This year is the 10th Anniversary of the NBA Live series. Even before the NBA Live series began in 1995, EA has been developing basketball games for 16 years. On June 1, 1989 EA released Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs for the SEGA Genesis. Lakers vs. Celtics was EA Sports' first NBA Game featuring eight NBA teams and two All-Star teams. You can play with stars like Magic, Bird, Kareem, MJ, Isiah, Stockton, Malone, Barkley, and a lots more.
The following titles were born before NBA Live, and these titles are what built the foundation for NBA Live.
Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (1989)
Bulls vs. Lakers and the NBA Playoffs (1991)
Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (1992)
Jordan vs. Bird: Super One-On-One (1992)
NBA Showdown ’94 (1994)
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.
For the past two weeks I’ve been having a blast playing NBA Live 2005. I’ve played the PS2 version for the first few days that this game was released, and then I went out and purchased the XBOX version. Has EA created the overall package? Does Live overtake ESPN this year for Basketball Game of the Year? 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:
One thing that I am really disappointed with EA is that they did not add 480p or 16:9 Widescreen for Live so HDTV owners get the shaft. NBA Live graphics are starting to show their age. Don’t get me wrong, Live on XBOX looks much nicer than it does on PS2 but not by much. It is cleaned up to the point where the jaggies, grain, and texturing is not as noticeable as the PS2 game but they are still there. The courts have a nice reflection on them from some the signs and banners in the arena. Live would have greatly benefited from 480p, but I guess since EA is so in love with Sony (PS2), us XBOX owners get the shaft.
In the XBOX version, there is a little bit of slowdown during the 5 on 5 games. It is not as noticeable but you do see that the framerate does drop. It’s better then the mess that was in last years with the framerate.
One area where Live has finally improved upon is the player faces. They finally look like their counterparts that it is scary. When you look at the limited amount of cut scenes this year it’s like the players have big heads and small bodies. Another thing is that the NBA superstars all look accurate, but then the not so popular ballers don’t all have accurate faces. Maybe next year this will be fixed as it has been a problem in Live for years.
For the most part the arenas look great with signs and banners all over the arenas. EA has also added a few new arenas to the mix for Indiana, Charlotte, and Houston. I still think that the crowd looks horrible and you see the cardboard cutouts that they are.
I like to consider the sound of the game as part of the presentation instead of a different category. Marv Albert and Mike Fertello do an excellent job with the commentary in this game and it doesn’t feel as repetitive. I do think that the sound from the crowd is acceptable, but no where near the crowd noise, chants, and even comments made from the crowd in ESPN this year. This is another area that EA hasn’t fully excelled in like I was hoping they would.
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. It makes the game when the players run up and down the court like it’s the NHL. Finally, this was addressed by the development team in an interview. The problem lies with the engine. I think EA it’s time for an upgrade.
2) Fast Breaks: Here is a problem that can’t be fixed no matter what slider or attribute you try to adjust. Just when you think that you are about to make a run to the basket all of a sudden a defender pops right in front of you. This eliminates any 2 on 1 and 3 on 1 fast breaks I would say 95% of the time. This does detract from the game and there have been people on this board that found the fast breaks to be a game killer. Defenders catch up way too easily.
3) 3-Point Shots: This has not been addressed yet. I’ve seen a few 3 pointers count even when the shooter’s feet were within the 3 point arch. In a few of the games that I have played, I noticed my opponents hitting threes when it clearly looked like they were within the arch. I have tested this by checking the Instant Replay after every single 3 point shot that was nailed and it clearly looked like 2 points should have been awarded.
4) Passing: This was addressed in NBA 2K5, but I can’t believe as to how Live has not fixed this problem yet. When you are running up the court and one of your team mates pass the ball you stop and turn on a dime to catch the ball. This can get annoying since it can stop you from making a fast break or properly passing the ball down the court. I was reading if you press the L button + white button on the XBOX controller that this will not occur. I tried it and it tends to work properly.
5) Blocks: Another problem with this game that can be fixed with sliders. Out of the box there are way too many blocked shots that can get out of hand.
On the flip side, many things have been fixed from last year that kind of make up for the above nuisances but still can’t make up for the fast break issue. Both “Freestyle” and the “Pro Hop” have received an upgrade this year. What is that upgrade, “lack of abuse”. Ever since both of these options were implemented you were able to either freestyle or pro hop your way to the basket without a single defender stopping you from scoring. I am glad that this was fixed, but I think that the fast break problem may be somewhat of a result because of these options being toned down.
