NBA Live 18 Available (Xbox One/PS4), Post Your Impressions Here

[youvalss]

OK, this is something I have to know before I ever buy this game: What ratings/attributes can you actually edit for each player? Is it like the old Lives where you could edit everything including vertical, dunking, ability to finish with contact, first step, speed etc. etc.? Compared to editing players in Live 08-10 (minus tendencies) - is it the same? Can you edit all those things?

** EDIT **

Somehow I missed this trailer...but I got my answer.

[youvalss]

So...at the end I went and bought a copy of the game. Still pretty fresh and new as I don't have a lot of time to play. After Live 14, 15 and 16 (played the demo and liked it) - this is easily their best effort. Not talking about modes or features, just gameplay, graphics etc., which is all I care about.

The game sets a new standard for EA basketball games, they can't go back now. Yeah, this standard should have been set 3-4 years ago (they are ALWAYS behind), but better late than never. I love the physics, love the graphics (except for the somewhat-weird player models with small feet(?) and a bit awkward posture. But the player likeness is there, colors are bright and seem correct, arenas are alive...everything looks great. presentation is nice (though I wish they added another commentator to make it feel more fresh). Maybe just the rims need to be smaller. Even I could shoot 60% from the field if this was the real size of the rim...

Now, regarding controls... I'm still learning the controls (and a bit lazy at my old age to go through each drill and learn the ins and outs of the controls. It's pretty good, though I miss the controls from Live 14 where you had the ability to manually perform everything you wanted. I don't know to perform a hop step, and shooting a floater is a bit awkward...I need to get used to the right stick shooting, but to me doing it the live 14 way (holding L1 and shooting) was much easier and more precise.

I think Live 14 had the most responsive controls...and it got worse with Live 15 (more animation-heavy), though from playing Live 16's demo it seemed pretty good. In Live 18 you can feel the physics and animations somewhat taking over and reducing the responsiveness to some extent. I guess that's what happens when the game animates better and is more effected by physics. Understandable, but I wish it felt a bit better.

Last night I downloaded patch 1.11, which was over 7gb for me (since I didn't have any of the previous patches installed). Having a rosters editor and saying bye-bye to EA forcing me to use their rosters whenever they choose to, is a huge plus. But not having the ability to edit tendencies is a HUGE let-down. I don't need Synergy to tell me how NBA players play and force me to accept it. All I need is being able to edit tendencies to my liking in a way that actually works. Why would they even pay for this service when any casual NBA fan can edit these and easily make players play realistically.

Still need to play more and test how players and team play, and if I like it. Hopefully with all the patches it plays great.

One thing I would like to be changed, is that animation where you try to cross your man and then go to the basket, and your player does this push-off animation...kind of like a stiff arm in football. I think it started in Live 16, and while it's a nice touch sometimes, I don't like seeing so often.

All in all, the game is much better than past games. It's good that they took a year off to create this one. Now the question is, what happens when they choose to move to a new engine? What does it involve, and will it not mess things up until they finally managed to release a good game?

[Calvenn]

Good assessment of the game! You picked it up at the right time at that price and with all the important patches and updates. As you mentioned, this foundation must and am sure will be carried over to the next title based on the overwhelmingly positive response by the community from both sides of the isle..

[youvalss]

Yeah, just as long as they don't start over a year or two from now. They need to stick with the same base and with the same developers - as these people know what they are doing. Don't change staff members.

[TexasFan2005]

Does anyone have a list of stadiums with authentic arena sounds? I've only played in a few arenas, but aside from Staples, every stadium sounds like the AT&T in San Antonio. Was hoping to hear more stadium specific stuff (like Utah, Indy, etc).

[The 24th Letter]

I hope they teturn shooting motions to how they were in Live games pre 18....Lives shooting always had a unique, smooth feel...I hope we can get back to that. I really, really dont like the shot put motion on all free throws....



Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

[youvalss]

I actually liked the old Live 08's free throw mechanics. One of the few games where I enjoyed shooting FTs.

[inkcil]

Quote: Originally Posted by TexasFan2005

Does anyone have a list of stadiums with authentic arena sounds? I've only played in a few arenas, but aside from Staples, every stadium sounds like the AT&T in San Antonio. Was hoping to hear more stadium specific stuff (like Utah, Indy, etc).

Exactly...you hear the "Go Spurs Go" chant in every arena, which is unfortunate.