will continue to bring you updates on NBA Live 09 in the coming months as we learn more.