Has it been a fast 10 years that the NBA Live franchise has been around. The roots of the franchise began back in ’89 with Lakers vs, Celtics, to NBA Showdown in ’94, and finally NBA Live ’95 in 1995.
I can say that we have come a long way since Lakers vs. Celtics, but NBA Live still maintains much of the core gameplay found from these earlier titles. This is one reason as to why EA has been able to have a solid foundation for it’s gameplay engine than any other franchise. Granted that some years may have been not the greatest for EA but there were others that made this franchise top notch. There has been issues with the engine that can’t be fixed till EA moves to the next generation battle November 22, Live06 is the best in the series.
I have played a few games on the PS2 version, and the rest on the XBOX. All I can say is if you have both systems, you would be not doing this game justice if you didn’t pick it up on the XBOX. Yes, it is the same exact game, but the controller (gameplay), graphics, and loading is what make a world of difference. There are problems with LIVE06 which I’m just dumbfounded that EA hasn’t fixed by now.
Has EA created the overall package? Does Live overtake NBA2K6 this year for Basketball Game of the Year and is it a better game than NBA Live 2005? In some departments EA has won some of the battle but in others it is still lagging behind. Let’s get to the review on Live to find out if EA has won the war this year.
Presentation/Graphics:
Finally EA has decided to take advantage of the XBOX hardware by allowing 720p support. All of their games have been running at 480p, but this year it was MVP Baseball 2005 and NBA LIVE06 that are running at 720p. I didn’t notice true widescreen support. Does it make a world of difference that this is running at 720p as the game is absolutely gorgeous compared to the PS2 version. The players actually look way much better than they do on the PS2 version, which they look like little kids with big heads on skates.
There is a small problem as the frame rate looks like it does take a small dip when you are shooting free throws and once in a great while during rebounding. There is little to no slowdown during the gameplay. There have been some reports where some people that have had the 720p turned on saw different types of hiccups that I have yet to encounter. The courts have a nice reflection on them from some the signs and banners in the arena. I almost feel like I am looking at the graphical style of Inside Drive series to a certain extent.
You have players of all shapes and sizes which EA did a really good job on recreating. As I mentioned earlier, the players do have a bit larger heads but I think EA did this so you could recognize the different players since they placed a lot of time in the faces to recreate the real deal. This is a continuation from last year as the player models appeared to be heading towards this direction. The faces are a big improvement from last years. I still feel like the models from LIVE04 were some of the best the series has seen. Even though 2K6 is beautiful in every aspect, LIVE06 does receive credit for attention to detail. It is a shame that Microsoft gave up on the XBOX way too soon for next generation as I feel like they could have squeezed one more year out of it’s life, but system life cycles these days are anywhere from 3-6 years.
The crowd looks like it has been touched upon a little, but they are the same cardboard cutouts. Since this is running at 720p, I’m not too sure how the game would have worked with full polygons in the stands. I bet it could be done, I hope next month that we finally do get some real lifelike looking fans.
I like to consider the sound of the game as part of the presentation instead of a different category. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr are really horrendous in the booth and only get severely repetitive as the game goes on. I heard the same line in a matter of 5 minutes. When I thought that the commentary was good last year, they hit a bump in the road. Hey guys at EA, take a look at the competition Kenny Harlan and Kenny Smith really do a great job. Even though Smith is somewhat absent in 2K6, he is still a joy to listen to than Kerr and Albert. The crowd noise, chants, and even comments made from the crowd has finally been tweaked to where it sounds like an actual basketball game.
What happened to the cut scenes and replays? It appears this year that you are only able to see a replay if your “Freestyle Superstar” uses one of the “FS” moves or if you go into the menu to view a replay the old fashioned way. I’m not too sure as to why EA did this, but it adds and takes away from the game. It’s nice in a sense as the game is not marred by consistent auto replays, but it would have been nice to see them so often during the quarter. Even to just give you the option to watch replays like the way “FS” is setup would have been nice. I think that EA went this route to show the importance of “FS”.
Stat Overlays is another issue that kills the presentation. I wish that EA had more of these throughout the game, but they almost feel non existent at times. Hopefully LIVE360 will have this problem worked out.
