ehh
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Let's get the negatives out of the way, some larger issues from Live 10 that are in NCAA '10:
- Minimal fast breaks though the CPU will push the ball a lot if they're up tempo.
- Spotty/average animations
- Players step out of bounds sometimes (although it's much improved in NCAA thanks to the Boundary Forcefield Slider still being present)
- CPU never kicks the ball out after an offensive rebound
- CPU does not pass the ball out of the post enough
- Like Live pre-patch there needs to be more fouls though sliders may be able to fix this, more testing is needed.
- No CPU name indicator under the ball handler
- Dynasty is largely unchanged, recruiting changes still need to be evaluated. Sim logic is improved, maybe too strict (not enough upsets).
- At times there will be a whistle and you have no idea what happened, the commentator won't mention anything and there won't be an overlay. This happens far less frequently than it did in 09 though.
- The CPU's guards dominate the offense and they don't feature their star players enough. This seems improved to a certain degree but is not perfect. You shouldn't see stars taking less than 10 FGA. In two games against "stars" Luke Harangody had 19 FGA and Greg Monroe had 13.
- You cannot edit jump shot animations for each player.
- Rosters are still a mess. Guys missing and poor ratings.
- Still cannot edit a player's class/year.
- The CPU's offense doesn't do questionable/out of character things. No three pointers from big men who never shoot past 12' IRL, no fadeaway three's early in the shot clock, no 'one quick pass and shot' nonsense.
- Contested shots are much better in NCAA '10. They go in far less and the CPU recognizes when they are contested and don't shoot them as often.
- The contact in the paint is much less frequent than in NBA Live. It's pretty good, you'll get it every now and then but a majority of the time if you have space or a lane to the hoop you'll get your shot off instead of being sucked into contact (on Varsity at least). This applies to the user and the CPU.
- Players step out of bounds far less, since I upped the boundary forcefield slider to 100 I've seen one player set out of bounds in four games.
- Defensive rotations are better than Live post-patch, similar to Live pre-patch. Less skating, less speedy recovery (on Varsity at least).
Obviously there are more issues with the game but those are some of the more discussed ones on the OS boards.
Moving on, the game does a lot of things right. Starting with the biggie obviously, the presentation. They hit it out of the park, way, way out of the park. It's not just an overlay here and there, there is a lot of great stuff that you'll see. Starting with the CBS or ESPN intro, you get pretty pumped up right from the start of the broadcast.
- Highlight packages for players having a big game, complete with the ESPN/CBS swipe that says the players name.
- Highlight packages for your motion offense, points in the paint or three point shooting. Again, shows your team name, the type of highlight package you'll see and then 3-4 clips.
- After a time out we get 'commercial break' commentary and highlights, plus the score overlay. Nessler, etc will say, "And stay right there, we'll be back after this with more college basketball on ESPN."
- When the shot clock is winding down a box will pop up on the screen that shows it, just like in a real-life broadcast
- Overlays for scoring droughts (Team A is scoreless the last 2:03)
- Overlays for team fouls, rebounding, blocks, assists, etc.
- If you're ranked it will say it on the score overlay the entire game just like IRL.
- There is a very noticeable difference in players this year. Not just guards compared to bigs, but good, quick guards compared to slower, average guards. You'll notice a difference using Sherron Collins compared to a mid or low major point guard. Most SF's can't easily get by defenders with the dribble because their R-stick moves are slow and don't work well. Big men trying to drive into the paint will get stripped. This is something Live 10 did pretty well IMO and I'm not surprised that it's carried over to NCAA.
- Unlike in NBA Live, you cannot iso and pick-n-roll the entire game and expect to have success. The motion offense (more on this later) and set plays are beautiful, just like in Live, and will help you tremendously if you run them frequently.
- I have seen two illegal screens called.
- Controls from NCAA 09 are vastly improved.
- Freestyle passing is more responsive and more accurate than Live.
- Game tempo still works well. With UConn I played Notre Dame and won 85-77, then played Georgetown (half court tempo) and won 54-52.
- Zones work very well. No crazy turnovers/steals/interceptions like in 09.
- Drive, draw and dish game is still beautiful, and even a little better than 09.
- On the fly subs are really improved. It's much quicker and more response, shows fatigue and number of fouls each player has. Big, big improvement. You can also smoothly use on the fly subs while the CPU is shooting free throws, something that's a disaster in Live.
- When you pause the game you get a game reset on the screen, showing time, score, time outs left, team fouls and a few stats. All this information was no where to be found in 09.
- Roster editing is much quicker and more responsive. You can fly through all the accessories, faces, etc - it is instant. No more 2-3 second hitch when you change sneakers or a face.
- A lot of new accessories. Arm sleeves, black socks, knee braces/pads, jumper knee straps, more sweatband types (above elbow, on elbow, forearm, wrist) and all the dope sneakers from Live 10. Helps with individualizing players and making them more true to their real life counterpart.