Since both “Freestyle” and “Pro Hop” have been toned down, it feels like the D has been ramped up a bit. You have to work your way to the basket using the various offensive strategies. For once, this is a good thing. I feel like the tempo of the game has slowed down a little bit. For once in years IMO, Live is heading to towards a simcade experience. Granted the game is still fairly arcadish in roots, but with everything that I have explained above it feels like more sim like.
Then EA takes “Freestyle” one step further with the inclusion of “Freestyle Air” this year. What is this? In 2005, you can draw contact with defenders when in the air and change your shot in the process to create a defensive foul on your opponent. This will then allow you to take a free trip to the charity stripe. Another neat feature that was added here is the tip ins that really add to the game. This can work to your advantage when you have someone on your team like Shaq, Divac, or Curry. Yes, I’m a Bulls fan and that’s why Curry is on that list. This works well for dominating centers in the NBA.
Since last year there was a lack of the mid range game, EA finally listened and fixed this. No matter what I tried last year to get the mid range game going, it was taken out by EA. I am glad that this was finally brought back since now we have more than 2 choices of scoring besides dunking/layup or 3 point shots. On the scoring front, I prefer on how in Live the CPU tends to go to the star players of the team. I noticed this more and more after playing countless hours with Live and ESPN. In ESPN the CPU tends to spread the ball around a lot more. In ESPN the star players aren’t putting up accurate numbers. It’s nice that the star players get the rock more, but if your bench isn’t scoring on a consistent basis than winning becomes difficult. The point I’m trying to make is that you can’t always rely on star players as the bench plays an important part.
The post game appears to have received a bit of work, but not as much as I expected. I’m still waiting for either EA or VC (especially VC) to implement the post up game from NBA 2K3. I thought the post up game was grand in 2K3, so I’m wondering what happened here to both EA and VC, since it came from SEGA. This year, ESPN 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 intutitve 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 next year we will get “Freestyle Post Up”.
NBA All-Star Weekend:
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 do think that EA should have brought this back a few games ago.
Dynasty Mode:
Another feature that hasn’t been touched upon which is a staple of all sports games, the Dynasty Mode (franchise). This year EA did some new cosmetics to the Dynasty which I welcome with open arms. VC was the original company to add a PDA in one of their franchise modes during the draft in the off season which I think was the NBA 2K or NFL 2K titles. It is like EA took another companies idea and expanded it to a great degree. 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 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.
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.
EA has also implemented the Intervene Simulation option which is found in the MVP Baseball series. I wish that they would implement this in Madden, which would be a great addition. 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.
I also like how the calendar has been implemented this year. If you place the cursor on a specific date within the calendar, you can view the box scores by toggling the analog stick.
There is also points that you designate to your scouting coach to go and scout top basketball players throughout the world (U.S., Canada, Asia, Europe, and Africa). The more points that you spend on scouting, the better the scouts that you will have to scout the upcoming rookies around the world. Once you have completed your scouting, a week before the NBA draft you can then bring in up to 7 of those prospects for a little testing. This is cool because you then can play 1 on 1 against all 7 of these prospects. By doing this you can see how the prospects play against you. I like how there is a field for their potential and projected round that they are going to go in the draft for the prospects This is nicely done.
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.
Since EA spent so much time in upgrading the Dynasty Mode, we have lost many of the nice cut scenes that we grew accustomed to. You won’t see the cut scenes during the actual game anymore, the draft scenes of your rookie that you drafted walking to the podium has been taken out, and the locker room scenes when either cutting or signing a new player have been taken out. I thought they were a nice addition last year, but they were taken out to accommodate the new Dynasty. I guess when we get a fully functioning Dynasty that works with no bugs or glitches we should be thankful, unlike last years Free Agent bug.
I like the new NBA Store look, which I was reading this 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 can ditch the Madden cards and place the NFL Shop in its place.
The Bottom Line:
EA Sports has done a great job in refining the gameplay in NBA Live 2005 to make this game much more enjoyable. This years NBA Live still has its arcade roots intact with hints of simulation which makes this game feel more like a simulation than years past. This year I finally feel like EA has taken the crown from ESPN NBA 2K5. I’ve come up with the notion that even though EA has been using the same engine for a few years now, they have been able to refine this game to the point where it has become the complete basketball package. If NBA 2K5 didn’t have the bugs/glitches + a deeper franchise mode like the one in NBA Live, the competition would be so much closer.