Gameplay:
My biggest gripe with gameplay this year is that there were a few things from the last few years that were never fixed.
1) Ice Skating: The players still skate across the court as if this is the NBA on ice. I still feel like the NHL engine mythos to be true at times. Granted, this is toned down this year, the skating is still there. If EA was able to fix all this for March Madness 2006 I have seen the many videos of LIVE06 360 and the skating appears to be gone.
2) Fast Breaks: This was a huge problem last year, and to a certain degree is a similar problem out of the box. If you adjust the global sliders to slowdown the game, than this problem is not as existent anymore. I have this issue that when a customer purchases the game, they might not know what sliders are and how to fix this.
3) Rebounding: Here is another problem that could be fixed with sliders. There is not enough rebounds out of the box on defense but heavy on offense which really has aggravated many amongst the LIVE community. Once you play around with the sliders, this problem can be worked out a little bit.
4) Post: The post game appears to have received a bit of work, but not as much as I expected. I’m still waiting for EA to implement a similar post up game like NBA 2K6. I thought the post up game was grand in 2K6, so I’m wondering what happened here to EA. This year, 2K6 owns the post up game more than EA could ever imagine. After they fixed all the on court issues from last year (minus a few things), I wish we would get a much more intuitive post up game. The animations are nice especially when you are backing down on your opponent, but I wish there was more added to having a better flow with the post up game with “Freestyle”. Maybe one of these years we will get “Freestyle Post Up”.
Then EA takes “Freestyle” one step further with the inclusion of ““Freestyle Superstar” this year. What is this? In 2006, each team has anywhere from 2-3 players that have the “FS” as part of their arsenal. There are 6 “Freestyle Superstar” moves on offense and defense. This was to bring balance to the entire “FS” system, but it is something that doesn’t. This can be abused as it is easy to score like a madman with “FS” at the lower levels, but I think with “sliders” it helps tone this down a bit. If you want to play a realistic game, you won’t want to abuse them yourself since some may want a “sim” experience while others may want an “arcade” experience. Out of all of the “Freestyle Superstar” types is that High-Flyers as well as Power players can almost never be stopped unless you set double teams or cause fouls out of the box, but if you get proper sliders in place like Play.
Playmaker
Passing technicians like Steve Nash are able to wrap the ball around their heads or behind their backs for showy passes.
Power
Power players like of Shaq and Amare Stoudamire, will use their immense power and size (and perhaps keen agility and dexterity) to force their way into scoring and rebounding position.
Shooter
Sharpshooters like Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic, will use ball fakes and quick releases to ensure that their shots will not be blocked by the best of defenders.
High-Flyers
High Flyers like Dwyane Wade and Vince Carter are used to jumping straight into the toughest of post situations and making the D look like they are helpless.
Scorer (Inside and Outside)
Scorers use Freestyle Superstar Control to flip the ball up and around away from the defender to ensure the ball gets through the hoop with guys like Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant.
Stopper (Inside and Outside)
Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace and Bruce Bowen fall into this category. Freestyle Superstar Control using a Inside Stopper is basically a way of saying you aren’t going to score on me tonight. Outside Stoppers will trap defenders at the top of the key.
Dynasty Mode:
Another feature that hasn’t been touched upon which is a staple of all sports games, the Dynasty Mode (franchise). This year Dynasty Mode is the same as last year with a few additions here and there. The PDA is an excellent tool for your franchise. All information from the NBA appears on the PDA as messages. This helps you from having to wander through the menus for important data. You can view things like NBA News, Medical, Scouting Information, and etc.
Free Agency
Free Agency is handled much nicer in Live since when you make an offer it takes the free agent a few days before getting back to you on the deal. This is realistic. If they don’t like your offer, they tell you what you can do to make them an offer that they can’t refuse. Free Agents aren’t only looking at your contract this year; they are also looking at contracts tendered by other teams. This does add competition in trying to sign someone. This also works the same way when trading. It is not easy anymore to try and rip off the CPU for trades, free agent signings, or bogus trades for draft picks. You will receive an email from that player’s agent to your PDA if it is a done deal or not.