- The arch on jump shots is fixed from 09, no more "only rainbows go in".
- Ball physics are improved from 09.
- Subs are shown checking into the game at the scorer's table.
- Net animations are much improved.
NCAA 10 is putting in a valiant effort after being left for dead by many people before it was even released. However, Live had a similar overwhelmingly positive initial reaction but that died pretty quickly and the patch arguably did more harm than good. Time will tell with NCAA '10, we'll see how everyone feels 6-8 weeks from now and if the initial shine has worn off or if the game is still impressing people. The game play is extremely solid so far (out of the box for gameplay sliders) and the presentation is out of this world.
Ultimately the dynasty mode will make or break this game for most people, is it good enough for people to invest two or three months with NCAA '10? Obviously it's no where near 2K8's legendary legacy mode but if it's serviceable then NCAA '10 might be a surprising title that satisfies a lot of gamers. If you're on the fence then rent or wait it out to see how everyone feels in a month, the depth and replay value will be the key with NCAA '10 in the end.
Friday, November 13, 2009
I played about ten games, first five on All-Conference (All-Star in Live) and then five on Varsity (Pro). After the first five games I was ready to delete the demo, same issues post-patch from Live were already annoying me on AC.
CPU's defensive rotations are way too fast on All-Conference and they block way too many shots in the paint, plus it's a little too hard to get past your man with the dribble (not an issue in Live). Nothing criminal, but things look so much better on varsity. Varsity is easily the way to go in terms of realism and an even balance between you and the CPU.
On Varsity the drive and kick game, defensive rotations and in general the entire feel of the game is so much better than All-Conference IMO. On default you just make too many shots and it's a little too easy to get past your man with the dribble but that can be adjusted in the retail with sliders.
One of my biggest beefs with Live is the amount of contact in the paint even when using Layup Solutions properly, NCAA '10 on Varsity does this sooooo much better than any setting in Live. There is some contact, but I've seen more clean layups in ten games of the demo than I've seen in about 25 post-patch Live games (full 48 minutes per game too). Thank the Lord! This facet of the game play alone will make me sell Live.
I also like the CPU's offense in this game more. As I expected, DNA seems to do more harm than good in Live. There's less wacky crap from the CPU in this game, though neither team pushed the ball all that much and both are supposed to be up tempo teams. That will probably be fixed via patch though. Again though, the only downside will probably be that teams don't go to their stars enough. Individualism is not going to be a bright spot of this game out of the box, we'll see what we can do with the roster editor. A big key will be is if we get the "shot likelihood" ratings that are in Live. If that is in this game then we should be okay, it'll just take a lot of work. However, the problem of the CPU not recognizing teammates and being a little too robotic still seems to be in there from NCAA '09.
The post game also seems cleaner, animations and feel seem better. The net animations are also more realistic though I'm kinda sad they didn't put in the crazy "super splash" swish that's in Live for those shooters with rainbow arcs on their shot.
Motion offense for the user is a pleasant surprise, I like the multiple options and guys cut with a purpose. I love OBCing to certain guys and making their cuts slightly different (aka better) so I can get them a bucket.
I was able to take three charges which is cool. There was only one questionable call from the ref in terms of an offensive foul which is nice.
FT's are crazy as UNC, I think I made 1/20.
There are still plenty of issues that perhaps I'll touch on later but besides that color me impressed. Looks like the trend will continue as far as the college version of basketball games being the superior.
In summary...
- Contact in lane is better than Live (less frequent)
- Defensive rotations are better than Live (post-patch at least)
- CPU's offense is better than Live
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Posted on November 10, 2009 at 02:52 PM.
Have you given up on Live because you can't get to the FT line? Or because the CPU has an unfair advantage and gets all the foul calls while you get pummeled and the refs swallow their whistles? Or because you're tired of getting sucked into bad collision animations where you never make the shot and never get a foul called? Tired of too much stupid contact?Well, pick Live back up one more time and give this a try...
C/P'd from my post in the Live 10 forum.
It was all user error, I finally 100% got Layup Solutions and the euro/pro/spin moves down. In turn I get to the FT line plenty (30+ times when aggressive) and in turn the ugly contact animations are all gone.
All it took was one trip back to Mike Wang's shooting tutorial and I immediately found my problem. 7 minutes in, 7:10 to be exact - as soon as I heard it I knew my problem (and probably everyone else's).
When you want to start these moves from 15'-18' feet out you have to have turbo pressed. That was my problem, I got so used to never using turbo besides the open floor that I was trying to execute these moves without holding turbo. That's when the crap-fest contact bonanza begins. Unless the lane is parted like the Red Sea you aren't gonna get these layups off without a bad contact animation w/o turbo. You must have turbo pressed.
So I tried balling with D-Rose on Superstar, still rarely using turbo but pressing it down just before I flick the stick and press the shot button when I want a layup solution...
