Someone posted here that I was ‘anti EA’ simply because I criticised Live 2003 as being too much of an arcade game and not trying to be a sim a week or two ago. They talked about the strong points of Live, so it got me to thinking and I took another look at this game in the context of the changes that are supposedly coming in for 2004.
Firstly, those 2004 vids look damm good. Whether they sacrew this game up or not...I am going to give them credit, because they are FINALLY trying to make something realistic. A guy who went from one of these sites to EA about 3 years ago...and long time b-ball game fans will know him...used to campaign for all of these sim type things.
Maybe...just maybe...the guy is getting his way at last. I guess they had to re-write it from the ground up, and 2003 was step one...?...
As we all know,2003 is way, way too fast. So…any talk of it being a sim or a serious game should have ended immediately.
Having said that, a lot of the problems seem readily fixable via sliders. 2004 has sliders, so the speed, blocks etc should / could be much better.
Having played a lot of 1 on 1 practise sessions in the gym, I think this game was worth getting just for that alone. Honestly, I have used that much more than the actual nba games. The practice mode rocks and the level of control is amazing. Going back to play ID and 2K after using the Live control seems like going back years. I have never seen anything like it in a sports game. You feel like you are actually controlling the player…not control an AI graphic. Brilliant.
The game needs real stadiums desperately a generic stadium is just not good enough. Live 2004 has this.
The AI in 2003 isn’t bad in terms of teams real life tendencies. Ie, Philly goes through it’s guards a lot, SA goes inside…so that’s okay. It just needs some tweaking. The game has a lot of plays available. (NBA 2K3’s biggest flaw is the severe lack of plays)
The post up game is pretty good. If you get the controls down, it’s very good. Kind of reminds me of NBA 2K1. You can back down your man and kick it out for the three ball. I am still at a loss as to how Sega screwed up its post game. It was so far ahead in 2K1.
Most importantly to me, you can use bigger guards to back guys down and then shoot turn around J’s.
Nothing I like better in a NBA game than being able to truly exploit match up advantage like using a big PG like Kidd or GP to post up. ID2003 does this very well also. Again, Sega screwed up it’s post game so much that I can’t back Earl Boykins down using a 6’6 guard…
So…I have to say that Live has a lot of good things going for it and yes, it has improved dramatically in crucial areas like the post game and AI using the right guys.
I can see that sliders will allow us to make any speed + blocking adjustments…so, those problems could be okay from now. ID 2002 was too fast and too many blocks, but sliders in 2003 fixed this immediately.
The game desperately needs a better defense…and, again, they say that has been worked on.
Live 2004 has the potential to be right off the map. I said potential…
Live 2003 still has to rate a bad game overall…but one with a lot of positives.
One thing they MUST add is late game fouling. To see the AI not foul you in the last minute when you are ahead by 1 is criminal. Live 2004 will be instantly ruined if this isn’t addressed.
ID 2004 looks like it will be great. The 2004 games will be the best ever it seems, and I just hope the 2K series can bounce back. All three games are very close to becoming great, but have crucial flaws.
I am sure one of them will get there this year. Here’s hoping!
Any serious discussion welcome...from the hard core guys.
And yes...I did as little work as possible at work today. Electing instead to type this and 'look busy'
Firstly, those 2004 vids look damm good. Whether they sacrew this game up or not...I am going to give them credit, because they are FINALLY trying to make something realistic. A guy who went from one of these sites to EA about 3 years ago...and long time b-ball game fans will know him...used to campaign for all of these sim type things.
Maybe...just maybe...the guy is getting his way at last. I guess they had to re-write it from the ground up, and 2003 was step one...?...
As we all know,2003 is way, way too fast. So…any talk of it being a sim or a serious game should have ended immediately.
Having said that, a lot of the problems seem readily fixable via sliders. 2004 has sliders, so the speed, blocks etc should / could be much better.
Having played a lot of 1 on 1 practise sessions in the gym, I think this game was worth getting just for that alone. Honestly, I have used that much more than the actual nba games. The practice mode rocks and the level of control is amazing. Going back to play ID and 2K after using the Live control seems like going back years. I have never seen anything like it in a sports game. You feel like you are actually controlling the player…not control an AI graphic. Brilliant.
The game needs real stadiums desperately a generic stadium is just not good enough. Live 2004 has this.
The AI in 2003 isn’t bad in terms of teams real life tendencies. Ie, Philly goes through it’s guards a lot, SA goes inside…so that’s okay. It just needs some tweaking. The game has a lot of plays available. (NBA 2K3’s biggest flaw is the severe lack of plays)
The post up game is pretty good. If you get the controls down, it’s very good. Kind of reminds me of NBA 2K1. You can back down your man and kick it out for the three ball. I am still at a loss as to how Sega screwed up its post game. It was so far ahead in 2K1.
Most importantly to me, you can use bigger guards to back guys down and then shoot turn around J’s.
Nothing I like better in a NBA game than being able to truly exploit match up advantage like using a big PG like Kidd or GP to post up. ID2003 does this very well also. Again, Sega screwed up it’s post game so much that I can’t back Earl Boykins down using a 6’6 guard…
So…I have to say that Live has a lot of good things going for it and yes, it has improved dramatically in crucial areas like the post game and AI using the right guys.
I can see that sliders will allow us to make any speed + blocking adjustments…so, those problems could be okay from now. ID 2002 was too fast and too many blocks, but sliders in 2003 fixed this immediately.
The game desperately needs a better defense…and, again, they say that has been worked on.
Live 2004 has the potential to be right off the map. I said potential…
Live 2003 still has to rate a bad game overall…but one with a lot of positives.
One thing they MUST add is late game fouling. To see the AI not foul you in the last minute when you are ahead by 1 is criminal. Live 2004 will be instantly ruined if this isn’t addressed.
ID 2004 looks like it will be great. The 2004 games will be the best ever it seems, and I just hope the 2K series can bounce back. All three games are very close to becoming great, but have crucial flaws.
I am sure one of them will get there this year. Here’s hoping!
Any serious discussion welcome...from the hard core guys.
And yes...I did as little work as possible at work today. Electing instead to type this and 'look busy'
playing ID, waiting for Live... 
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