Contracts
I also like how contracts can be structured in Live. If you want to backload a contract when signing a player this is possible this year. When signing a player you can select the amount of money you want to offer with the amount of years. Then there is a percentage meter under the year’s selector which allows you to backload money via the percentage and how much is going to be distributed in the first year, second year, and so forth on the length of the contract.
I also recommend trading a player over releasing them. If you release them, than you will take a hit in the cap which will screw up any future plans of building a dynasty. I would try to trade them for a draft pick or for a player that only has a year left on their contract. Then at the end of the season the person you just signed will be a free agent and you have just freed up some money.
Intervene Simulation
EA has also brought back the Intervene Simulation option which is found in the MVP Baseball series. You can hop into a game at the beginning of a quarter when intervening. If you don’t like to play every game, then this is perfect for you if you want to have even more control than just simming games. There have been a few teams that I didn’t want to play so I just simmed to the last quarter just to try and win the game.
Hire Asst Coach and Player Evolution
You’re able to hire scouts, assistant coaches, and trainers. It’s cool as your trainers can work with the players to help develop certain aspects of their game.
Player Evolution is a nice new feature which allows you to train your player(s) with the trainers throughout the season mode. Then at the end of the season you actually get a side by side comparison where you actually see if your player has lost weight or gained it visually over the season. It’s excellent if you are working to build a team full of young pups into superstars.
NBA All-Star Weekend
If you are good enough to receive an invitation to NBA’s fun weekend from your team’s first half of the season performance, then you will enjoy the All-Star Weekend even more. This is really cool that EA implemented ASW into the dynasty mode of Live. If your team has leaders in 3 point contest, dunking, and popular enough to play in the East vs. West this makes this mode more fun as mid season accomplishment. We can’t forget about the Rookies vs. Sophomore game. Make sure if you have some rookies with talent on your team that they receive playing time so they could possibly make it to this game. Then there is the Rookie Challenge.
All-Star Weekend is a great addition to Live and I think EA did focus a lot of their attention to this feature more than anything else. It feels like ASW is more polished than the regular 5 on 5 game engine itself. Between the Slam Dunk and 3-point contests, they animate like EA has had this feature for years. This is a good thing for fans of the NBA Live series. The slam dunk contest can be tough at first since it takes a lot of practice to perform some amazing looking dunks. It can get to the point of frustration when you can’t pull off the timing on a dunk. All Star Weekend has Ernie Johnson and Kenny "The Jet" Smith as your commentators. They do make a great team calling the action.
You can do many tricks like bounce the ball off of the backboard and grab it for a dunk. You can also bounce the ball off of the court and dunk it. It’s neat with what you can do with the dunks, but I feel that this mode can get repetitive for single player but more fun for multiplayer. To me the best feature is the 3-point contest as I have more fun with this mode. I like what EA did with this also as the shooting is based on the skills of the shooter and their attributes. No 2 shooters shoot the same which is really cool. As cool as ASW is, I wish EA would have spent more time with the in game aspects than just a feature that will only get play with 2 players.
NBA Store
I like the NBA Store, which I was reading is modeled after the Nike Store in New York. The points that you earn in dynasty mode can be used here at the store to purchase throwback jerseys, buy new shoes, and etc. I remember a few years ago I couldn’t believe how EA never implemented their version of Madden cards for their Live series. I am so glad that that never happened as the NBA store is really cool. Maybe for Madden they implement the NFL Shop.
The Bottom Line
EA Sports has done a great job in refining the gameplay in Live06 to make this game much more enjoyable. NBA Live still has its arcade roots intact with hints of simulation which makes this game a “SIMCADE”. I feel that with Playmakers sliders and playbook edits that this game really comes to life. I don’t agree with all of his sliders as I have made some adjustments since there are way too many fouls. I highly recommend that if you pick this game up to try his sliders and playbook edits.
This year, NBA2K6 has taken the crown for the current generation, but it could turn the tide 11/22. Presentation and some gameplay aspects go to 2K6, but I still feel like with the new 720p availability and how easy it is to control “Freestyle” over ISO3 that LIVE is the more fun game of basketball. One problem that I have with EA is that they have not been as innovative as 2KSports has over the years and I hope that it does change in the future. This year I am going to stick with LIVE06 due to the ease of controls and how much I like certain aspects of Dynasty mode.