....magic.... **There are fouls on Clip 1, 4, 5 & 7 (it's hard to hear the whistle)
For comparison sake, below is the one time I chose not to press turbo while trying a layup solutions move, look familiar to a lot of you?
There's no fancy editing to try and make this look better than advertised, those were literally the first seven times in the game I took it to the rack with D-Rose and properly used turbo to do a Layup Solution. I didn't edit out or not save any bad contact replays. Funny thing is the Warriors adjusted like crazy after this and really collapsed into the paint. I forced it one time and got a "good contact animation" and missed the shot. So don't think this is cheese either.
Now of course you still get contact and you still go to the FT line a lot (which is good, and realistic) but when turbo is pressed you DO NOT see this animation (below) that makes everyone want to bang their head against the wall. Mid "cool layup animation" and you get sucked into the "bad contact animtion". This does not happen when you have turbo pressed. Obviously in this clip with Hughes I didn't have turbo pressed, he did miss the shot, I know the clip is cut a little short.
Also don't be an idiot and go barreling into the paint all the time, make sure you still pick and chose the right times to drive and use layup solutions. Still make quality basketball decisions.
Sooooo damn happy I finally figured this out!
Live was teetering the edge with me because this aspect of game play was so frustrating. I can't see this disc leaving my PS3 for long time now. So good to finally be able to dominate with small, quick guards who get into the paint IRL. It's also huge because crappy defensive teams no longer feel better than they are. I quickly tested Tony Parker versus the Knicks for 5 minutes on Superstar and ate them alive, same thing as the D-Rose vid.So the key things to remember are...
1) Start 15'-18' out
2) Have turbo pressed when you press the shot button (but still don't abuse turbo)
3) Make sure the stick isn't pressed towards the hoop, that make you attempt a dunk which you don't want.
4) Don't use turbo while doing your dribble moves (r-stick or size up). Wait until after you beat your man to press turbo and go into your layup solution.
Right now I have all fouls maxed out except for reach in (default 50) and air collision fouls (somewhere near 75).
Good luck to everyone when testing this out.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
"The only man who can stop Cliff Robinson is Cliff Robinson. The man is unstoppable even at 38."
"Kenyon Martin is the 2nd best player in the Eastern Conference."
"I want to see Ben Wallace come out with war paint on his face."
"Ben Wallace is the Pistons superstar...and he can't get a foul...what a travesty?"
"THROW IT DOWN BIG MAN...THROW IT DOWN"
"Eddie Griffin has put up the 2 worst shots in the history of the Rockets franchise here tonight"
"Shaq makes everyone else in the league look like Michelle Tafoya"
“Where would you like it NEXT time, Samaki?” after getting dunked on by Shaq.
“Danny Ferry is just a tremendous player...”
"What a sad play from a pathetic human being" about Larry Johnson in the Knicks/Spurs series in 1999.
"Atlanta needs all 13 lottery picks."
“A beautiful pass by Tony Parker off the FRONT of the RIM...”
"As good a career as Rodney Rogers had his career is pretty tragic, with his talent Rodney should have been the unstoppable force in the NBA."
"If Anthony Johnson ever gets a jumper who’s gonna stop him"?
"Tim Duncan is looking at the referee saying....'What is a foul!?!?!?!'"
Walton: That has to be a foul.
Snapper: Against who?
Walton: Against the game of basketball.
"Dale Davis, pick ONE pivot foot........PLEASE!"
"This is a game of skill, Shawn Bradley"
Nessler: And Samaki Walker enters the game
Walton: So THIS is what its come too?
"Hedo Turkoglu is such a beauuuuutiful player"
"THATS MCHALE! THATS JABBAR!"
"If that’s not a foul, then why have a rule book?"
"Raef Lafrentz and Shawn Bradley should start considering a new career"
"Chris Childs let the opportunity of having the best job in the world being Kidd’s backup go away because he couldn’t get himself away from the buffet table"
"Where would the LA Clippers franchise be without Sean Rooks?"
"He's everywhere! Rebounds, Assists... Shawn Bradley is looking like Hakeem Olajuwan!"
"Lindsay Hunter is making Devean George look like John Stockton."
Walton - "You're talking about one of the best defensive forwards in the HISTORY of the NBA, Robert Horry. And Tim Duncan is just making it look sooo easy."
Tom Tolbert - "Horry isn’t even one of the top 5 defensive players on the court right now"
"Is there a better shot blocker than Vlade Divac?"
"Bo Outlaw might be the best pick up of the off season."
"Bonzi what are you complaining about that wasn’t just a foul that was third degree assault"
"This game is a celebration of basketball, a celebration of LIFE itself"
"Shawn Bradley has completely changed the fate of western civilization here!"
"Kelvin Cato, the pride of Ohio State."
"The art of tossing up the jump ball has really declined. These officials need to spend more time practicing in off-season."
