Features and Game Modes
Dynasty
Dynasty looks to build upon last year. There is currently no Pre-season but there are training games. There are also skills that you can improve through min-games. There are 6 different games that focus on basic basketball skills. I only saw one and it looked very fun, similar to the Madden Skills game in Madden football. You can hire staff that will have an impact on your team’s performance. There’s your basic scouting and objectives that you must achieve within your dynasty. ESPN News will report on happenings around the league via news articles. One disappointing aspect of this mode was the inability to play other team’s games going on throughout your dynasty. You CAN control the CPU’s rosters, however, but this is limited as well since you can’t set their starting lineups. Probably the biggest detraction from dynasty is the inability to use draft classes from March Madness. They know we want it and they want it too but they couldn’t work it out in time for release. Those who enjoy this feature will surely be disappointed again. Some may find an upside in the recruiting, as players may turn out to be a sleeper or bust. You cannot modify this trait, however, to get actual rookies in the game a year into franchise. Someone had asked and no, there will not be career ending injuries. You will have season ending, but not career ending. Supposedly, the game will follow the top MVP vote getter and have the crowd chanting “MVP!” at home games. (Again, from NBA Live ’05! About time!)
Be A Pro
I didn’t spend much time with this feature. From my understanding it will judge you on your performance by giving you things to do such as set picks, follow plays called and so forth. You will have both positive and negative indicators based on your performance. Unfortunately I don’t have more information than this, but expect others from the Community Day to flesh out the details on this feature.
NBA Academy
This feature allows you to shoot around and practice on a BEAUTIFUL practice court. You can run up to coaches and practice on skills or just shoot around. It almost feels like such a basic addition but is a nice little feature. NBA Academy feels more complete than the NBA Court of last year. There are nice huge Hi-Def screens that play the game’s intro by default. Once you save your replays, they will play here as well! Very nice addition!
FIBA
Probably my favorite addition in terms of modes this year, FIBA is much better than the half-hearted attempt included with NBA Live. The FIBA courts have the correct angle in the paint. The crowd (IIRC) had international chants. Just playing with these teams was a different experience. I will certainly be playing this more because of the actual international tourney this year.
Teams & Ratings:
USA 96
Russia 88
Spain 87
Lithuania 83
Greece 83
Argentina 83
Slovenia 82
France 80
Turkey 79
Serbia 78
Germany 78
Italy 76
Croatia 75
Puerto Rico 74
Brazil 73
Iran 67
England 67
Australia 66
China 65
Angola 64
Canada 64
Mexico 62
Korea 60
Japan 60
BTW, no throwback jerseys (for all NBA teams)
Alt’s are in there though.
Likes:
-(Loves!) FIBA
-MVP chants in Dynasty
Dislikes:
-Inability to play all games during a Dynasty!
-Can’t control CPU lineups
-Lack of college draft class support from March Madness