Initial Reactions: NBA Live 14 & NBA 2K14 - SteveM's Blog

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Initial Reactions: NBA Live 14 & NBA 2K14 Stuck

Posted on June 11, 2013 at 11:13 AM.

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It's a big week with E3 going down and, naturally, the first reveals of next gen basketball titles. Let's start with NBA Live 14:

This certainly looks very cinematic, which you can take as either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on if this is actually the engine running on the Xbox One. The first thing that struck me, though, was how these seemed identifiably like NBA Live player models. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they're long and kind of shiny, plus seeming to lack musculature, which is something I've always associated with Live.

Secondly, as with NBA 2K14, which we'll get to, this reel doesn't showcase any passing or basically any interaction with teammates of any kind other than waving away a post-up opportunity. Kind of disappointing, but also somewhat to be expected at this early stage.

I will say the movement looks fluid, although anyone with memories of twirling around the right stick in NBA Live and skating across the floor might be having flashbacks. If this game is going to put a premium on control�with its BounceTek technology�then it's REALLY going to have to deliver.

Which brings us to the underlying thing about NBA Live 14: It's going to fail in a lot of ways, but it has to get released. There's just no conceivable way it can more or less catch up to what NBA 2K14 will have going for it in one fell swoop, but even as someone who never particularly cared for NBA Live, I believe it needs to get back out there and start taking punches. And man, is it going to take some punches. Just look at this NBA 2K14 reel:

Now this has even less gameplay than the NBA Live 14 trailer, but it has teeth! And a receding hairline! But honestly, the animation (which is most of what you can see here) looks great. Now the facial animation might not be flawless, but if they're essentially rendering that first cutscene with the in-game engine, it looks plenty great.

There are a lot of little details�the way his fingers move around the ball and flop on the follow-through, for example�that look extra tight. This is the kind of stuff that I think Live is going to struggle with this year. 2K Sports can afford to sweat the details because they've been working on the core of their game unopposed for so long.

The celebration dance also gets me, not so much that they included it or anything, but that it looks so kinetic, as if there's real weight to James' limbs and body. Most animations like that have looked very canned in the past, but this one looks natural, especially if that kind of feel carries over into the game itself.

The most impressive animation to me might be one in the background, which is Kobe chasing the ball at about 52 seconds in. You can really see his momentum shift and redirect, which is very cool and natural.

But OK: LeBron's gaping maw at the end of the video looks a little weird. There's something a little off about his face, like they almost had to put too many layers of stuff in there to get it to do all the little facial gestures. But honestly, if that's the biggest complaint I have about the final product I'll be happy.

Both these games have a long way to go. Whatever the shortcomings of NBA 2K14, you know 2K Sports is still going to deliver a fundamentally sound game of basketball in the fall. Live is a much bigger question mark, but if it can manage to bring a few new tricks to the table, it might be worth checking out as well.

Comments

# 1 LegendKilla13 @ Jun 11

I was always a live guy until the GOAT was on the cover of 2k11. Then i realised how much better gameplay was in 2k. However i always thought live looked better visually and their crowds were way better. eg they would shout 3 when you hoist one up from beyond the arc etc. The only shot they have of competing is with presentation i reckon. ESPN intergration. Maybe Marv Albert and Reggie Miller commentating since kerr jumped ship. Im interested to see how things go.

# 2 LegendKilla13 @ Jun 11

Oh and add the Dunk contest like how they did in Live 05. That was sick!!

# 3 tril @ Jun 11

only thing I thought that EA did better than 2k was with the arena ambiance. the crowds always sounded more natural too me. they ah that cavernous feel.
Back to topic- 2k's trailer now has me moving up my purchase date of a next gen console. I was going to wait. but nope....
Im also interested to see what Live is bringing to the table. What is bounce tek.
I just look forward to the advancements in sports gaming AI on next gen.

# 4 Yankees_CT @ Jun 11

I agree with JerseySuave, NBA 2K14 and my assumption that MLB The Show is going to be ridiculously great on PS4 just sold me on the system. Pre-order, here I come!

# 5 kc10785 @ Jun 11

I think EA should have made a NCAA basketball game and ley that be the test dummy to build a core for there basketball game. People are wishing for a college game and there is no threat on that level. They are going to get crush Live is to far behind and with 3 years of not putting out a game we shouldn't feel sorry for them. They had time, the glory days for live is long gone.

I already knew that 2k was going to look great but I'm looking to see how these new systems can help them with game play, server issues, and adding more details to game modes.

# 6 bxphenom7 @ Jun 11

I think I'm going to wait for NBA 2k15. I like what I see though. Really waiting for MLB The Show

# 7 cincy14fan @ Jun 12

Glad there is at least one basketball game coming out this year. Just kidding I looked at the Live video to see if it would excite me, and it did only by showing my favorite team the Cav's. After the video the only question I had was, "So when does NBA 2k14 drop?"