"Kelvin Cato is by far the MVP for the Sacramento Kings tonight"
Last year the Wolves were playing the Sonics, who had just acquired Elden Campbell. Campbell enters the game with Ray Allen and Walton just had a field day with him.
"7 feet, who knows how many pounds on that big beautiful body of his"
"Look at Rasho Nesterovic back down the statuesque physique of Elden Campbell."
"The Sonics are on a 17-4 run since Elden Campbell has entered the game. Where would they be without this man."
During the Cavs/Lakers game that went into overtime on ESPN...Bill's son enters the game and John Saunders asks Bill what his advice to his son was to have a successful NBA career...Bill's response: "Pass it to Shaq"
Host: "Bill, how about the Knicks guard play tonight?"
*Walton turns his head and stares into the camera*
Walton: "Charlie Ward Sucks!"
"Tractor is treating this game like a BUFFET LINE" about Robert Traylor
When his son Luke Walton got an assist with this easy bounce pass…
Walton: “Only 3 forwards can make that pass and Luke is one of them.”
"He’s not your vidas...he's not my vidas...he's ARVYDAS"
"Christian Laettner, stumbling out there, dazed and confused'.
Bill Walton: Nice passssssss (pass is intercepted)
Snapper: It would have been but the pass was picked off
Bill Walton: yeah but it was a good idea...
"Here’s Luke Walton, Bill you know a little something about him"
"Yes he’s a 6'8 small forward from Arizona"
"...Ron Artest....a very likeable person, once you get to know him"
"I have always wanted to be part of something special, and when I got to Boston... actually, when I bought, begged and pleaded my way onto the Celtics... it was already a championship team. I was just glad to be able to sit there and cheer and to be Larry Bird's valet, to be sure that his shoes were fine and his uniform was folded neatly."
Walton: "I don't know if anyone of you out there is going to agree with Peter's psycho-babble"
Vescey: "PSYCHO-BABBLE???? Why you overgrown Raggedy Andy..."
On Robert Horry's post passing skills...
"Robert Horry is one of the greatest feeders of the post in the history of the game"
Earl Watson enters the game, "........ Earl Watson, the UCLA legend......"
Walton: "Eddie House is one of the great scorers of the NBA"
Talking about Larry Brown..
" it will say on his tomb-stone... i won with the clippers"
After Kobe dunked on somebody last year:
Bill: "Kobe will not be denied,on or off the court"
After Tony Parker notches his 6th point in the first quarter
Bill Walton 'By the way Tony Parker is playing, Kobe Bryant's 62 could be in jeopardy.'
"He's yelling at the ref, and he already has one technical foul....if he gets ejected on Christmas day..............I just don't know!" on Rasheed Wallace
"Has Darko become the man who starts 10,000 cars????"
"It looked like they were moving forward when they bought out Shawn Bradley's contract. Now, they still have him. His name just changed to Erick Dampier."
"A timeout controversy with Chris Webber, how can that be?"
"Chris Wilcox will give you a highlight reel night in and night out"
"Why have they not yet figured out that he is left handed and will likely continue to be for the duration of this game?"
After Olawakandi makes a shot...
"And that is why fans will be rushing to the voters booth to vote the Kandi Man the starting center of this years all-star game"
"We need more red headed centers like Luc Longley"
"His left leg belongs in the Smithsonian" - Talking about Kareem
After LeBron's breakaway dunk vs. the pistons:
"In transition: the extension. the spread eagle. the posterization over the imaginary defender."
“Tracy McGrady is doing things we’ve never seen from anybody – from any planet!”
"Steve Nash is the most unathletic player in the league."
Whenever the refs aren't up to Bill's standards: “Why even have a rulebook?”
On Kobe's offseason weight training: "The added muscle and bulk from pushing that steel and the natural maturation process now enables this grandmaster to regularly accomplish the unimaginable without dragging around excessive bulk and baggage. Most top players get to the point where they truly believe that anything is possible. Most are also governed by gravity, the laws of physics and self-regulating mental control mechanisms. Kobe has left all these behind. The extra strength and stamina have made him a superior 3-point shooter, a most dominant defender and arguably the game's top rebounder."
On Rasheed Wallace: "He's like a four-armed Dikembe Mutombo around the basket!"
"Throw it down, big man! Throw it DOWN!"
"Mick Jagger is in better shape than far too many NBA players. It's up in the air whether the same can be said of Keith Richards."
Exchange between he and Snapper Jones: “That’s a terrible defensive effort by Robert Horry. He didn’t even make it difficult for Rasheed Wallace to score.” Snapper: “Well, what do you expect? Earlier you said that Wallace could be one of the best players in the game, and now you want Robert Horry to guard him one-on-one?” Bill: “No, I said that Rasheed could be the best player in the game.”
Exchange between he and Tom Hammond: “John Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization!” Tom: “Wow, that’s a pretty strong statement. I guess I don’t have a good handle on world history.” Bill: “Well Tom, that’s because you didn’t go to UCLA.”