I can say that we have come a long way since Lakers vs. Celtics, but NBA Live still maintains much of the core gameplay found from these earlier titles. This is one reason as to why EA has been able to have a solid foundation for it’s gameplay engine than any other franchise. Granted that some years may have been not the greatest for EA but there were others that made this franchise top notch. There has been issues with the engine that can’t be fixed till EA moves to the next generation battle November 22, Live06 is the best in the series.
I have played a few games on the PS2 version, and the rest on the XBOX. All I can say is if you have both systems, you would be not doing this game justice if you didn’t pick it up on the XBOX. Yes, it is the same exact game, but the controller (gameplay), graphics, and loading is what make a world of difference. There are problems with LIVE06 which I’m just dumbfounded that EA hasn’t fixed by now.
Has EA created the overall package? Does Live overtake NBA2K6 this year for Basketball Game of the Year and is it a better game than NBA Live 2005? In some departments EA has won some of the battle but in others it is still lagging behind. Let’s get to the review on Live to find out if EA has won the war this year.
Presentation/Graphics:
Finally EA has decided to take advantage of the XBOX hardware by allowing 720p support. All of their games have been running at 480p, but this year it was MVP Baseball 2005 and NBA LIVE06 that are running at 720p. I didn’t notice true widescreen support. Does it make a world of difference that this is running at 720p as the game is absolutely gorgeous compared to the PS2 version. The players actually look way much better than they do on the PS2 version, which they look like little kids with big heads on skates.
There is a small problem as the frame rate looks like it does take a small dip when you are shooting free throws and once in a great while during rebounding. There is little to no slowdown during the gameplay. There have been some reports where some people that have had the 720p turned on saw different types of hiccups that I have yet to encounter. The courts have a nice reflection on them from some the signs and banners in the arena. I almost feel like I am looking at the graphical style of Inside Drive series to a certain extent.
You have players of all shapes and sizes which EA did a really good job on recreating. As I mentioned earlier, the players do have a bit larger heads but I think EA did this so you could recognize the different players since they placed a lot of time in the faces to recreate the real deal. This is a continuation from last year as the player models appeared to be heading towards this direction. The faces are a big improvement from last years. I still feel like the models from LIVE04 were some of the best the series has seen. Even though 2K6 is beautiful in every aspect, LIVE06 does receive credit for attention to detail. It is a shame that Microsoft gave up on the XBOX way too soon for next generation as I feel like they could have squeezed one more year out of it’s life, but system life cycles these days are anywhere from 3-6 years.
The crowd looks like it has been touched upon a little, but they are the same cardboard cutouts. Since this is running at 720p, I’m not too sure how the game would have worked with full polygons in the stands. I bet it could be done, I hope next month that we finally do get some real lifelike looking fans.
I like to consider the sound of the game as part of the presentation instead of a different category. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr are really horrendous in the booth and only get severely repetitive as the game goes on. I heard the same line in a matter of 5 minutes. When I thought that the commentary was good last year, they hit a bump in the road. Hey guys at EA, take a look at the competition Kenny Harlan and Kenny Smith really do a great job. Even though Smith is somewhat absent in 2K6, he is still a joy to listen to than Kerr and Albert. The crowd noise, chants, and even comments made from the crowd has finally been tweaked to where it sounds like an actual basketball game.
What happened to the cut scenes and replays? It appears this year that you are only able to see a replay if your “Freestyle Superstar” uses one of the “FS” moves or if you go into the menu to view a replay the old fashioned way. I’m not too sure as to why EA did this, but it adds and takes away from the game. It’s nice in a sense as the game is not marred by consistent auto replays, but it would have been nice to see them so often during the quarter. Even to just give you the option to watch replays like the way “FS” is setup would have been nice. I think that EA went this route to show the importance of “FS”.
Stat Overlays is another issue that kills the presentation. I wish that EA had more of these throughout the game, but they almost feel non existent at times. Hopefully LIVE360 will have this problem worked out.
Gameplay:
My biggest gripe with gameplay this year is that there were a few things from the last few years that were never fixed.
