NBA Live 2005 is a decent game, but EA Sports has made better sports games then this.
Game-play: 8/10
The game-play is pretty simple, yet difficult enough for you to fully pay attention at what you're doing. There's all star mode, your own team mode, and so fourth. The game-play is very good and addictive, but is too easy at considerable times and hopelessly difficulty on teams. The Dallas Mavericks are the easiest team to play, since their offense and deffense rock, which doesn't go for other teams. This can be very frustrating, unless you can take this sort of sense. The game-play is still very cool and is a little better then '06. The only other thing messed up is the numerous amount of times injured, and the lack of traveling.
Graphics: 7/10
The graphics rarely improve from '04, in that they are washy and very hard to really look at. The movements are also very awkward, for example, when you're a considerably far away distance from the basket, and when someones trying to shoot, your guy simply jumps backwards, or has incredibly poor movements. However, there are some bright sides to the graphics; the stadiums are neatly beautiful and such, and the courts look right on. The basketball itself, however, looks really fuzzy, and so do the fans watching the game. Another basic problem is sometimes, there are glitches on the loading screens, and mostly freezes. This can be very frustrating, even when trying to save a game.
Sound: 10/10
Great music!! Even without the catchy soundtrack, this still would be perfect. This is a basically huge improvement from NBA Live 2004, which doesn't have that good of music. The audio is basically dead on when it comes to perfect quality everybody wants. The sound is right on and obviously the best part of NBA Live 2005 for the Playstation 2.
Camera and control: 6/10
The camera is a basic problem when it comes to replaying. It doesn't actually give you a good view of a replay, and it gets frustrating when you are passing it up to someone, because the pass is faster then the camera itself. It's okay at some parts, but not very good at first thought. The control is an even bigger problem. When you try to rebound, the lack of AI at that time to get a rebound ruins you. The dunk contest is another screwed up place for the control, in which 360 dunks are impossible to do. It also isn't really fair for a lack of many dunks, which gives you even more frustration for the controls.
Value: 7/10
NBA Live 2005 is a decent game, but EA Sports has made better sports games then this. It's best for renting, but it's great enough to be bought.
Average score: 7.6/10
Sure this might not be the best NBA live game, but it is still very fun, and if you can avoid critique of controls, you'll have a blast! If you plan to get a game that while providing great music and audio while at the same time producing great game-play, then NBA Live 2005 is one of those games you can get.