Post by Cay on Oct 2, 2007 17:10:55 GMT 8
With the newest season of the NBA nearing with a promising batch of rookies no less, EA also releases the 14th and latest installment of their basketball sim NBA Live.
Graphics:
As I predicted, there is really no big difference graphically between 08 and 07. The only difference here is that the graphics are a little more crisp and the arenas have improved crowd animations. In addition, the game has a more 'brighter' presentation compared to last year's game. Last year's game has little lighting in my opinion.
Sound:
Like the previous Lives, the game features several tracks. For Black Eyed Peas fans, they are absent this time on the list. Well-known artists such as The Hives as well as Joss Stone are featured this time.
EA has also decided to add more commentary this time. This time, when a player gets on foul trouble, they not only mention that a player should sit on the bench, rather they also mention other things. For example, when Gilbert Arenas got into foul trouble, they mentioned 'Arenas is the main offensive weapon of the team'.
Gameplay:
Here is where the game differs from the previous outing. Gone are the Freestyle Superstar as well as the X-Factor features. Instead, they introduce a new feature this year: Hotspots. I'm not really sure how hotspots work though since the game does not have a tutorial (shame on you EA) and I don't have a manual ;D . My guess is that these are areas on the floor where a player shoots well (the red shaded areas) and or defends well (the blue shaded areas).
The AI is still much unchanged in terms of defense, it still easy as hell to score against AI controlled opponents. Offensively, the AI is more convincing this time, gone are the situations where a player like Devin Harris scores 56 points while Dirk Nowitzki scores 8 and only gets 7 attempts. The AI now uses the go-to-guys of their team as their offensive weapons.
Controls:
The controls also change here, since Freestyle Superstar is now a thing of the past, the L1 button is now used for backing down. They also changed the function of the triangle button. Instead of pressing it to perform a dunk, it is now used for a pro-hop. Pro-hops are more like the ones featured in Live 2004 than in 2005. In 2005, pro-hops are not really effective and just lead to turnovers while in 2004, obe can just perform a pro-hop and go for a dunk or a lay-up with ease. This time, they balance the use of it well. Performing dives with the press of the square button also makes a comeback this time. These are effective on those loose balls.
Rosters:
Good news and bad news.
Good news first. The game now supports International Basketball. They feature the FIBA international teams such as Spain, Argentina, and of course USA. They also have updated rosters this time, so we don't have to resort to trading Boston's whole bench for Kevin Garnett. ;D
Bad news. You want to use Acie Law? You can't. Taurean Green? No can do. How about Joakim Noah? He's not at Chicago's line-up. Surprisingly, some big-name rookies are missing here. And this is a bad thing, especially to NBA fans and purists. Oden, Durant and Horford are here of course.
Well that's it. NBA Live gameplay-wise is a baby step forward from last year's game. Surprisingly, given the momentum of the series, which was in a negative direction. But the things I expected from this game, the roster updates, are absent. Oh well, we can just use the create-a-player option for the missing players.
Graphics:
As I predicted, there is really no big difference graphically between 08 and 07. The only difference here is that the graphics are a little more crisp and the arenas have improved crowd animations. In addition, the game has a more 'brighter' presentation compared to last year's game. Last year's game has little lighting in my opinion.
Sound:
Like the previous Lives, the game features several tracks. For Black Eyed Peas fans, they are absent this time on the list. Well-known artists such as The Hives as well as Joss Stone are featured this time.
EA has also decided to add more commentary this time. This time, when a player gets on foul trouble, they not only mention that a player should sit on the bench, rather they also mention other things. For example, when Gilbert Arenas got into foul trouble, they mentioned 'Arenas is the main offensive weapon of the team'.
Gameplay:
Here is where the game differs from the previous outing. Gone are the Freestyle Superstar as well as the X-Factor features. Instead, they introduce a new feature this year: Hotspots. I'm not really sure how hotspots work though since the game does not have a tutorial (shame on you EA) and I don't have a manual ;D . My guess is that these are areas on the floor where a player shoots well (the red shaded areas) and or defends well (the blue shaded areas).
The AI is still much unchanged in terms of defense, it still easy as hell to score against AI controlled opponents. Offensively, the AI is more convincing this time, gone are the situations where a player like Devin Harris scores 56 points while Dirk Nowitzki scores 8 and only gets 7 attempts. The AI now uses the go-to-guys of their team as their offensive weapons.
Controls:
The controls also change here, since Freestyle Superstar is now a thing of the past, the L1 button is now used for backing down. They also changed the function of the triangle button. Instead of pressing it to perform a dunk, it is now used for a pro-hop. Pro-hops are more like the ones featured in Live 2004 than in 2005. In 2005, pro-hops are not really effective and just lead to turnovers while in 2004, obe can just perform a pro-hop and go for a dunk or a lay-up with ease. This time, they balance the use of it well. Performing dives with the press of the square button also makes a comeback this time. These are effective on those loose balls.
Rosters:
Good news and bad news.
Good news first. The game now supports International Basketball. They feature the FIBA international teams such as Spain, Argentina, and of course USA. They also have updated rosters this time, so we don't have to resort to trading Boston's whole bench for Kevin Garnett. ;D
Bad news. You want to use Acie Law? You can't. Taurean Green? No can do. How about Joakim Noah? He's not at Chicago's line-up. Surprisingly, some big-name rookies are missing here. And this is a bad thing, especially to NBA fans and purists. Oden, Durant and Horford are here of course.
Well that's it. NBA Live gameplay-wise is a baby step forward from last year's game. Surprisingly, given the momentum of the series, which was in a negative direction. But the things I expected from this game, the roster updates, are absent. Oh well, we can just use the create-a-player option for the missing players.
The Flash is supposed to be at the middle in that pic, in front of Wonder Woman.