1) Ice Skating: The players still skate across the court as if this is the NBA on ice. I still feel like the NHL engine mythos to be true at times. Granted, this is toned down this year, the skating is still there. If EA was able to fix all this for March Madness 2006 I have seen the many videos of LIVE06 360 and the skating appears to be gone.
2) Fast Breaks: This was a huge problem last year, and to a certain degree is a similar problem out of the box. If you adjust the global sliders to slowdown the game, than this problem is not as existent anymore. I have this issue that when a customer purchases the game, they might not know what sliders are and how to fix this.
3) Rebounding: Here is another problem that could be fixed with sliders. There is not enough rebounds out of the box on defense but heavy on offense which really has aggravated many amongst the LIVE community. Once you play around with the sliders, this problem can be worked out a little bit.
4) Post: The post game appears to have received a bit of work, but not as much as I expected. I’m still waiting for EA to implement a similar post up game like NBA 2K6. I thought the post up game was grand in 2K6, so I’m wondering what happened here to EA. This year, 2K6 owns the post up game more than EA could ever imagine. After they fixed all the on court issues from last year (minus a few things), I wish we would get a much more intuitive post up game. The animations are nice especially when you are backing down on your opponent, but I wish there was more added to having a better flow with the post up game with “Freestyle”. Maybe one of these years we will get “Freestyle Post Up”.
Then EA takes “Freestyle” one step further with the inclusion of ““Freestyle Superstar” this year. What is this? In 2006, each team has anywhere from 2-3 players that have the “FS” as part of their arsenal. There are 6 “Freestyle Superstar” moves on offense and defense. This was to bring balance to the entire “FS” system, but it is something that doesn’t. This can be abused as it is easy to score like a madman with “FS” at the lower levels, but I think with “sliders” it helps tone this down a bit. If you want to play a realistic game, you won’t want to abuse them yourself since some may want a “sim” experience while others may want an “arcade” experience. Out of all of the “Freestyle Superstar” types is that High-Flyers as well as Power players can almost never be stopped unless you set double teams or cause fouls out of the box, but if you get proper sliders in place like Play.
Playmaker
Passing technicians like Steve Nash are able to wrap the ball around their heads or behind their backs for showy passes.
Power
Power players like of Shaq and Amare Stoudamire, will use their immense power and size (and perhaps keen agility and dexterity) to force their way into scoring and rebounding position.
Shooter
Sharpshooters like Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic, will use ball fakes and quick releases to ensure that their shots will not be blocked by the best of defenders.
High-Flyers
High Flyers like Dwyane Wade and Vince Carter are used to jumping straight into the toughest of post situations and making the D look like they are helpless.
Scorer (Inside and Outside)
Scorers use Freestyle Superstar Control to flip the ball up and around away from the defender to ensure the ball gets through the hoop with guys like Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant.
Stopper (Inside and Outside)
Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace and Bruce Bowen fall into this category. Freestyle Superstar Control using a Inside Stopper is basically a way of saying you aren’t going to score on me tonight. Outside Stoppers will trap defenders at the top of the key.
Dynasty Mode:
Another feature that hasn’t been touched upon which is a staple of all sports games, the Dynasty Mode (franchise). This year Dynasty Mode is the same as last year with a few additions here and there. The PDA is an excellent tool for your franchise. All information from the NBA appears on the PDA as messages. This helps you from having to wander through the menus for important data. You can view things like NBA News, Medical, Scouting Information, and etc.
Free Agency
Free Agency is handled much nicer in Live since when you make an offer it takes the free agent a few days before getting back to you on the deal. This is realistic. If they don’t like your offer, they tell you what you can do to make them an offer that they can’t refuse. Free Agents aren’t only looking at your contract this year; they are also looking at contracts tendered by other teams. This does add competition in trying to sign someone. This also works the same way when trading. It is not easy anymore to try and rip off the CPU for trades, free agent signings, or bogus trades for draft picks. You will receive an email from that player’s agent to your PDA if it is a done deal or not.
Contracts
I also like how contracts can be structured in Live. If you want to backload a contract when signing a player this is possible this year. When signing a player you can select the amount of money you want to offer with the amount of years. Then there is a percentage meter under the year’s selector which allows you to backload money via the percentage and how much is going to be distributed in the first year, second year, and so forth on the length of the contract.