The following titles were born before NBA Live, and these titles are what built the foundation for NBA Live.
Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (1989)
Bulls vs. Lakers and the NBA Playoffs (1991)
Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (1992)
Jordan vs. Bird: Super One-On-One (1992)
NBA Showdown ’94 (1994)
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.
For the past two weeks I’ve been having a blast playing NBA Live 2005. I’ve played the PS2 version for the first few days that this game was released, and then I went out and purchased the XBOX version. Has EA created the overall package? Does Live overtake ESPN this year for Basketball Game of the Year? 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:
One thing that I am really disappointed with EA is that they did not add 480p or 16:9 Widescreen for Live so HDTV owners get the shaft. NBA Live graphics are starting to show their age. Don’t get me wrong, Live on XBOX looks much nicer than it does on PS2 but not by much. It is cleaned up to the point where the jaggies, grain, and texturing is not as noticeable as the PS2 game but they are still there. The courts have a nice reflection on them from some the signs and banners in the arena. Live would have greatly benefited from 480p, but I guess since EA is so in love with Sony (PS2), us XBOX owners get the shaft.
In the XBOX version, there is a little bit of slowdown during the 5 on 5 games. It is not as noticeable but you do see that the framerate does drop. It’s better then the mess that was in last years with the framerate.
One area where Live has finally improved upon is the player faces. They finally look like their counterparts that it is scary. When you look at the limited amount of cut scenes this year it’s like the players have big heads and small bodies. Another thing is that the NBA superstars all look accurate, but then the not so popular ballers don’t all have accurate faces. Maybe next year this will be fixed as it has been a problem in Live for years.
For the most part the arenas look great with signs and banners all over the arenas. EA has also added a few new arenas to the mix for Indiana, Charlotte, and Houston. I still think that the crowd looks horrible and you see the cardboard cutouts that they are.
I like to consider the sound of the game as part of the presentation instead of a different category. Marv Albert and Mike Fertello do an excellent job with the commentary in this game and it doesn’t feel as repetitive. I do think that the sound from the crowd is acceptable, but no where near the crowd noise, chants, and even comments made from the crowd in ESPN this year. This is another area that EA hasn’t fully excelled in like I was hoping they would.
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. It makes the game when the players run up and down the court like it’s the NHL. Finally, this was addressed by the development team in an interview. The problem lies with the engine. I think EA it’s time for an upgrade.
2) Fast Breaks: Here is a problem that can’t be fixed no matter what slider or attribute you try to adjust. Just when you think that you are about to make a run to the basket all of a sudden a defender pops right in front of you. This eliminates any 2 on 1 and 3 on 1 fast breaks I would say 95% of the time. This does detract from the game and there have been people on this board that found the fast breaks to be a game killer. Defenders catch up way too easily.
3) 3-Point Shots: This has not been addressed yet. I’ve seen a few 3 pointers count even when the shooter’s feet were within the 3 point arch. In a few of the games that I have played, I noticed my opponents hitting threes when it clearly looked like they were within the arch. I have tested this by checking the Instant Replay after every single 3 point shot that was nailed and it clearly looked like 2 points should have been awarded.
4) Passing: This was addressed in NBA 2K5, but I can’t believe as to how Live has not fixed this problem yet. When you are running up the court and one of your team mates pass the ball you stop and turn on a dime to catch the ball. This can get annoying since it can stop you from making a fast break or properly passing the ball down the court. I was reading if you press the L button + white button on the XBOX controller that this will not occur. I tried it and it tends to work properly.
5) Blocks: Another problem with this game that can be fixed with sliders. Out of the box there are way too many blocked shots that can get out of hand.
On the flip side, many things have been fixed from last year that kind of make up for the above nuisances but still can’t make up for the fast break issue. Both “Freestyle” and the “Pro Hop” have received an upgrade this year. What is that upgrade, “lack of abuse”. Ever since both of these options were implemented you were able to either freestyle or pro hop your way to the basket without a single defender stopping you from scoring. I am glad that this was fixed, but I think that the fast break problem may be somewhat of a result because of these options being toned down.
