This Game is Good
The big new addition this year is the All Star weekend; this is one of the most enjoyable new additions to a sport series in many years. First up you have the dunk contest, this is a feature that has been tried in other hoop games in the past but has failed badly. This time however it is a great feature, while it is initially awkward with a bit of practice you will start to lose quite a bit of your time throwing down some awesome dunks. The three point shootout has finally made a comeback; this too is great fun especially against a mate and can be quite an exciting event. Rounding out the weekend are the usual Rookie challenges and the all star game itself. Luckily the core of the series has also seen quite a bit of improvement. Unlike previous years taking the ball in the paint and posting up is actually fun and effective. Opposition players now don’t automatically double team you and you have a few more moves at your disposal. Another plus is the fact that players don’t collide and come to a standstill as in previous years, which allows for a much better flowing game. You can also finally hit some mid range jumpers, which along with the post game now means games are not simply three point and dunk contests. While there have been a number of positives this year, there are still some nagging problems. Once again on defense it is too easy to block shots and create steals. This is the games most unrealistic feature as it can make the game way too easy for Live veterans.
With the new competition from ESPN I thought that the graphics engine would have received a boost. Unfortunately the improvements are minimal, don’t get me wrong the game does look pretty good, and it is a bit clearer than previous years but for next year the Live series could do with a bit of a shot to the graphics. The replays are again of a pretty high caliber and the players in the dunk contest look pretty good as well.
Once again Live has really good audio. The play by play is handled nicely by Marv Albert and Mike Fratello and is pretty much on par with a real hoops broadcast. Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith lay down the vocals for the Dunk contest and are pretty cool, though they do repeat themselves quite often. The music is again dominated by hip hop which EA seems to have fallen in love with.
As with all previous live games, the action really shines in multiplayer be it a simple two player game or by getting the Multi tap out. With the Dunk contest and the Three point shootout on hand as well many hours will be spent on this one, especially if you get a couple of hoops fans together. Great fun indeed.
This is easily the best NBA Live game for the current generation of consoles. The game now flows much better than previous years. The offensive game has received a welcome boost and it controls very well. The biggest niggle I have with this game is that even on the highest difficulty it is a touch too easy, that may be because I have played the series to death since 1995 but it could do with a bit of a touch up. Once again the Dynasty mode offers up everything you would expect and if you are into that sort of thing you will have a lot of fun. Overall this is probably my favorite sport game of the year, it is a good game for newbie’s as it is an easy game to pick up and the new all star weekend makes it a good purchase for series veterans as well. Well done EA you have shown that it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.