I also recommend trading a player over releasing them. If you release them, than you will take a hit in the cap which will screw up any future plans of building a dynasty. I would try to trade them for a draft pick or for a player that only has a year left on their contract. Then at the end of the season the person you just signed will be a free agent and you have just freed up some money.
Intervene Simulation
EA has also brought back the Intervene Simulation option which is found in the MVP Baseball series. You can hop into a game at the beginning of a quarter when intervening. If you don’t like to play every game, then this is perfect for you if you want to have even more control than just simming games. There have been a few teams that I didn’t want to play so I just simmed to the last quarter just to try and win the game.
Hire Asst Coach and Player Evolution
You’re able to hire scouts, assistant coaches, and trainers. It’s cool as your trainers can work with the players to help develop certain aspects of their game.
Player Evolution is a nice new feature which allows you to train your player(s) with the trainers throughout the season mode. Then at the end of the season you actually get a side by side comparison where you actually see if your player has lost weight or gained it visually over the season. It’s excellent if you are working to build a team full of young pups into superstars.
NBA All-Star Weekend
If you are good enough to receive an invitation to NBA’s fun weekend from your team’s first half of the season performance, then you will enjoy the All-Star Weekend even more. This is really cool that EA implemented ASW into the dynasty mode of Live. If your team has leaders in 3 point contest, dunking, and popular enough to play in the East vs. West this makes this mode more fun as mid season accomplishment. We can’t forget about the Rookies vs. Sophomore game. Make sure if you have some rookies with talent on your team that they receive playing time so they could possibly make it to this game. Then there is the Rookie Challenge.
All-Star Weekend is a great addition to Live and I think EA did focus a lot of their attention to this feature more than anything else. It feels like ASW is more polished than the regular 5 on 5 game engine itself. Between the Slam Dunk and 3-point contests, they animate like EA has had this feature for years. This is a good thing for fans of the NBA Live series. The slam dunk contest can be tough at first since it takes a lot of practice to perform some amazing looking dunks. It can get to the point of frustration when you can’t pull off the timing on a dunk. All Star Weekend has Ernie Johnson and Kenny "The Jet" Smith as your commentators. They do make a great team calling the action.
You can do many tricks like bounce the ball off of the backboard and grab it for a dunk. You can also bounce the ball off of the court and dunk it. It’s neat with what you can do with the dunks, but I feel that this mode can get repetitive for single player but more fun for multiplayer. To me the best feature is the 3-point contest as I have more fun with this mode. I like what EA did with this also as the shooting is based on the skills of the shooter and their attributes. No 2 shooters shoot the same which is really cool. As cool as ASW is, I wish EA would have spent more time with the in game aspects than just a feature that will only get play with 2 players.
NBA Store
I like the NBA Store, which I was reading is modeled after the Nike Store in New York. The points that you earn in dynasty mode can be used here at the store to purchase throwback jerseys, buy new shoes, and etc. I remember a few years ago I couldn’t believe how EA never implemented their version of Madden cards for their Live series. I am so glad that that never happened as the NBA store is really cool. Maybe for Madden they implement the NFL Shop.
The Bottom Line
EA Sports has done a great job in refining the gameplay in Live06 to make this game much more enjoyable. NBA Live still has its arcade roots intact with hints of simulation which makes this game a “SIMCADE”. I feel that with Playmakers sliders and playbook edits that this game really comes to life. I don’t agree with all of his sliders as I have made some adjustments since there are way too many fouls. I highly recommend that if you pick this game up to try his sliders and playbook edits.
This year, NBA2K6 has taken the crown for the current generation, but it could turn the tide 11/22. Presentation and some gameplay aspects go to 2K6, but I still feel like with the new 720p availability and how easy it is to control “Freestyle” over ISO3 that LIVE is the more fun game of basketball. One problem that I have with EA is that they have not been as innovative as 2KSports has over the years and I hope that it does change in the future. This year I am going to stick with LIVE06 due to the ease of controls and how much I like certain aspects of Dynasty mode.
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