Since both “Freestyle” and “Pro Hop” have been toned down, it feels like the D has been ramped up a bit. You have to work your way to the basket using the various offensive strategies. For once, this is a good thing. I feel like the tempo of the game has slowed down a little bit. For once in years IMO, Live is heading to towards a simcade experience. Granted the game is still fairly arcadish in roots, but with everything that I have explained above it feels like more sim like.
Then EA takes “Freestyle” one step further with the inclusion of “Freestyle Air” this year. What is this? In 2005, you can draw contact with defenders when in the air and change your shot in the process to create a defensive foul on your opponent. This will then allow you to take a free trip to the charity stripe. Another neat feature that was added here is the tip ins that really add to the game. This can work to your advantage when you have someone on your team like Shaq, Divac, or Curry. Yes, I’m a Bulls fan and that’s why Curry is on that list. This works well for dominating centers in the NBA.
Since last year there was a lack of the mid range game, EA finally listened and fixed this. No matter what I tried last year to get the mid range game going, it was taken out by EA. I am glad that this was finally brought back since now we have more than 2 choices of scoring besides dunking/layup or 3 point shots. On the scoring front, I prefer on how in Live the CPU tends to go to the star players of the team. I noticed this more and more after playing countless hours with Live and ESPN. In ESPN the CPU tends to spread the ball around a lot more. In ESPN the star players aren’t putting up accurate numbers. It’s nice that the star players get the rock more, but if your bench isn’t scoring on a consistent basis than winning becomes difficult. The point I’m trying to make is that you can’t always rely on star players as the bench plays an important part.
The post game appears to have received a bit of work, but not as much as I expected. I’m still waiting for either EA or VC (especially VC) to implement the post up game from NBA 2K3. I thought the post up game was grand in 2K3, so I’m wondering what happened here to both EA and VC, since it came from SEGA. This year, ESPN 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 intutitve 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 next year we will get “Freestyle Post Up”.
NBA All-Star Weekend:
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 do think that EA should have brought this back a few games ago.
Dynasty Mode:
Another feature that hasn’t been touched upon which is a staple of all sports games, the Dynasty Mode (franchise). This year EA did some new cosmetics to the Dynasty which I welcome with open arms. VC was the original company to add a PDA in one of their franchise modes during the draft in the off season which I think was the NBA 2K or NFL 2K titles. It is like EA took another companies idea and expanded it to a great degree. 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 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.
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.
EA has also implemented the Intervene Simulation option which is found in the MVP Baseball series. I wish that they would implement this in Madden, which would be a great addition. 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.
I also like how the calendar has been implemented this year. If you place the cursor on a specific date within the calendar, you can view the box scores by toggling the analog stick.
There is also points that you designate to your scouting coach to go and scout top basketball players throughout the world (U.S., Canada, Asia, Europe, and Africa). The more points that you spend on scouting, the better the scouts that you will have to scout the upcoming rookies around the world. Once you have completed your scouting, a week before the NBA draft you can then bring in up to 7 of those prospects for a little testing. This is cool because you then can play 1 on 1 against all 7 of these prospects. By doing this you can see how the prospects play against you. I like how there is a field for their potential and projected round that they are going to go in the draft for the prospects This is nicely done.
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.
Since EA spent so much time in upgrading the Dynasty Mode, we have lost many of the nice cut scenes that we grew accustomed to. You won’t see the cut scenes during the actual game anymore, the draft scenes of your rookie that you drafted walking to the podium has been taken out, and the locker room scenes when either cutting or signing a new player have been taken out. I thought they were a nice addition last year, but they were taken out to accommodate the new Dynasty. I guess when we get a fully functioning Dynasty that works with no bugs or glitches we should be thankful, unlike last years Free Agent bug.
I like the new NBA Store look, which I was reading this 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 can ditch the Madden cards and place the NFL Shop in its place.
The Bottom Line:
EA Sports has done a great job in refining the gameplay in NBA Live 2005 to make this game much more enjoyable. This years NBA Live still has its arcade roots intact with hints of simulation which makes this game feel more like a simulation than years past. This year I finally feel like EA has taken the crown from ESPN NBA 2K5. I’ve come up with the notion that even though EA has been using the same engine for a few years now, they have been able to refine this game to the point where it has become the complete basketball package. If NBA 2K5 didn’t have the bugs/glitches + a deeper franchise mode like the one in NBA Live, the competition would be so much closer.
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