“Patrick Ewing used to be much better in every aspect of the game.” (After Ewing clanged a free throw, before he had even left the Knicks.)
During a game that didn't even involve the Rockets: “Yao Ming is the best thing to happen to the NBA in a long time. He is just a beautiful person inside and out. The vision, the creativity, the gentleness of spirit … he has it all.”
"Kenyon Martin is the 2nd best player in the Eastern Conference."
When Illinois center Robert Archibald, originally from Scotland, dunked a ball on his son Luke Walton in college: "Did you see that? It must be the Scottish pudding!!"
"Where else but the NBA could people like Bill Russell, Spencer Haywood, Ricky Barry, Dennis Rodman and Allen Iverson come in and be allowed to be who they are?"
"Greg Ostertag is one of the top centers on this planet!"
"But you have to understand, my beard is so nasty. I mean, it's the only beard in the history of Western civilization that makes Bob Dylan's beard look good."
“Eric Piatkowski makes perhaps the greatest defensive play in Clipper history!”
During one of his hilarious game-intros: “Tonight the Spurs look to extend their lead to 3-0 over the Lakers. This time, however, they will have to do it on the Lakers’ home court. Duncan and Shaq have been magnificent for both teams, but so far the edge has gone to San Antonio. However, the real story line that awaits us tonight in Los Angeles is whether or not Kobe Bryant will actually throw a pass!”
"A lot of people understand what not saying anything means, so, in effect, not saying anything is really saying a lot."
Tony Parker makes a pass, which gets deflected out of bounds by an opposing defender. Spurs ball, no big deal... Walton roars: "Tony Parker just made the worst pass... in the history of Western Civilization!"
“Oh my, Kobe is really putting on a show out there. He’s making Ray Allen look like a sixth grader!”
On the '72 Lakers: "Way back when, I was a sophomore in college at UCLA when a truly remarkable aggregation of professional talent actually exceeded the hype and hope of a world searching desperately for authenticity."
"I mean, I'm 6-foot-11, I've got red hair, freckles, I'm a goofy, nerdy-looking guy, I've got a speech impediment-I stutter and stammer all the time-and I'm a Deadhead. I was a skinny, scrawny guy. I stuttered horrendously, couldn't speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person. I found a safe place in life in basketball."
"I'm mainstream. Always have been."
On his tour across America for ESPN: "Well, we've made some changes on this tour. We're no longer sleeping in the parking lots and swimming in the fountains. We've been staying in hotels most of the way, though I will say some hotels have declined to take us because we're just having too much fun."
While distributing free chicken samples during an appearance at McDonald's: "Thank you for visiting McDonald's and please drive safely ... Sir, don't forget your napkins!"
On The Grateful Dead: "They've been my life."
"What hath God wrought -- Todd MacCulloch has changed his name."
"Manu Ginobli is one of the greats. Not just of this generation, but of all time."
"Save some for later? Balderdash, this is the playoffs!"
More Larry Johnson railing: "Why would the Pacers ever double-team Larry Johnson? He wants to be double-teamed so he can pass. Why is Indiana double-teaming a man who only scores 8 points a game?"
"Memo to Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker: Couldn't you wait until at least the All-Star break to have the franchise suffer its worse loss in its storied history? Bill Russell just called looking for an address to send his 11 championship rings back to the Celtics because he is so disappointed."
Monday, October 12, 2009
Five Don'ts...
1. Attempt a lay up or dunk every time you get past your initial defender on the perimeter. Just like IRL, if you shake your first defender (head fake, dribble drive, whatever) it is not a license to go barreling into the paint and attempt to posterize whatever poor CPU souls happen to be in there. Pay attention to the help defense and pay attention to the paint. The majority of the time you get past your defender you're either going to be pulling up for a J or passing the ball after the defense starts it's rotation. If you think you're going to iso or pick and roll with Kobe every time down the court and get 30 PIP with him every game then you are in for a rude awakening. So be ready to pass the ball or pull up for short/mid-range jumpers, besides they're some of the best looking animations in L10 so you get to see them more!
2. Go right back up with every offensive rebound you get. One of the biggest gripes I noticed on OS with '10 during release week was the insane amount of blocks in the paint. I noticed it as well but I also looked at how I was playing and what I was trying to do instead of just blaming EA. Similar to #1 on this list, every time you get an offensive rebound don't go right back up thinking you'll successfully dunk home two more points. If you grab an offensive board in traffic, even if it's with Duh-wight or Shaq, and try to go back up it will be rejected a decent amount of time. Pull the ball out, reset and go through another quality possession if you don't have an obviously easy putback.
3. Think the same offensive/defensive strategy is going to work the entire game. In Live '10 you are going to have to get used to adjusting. Every game, on the fly, both ends of the court. If you think you can drive to the hoop on 75% of your possessions you're going to struggle because the CPU will adjust and collapse the hell outta their defense to force you to start taking jumpers. If you think you can take 40 shots with LeBron you're going to see the CPU start doubling LeBron - but in an intelligent way. Not blindly doubling him on every touch so someone else has a wide open shot every time. I primarily use the Knicks so naturally I jack up a lot of three-pointers every game. There are stretches in many games where I fall in love with the three and ignore D-Lee. The CPU adjusts to this and start to lock me up on the perimeter until I finally notice that Lee is in prime position to do some serious damage to the CPU. Being well-rounded and changing things is your best bet in Live '10.
4. Abuse the turbo/speed burst button. Especially when using the R-stick for dribbling moves. With studs like CP3 you can simply flick the stick to the left or right (without holding turbo) and burn your guy. If you're constantly holding down turbo and going crazy with the R-stick you will see a lot of turnovers and not many space-creating moves from your ball handler. The only time I have been using turbo is on a fastbreak or if want to attempt a dunk. My rule of thumb for the most part is that if you're not in the open floor you shouldn't be using turbo.
5. Always be in a rush. This sort of ties in with #4. Be patient, let plays develop, share the ball. The R-stick and size up moves are cool and it's a lot of fun to use the super stars but don't forget to play to your team's strengths. I've noticed that almost every time the CPU goes on a run against me it's because I stop calling plays and start playing rushed, 1-on-1 basketball on the offensive end of the court. Then frustration ensues, followed by a big CPU run and ultimately a timeout from me.
Remember to always read the defense and don't go into a possession with a pre-determined goal such as "I'm definitely shooting a three with Kobe this time" or "I'm definitely going to the rim with D-Wade, regardless." That's going to get you a lot of frustration (and alot of those contact animations) and very few points. The worst I've noticed so far is if the CPU gets a few buckets in a row and the "it's time to get to the rim no matter what" thought creeps into the user's head.Five Do's...
1. Pay close attention to the match ups on the floor. Live does this better than any basketball game to date, thanks largely to the locomotion/momentum. Look at who the opposition matches up with your team and exploit any mismatches. You can abuse every bad defender (looking at you, Peja Stoikovich) and your elite players will have their way with average defenders as well. Bad defenders will make average players look like superstars.
2. Call plays (or a pick and roll) on a majority of your possessions. Ah yes, the playbooks. For a basketball fanatic they are one of the big bonuses of NBA Live this year. They're also integral to the gameplay and success of your team. Don't just run up and down the court freestyling, isoing and acting like you've got five JR Smith's on your team. Call plays, run them and you will see a lot of pretty things - one of course being a lot of buckets for your team. Pick-n-rolls should be called quite a bit as well, especially late in the shot clock and after broken plays. And of course, do plenty of #3...
3. Utilize the off-ball control. For those not familiar, press L2 to bring up the passing icons, press the icon of the guy you want to control and release L2 while still holding the player's icon. This feature is a thing of beauty and something I use more and more. Hell I've even been using it in the transition game the last few times I've played Live. Use it to get open, for dribble hand-offs and cuts to the hoop. Hell, use it just to create a better passing angle to cut down on your turnovers. One play that works well is getting your PG the ball at the top of the key, calling an isolation for the PG and controlling your wing or SG in the corners and coming up toward the wing and doing a basket or backdoor cut. If you have a slower defender you can get some easy buckets this way.
4. Get the ball inside. There's no denying that the post game is not one of Live's strengths especially in comparison to the brilliant perimeter game. While this is unfortunate for our gaming enjoyment it does not mean our in-game strategy should suffer. Avoid becoming jumper-happy blackholes who ignore your bigs. Even if you don't have a Tim Duncan on your roster the inside-out game is very well done in Live. Get the ball into the post and use off-ball control for some basket cuts as well.
5. Reset and pull the ball out. This goes for offensive rebounds (see above), dribble drives, post touches and even the transition game. Although IRL guys like LeBron and Kobe will always attempt a lay up when in a one-on-one transition situation they are not always an automatic in Live '10. You will see some ugly contact animations if you're euro/pro/etc hop isn't executed correctly. Pull the ball out if nothing is there, don't force things. Some times in the half court set you'll have to pull a Steve Nash and dribble right through the lane or under the hoop without attempting a shot or passing the ball. That's fine, if you see a two-time NBA MVP doing it IRL it's okay for you to do it in a video game.
Hope everyone is enjoying Live '10, the game still has a lot of room for improvement but it's a very good and very enjoyable game.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Posted on February 25, 2009 at 06:27 PM.
1. North Carolina (72) 0-0 1,8002. Connecticut 0-0 1,661
3. Louisville 0-0 1,638
4. UCLA 0-0 1,487
5. Pittsburgh 0-0 1,319
6. Michigan State 0-0 1,311
7. Texas 0-0 1,259
8. Duke 0-0 1,250
9. Notre Dame 0-0 1,243
10. Gonzaga 0-0 1,162
11. Purdue 0-0 1,099
12. Oklahoma 0-0 987
13. Memphis 0-0 977
14. Tennessee 0-0 920
15. Arizona State 0-0 645
16. Marquette 0-0 592
17. Miami (FL) 0-0 570
18. USC 0-0 414
19. Florida 0-0 403
20. Davidson 0-0 347
21. Wake Forest 0-0 312
22. Georgetown 0-0 311
23. Villanova 0-0 256
24. Kansas 0-0 233
25. Wisconsin 0-0 196
We've learned a lot since this first poll of the '08-'09 season was released back on November 10th.
- North Carolina is not the clear-cut best team in the nation, let alone a contender to be one of the best teams in the last ten years of college hoops.
- Notre Dame was a one hit wonder and the biggest bust in the country. The Irish have showed a complete lack of toughness and defensive prowess. A seven-game losing streak was the low point for the Irish, a preseason Top 10 team who is likely NIT-bound baring an automatic berth.
- Other disappointments include Texas, Gonzaga and Tennessee.
- Stephen Curry, everyone's favorite March Madness stud from '07-'08, is really good but he certainly is not a point guard. Given the PG duties by Bob McKillop, Curry has seen his assist numbers go up from three per game last year to six this year. His A/TO ratio is improved though he's averaging nearly four turnovers per game. His shooting is what's suffered the most, his FG% is down three-points while his 3PT% has dropped over 6%, leaving him at a pedestrian 37%. Davidson is certainly not a lock for an at-large bid and with Curry out with an injured ankle we may be without another great March performance from Curry.
- Blake Griffin is the real deal. A man amongst boys, Griffin has used his freakish athletic ability to dominate the competition while leading OU's best team since the Hollis Price days. Griffin is averaging 23 points and 14 rebounds, his personal highlight was a 40 pt, 23 reb game against Texas Tech.
- The freshman classes of '06-'07 and '07-'08 were really, really special - even with the age limit rule it does not guarantee a dominant freshman class. Two years ago we welcomed our first mandatory freshman class under David Stern's new rule. We witnessed Kevin Durant dominate the college game like no one has done since arguably Pete Maravich. We saw Greg Oden's monsterous potential (now in question due to constant injuries) as he led Ohio State all the way to the National Championship game. For an encore, last year we saw Michael Beasley nearly mimic Kevin Durant's lone college season while Derrick Rose did his best Oden imitation in leading Memphis to the title game. Others such as OJ Mayo, Eric Gordon and Kevin Love dominated games and their respective schools. This year has been vastly different as no freshman has dominated, let alone several freshman. Throughout the year there were a few different candidates for Freshman of the Year. Greg Monroe had an early lead but Georgetown's collapse and unselfish style of play has hurt his case. Tyreke Evans has been strong for Memphis, averaging 17 points, five boards and four dimes - though his scoring as increased against lesser-CUSA opponents. Sylven Landesberg has been tough for Virginia, putting up 18 points, six rebounds and three assists per game.
- The NCAA Tournament is going to be a wide-open crap shoot. This year’s field of 65 is going to be as much of a crap shoot as any year in recent memory, much like ’05-’06 when the Final Four did have a single #1 seed. All the top teams have shown serious flaws and are susceptible to an early round upset. Don’t be surprised if a team not currently in the Top 10 is cutting down the nets in Detroit.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Now that the season is in full swing and game after game can be seen on ESPN, I'm getting a little annoyed with the constant claim from the media nitwits that the three best players in America are Tyler Hansbrough, Blake Griffin and Stephen Curry. Well, those guys aren't doing their jobs well enough if they don't consistently include James Harden in that group, if not at the top of it.
All Harden, a 6'4 220 guard, is doing so far is averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 58% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc and 81% from the charity stripe. He has made 16 of last last 22 three point attempts.
The schedule hasn't been too tough yet but the stats still don't tell the entire story. Some comparisons are being made to current pros; a better version of Michael Redd or a less-athletic but better shooting Dwyane Wade. Who knows how his pro career will turn out, but make sure to watch this future Top 5 pick while you still can, he's not going to be tearing up collegiate ranks for much longer.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Posted on December 3, 2008 at 04:16 PM.
Now that NCAA Basketball 09 has been out for two weeks, rosters are named, sliders are out and a patch has been released from EA we have a pretty good idea of where things stand on the college basketball front how this game stacks up in comparison to the famed College Hoops 2K8.I have played about 20 games of NCAA 09 (with sliders, on 20 min halves) and have a very good idea of what the game offers, what it's bright spots are and what it needs to work on.
It has been interesting to read the forums over the last couple weeks about people trashing the game who's complaints are clearly related to the fact that they...
1) Don't know the controls (I can't tell you how many posts there have been about too many offensive fouls in the post, this is because people don't understand how to execute moves in the post. Once you've mastered that, and it's not difficult to do, you will see a majority of those charges go away).
2) Haven't learned the engine.
3) Played one or two games before giving up on NCAA 09.
4) Think and/or expect NCAA 09 to be College Hoops 2K9.
I'm not saying this game is perfect, but it does do a lot of things well if you give it a chance, pay attention and learn the in's and out's of the controls as well as the engine.
As for what gamers should do this winter, as always it's up to each individual gamer and what their preferences are, but in short I would recommend keeping 2K8 in your catalog and adding NCAA 09.
The games are both very different and combined they managed to cover up each others' short comings. As the strengths of 2K8 have been well documented I'll focus on the strengths of NCAA 09.
The game play in NCAA 09 focuses more on tempo and the uniqueness of each team but at times will not focus enough on star players. 2K8 focuses more on the individual (after playbook and tendency edits) players but the tempo will be the same in almost every game you play and the individual results aren't always the best. I played a game of 2K8 last night with updated rosters, UNC vs UConn and Hansbrough scored 2 points on 1-1 FG's in 24 minutes even though he has 99 for close shot tendency.
Fastbreaking and the transition game is done very well in NCAA 09 (if you're having trouble scoring on the break, press the dunk/layup button before you are even in the paint to attack the rim. Don't wait til you are too close) while it is virtually non-existent in 2K8 unless you get a steal.
Perhaps the highlight of NCAA 09 is the floor spacing, ball movement and defensive recovery/rotations. If you are a true basketball fan and understand and enjoy the fundamentals of the game, you will certainly enjoy NCAA 09 in this regard. You can score in every way imagine, penetrate and pitch, inside-out, pick and roll, isolation, running plays, etc and it is very enjoyable to watch your teammates make the extra pass for a wide open three.
The graphics are sharp although the shorts still look kinda foolish and definitely need to be redone for '10. The animations can be spotty but are improving and you still will see players step out of bounds far too often, even with the force field boundary slider turned up.
Turnovers are also very well done, you will see errant passes, offensive fouls in the post, more charges than 2K8, 10-second and 5-second calls and of course steals.
Once you step off the court and into the features, dynasty and roster section of NCAA 09 you will really see how far it trails 2K8 in these categories. 2K8 was a dream game in terms of all of these areas and as polished and great of a complete package as we've ever seen from a sports game.
The rosters aren't as accurate as they should be, the player editing is nothing to write home about and you can't move players to different teams, redshirt/transfer players (in the default roster like 2K8) or change the year/class of a player. You can't sort by attributes and the name database pales in comparison to 2K8.
Dynasty mode is okay by average sports game standards, but when comparing it to the king in 2K8 it just doesn't come close yet. Recruiting has way too many 5-star recruits and in general seems too easy, there are very few preseason tournaments, you cannot play any game you want (non-user games) and there is no weekly highlight show. 2K8 vets will notice the lack of ability to click the R-stick at almost any menu and get a player or team summary/scouting report.
There is also no player lock, no export dynasty team, no create or edit a school feature.
If you are a die-hard college basketball fan who wants the most immersive experience from head-to-toe, then 2K8 remains the game of choice. When you factor in every area the game is still ahead of NCAA 09 in many regards. If you are into player lock or coach mode dynasties, 2K8 is still the way to go.
If you are a die-hard college basketball fan who has tired of 2K8's gameplay, looking for something new or looking for more realistic gameplay as a whole then NCAA 09 is the best route to take.
If you are a casual gamer who is looking to have fun and not spend a ton of time with a college basketball title, NCAA 09 is your game of choice unless you want to save $50 and get 2K8 used.
My plans for the winter are to run a UConn dynasty in NCAA 09, play exhibition games in 2K8 from time to time and continue to work on classic rosters. At this point I would imagine a 70/30 split between the titles, with NCAA 09 getting more time. But this is coming from someone who played close to 300 games of 2K8 and has tired of it.
Either way, I don't think you can go wrong this winter. Stick with the classic or try the new game on the block. The NCAA series still has a ways to go but it is a very good start for an EA game - especially in comparision to March Madness of the past and the current state of their two football games. Things could be a lot worse, but for college basketball gamers we may be it best out of any sport.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Posted on November 12, 2008 at 04:51 PM.
So far the Autumn months have been interesting and eventful for the basketball genre. Purely from a subjective standpoint we've seen the partial resurrection of NBA Live, the partial downfall of NBA2K and one sleeper emerge in NCAA 09. Heated debates have been seen all over the forums during the last six weeks and we're sure to see more in the coming weeks after NCAA Basketball 09 hits shelves next Tuesday (well, we think that's the street date at least). Regardless of your personal feelings towards the three pro games, you can't deny that boundaries are being blurried and loyalties are being tested this Fall for the first time in a long, long time.The demo for NCAA 09 dropped last week to the usual reaction of OSers. Some loved it, some hated it, some were lukewarm, some felt it was worse than Pong. Personally, I was very impressed with the progress made from March Maddness 08. There is no way to sugar coat it, MM08 was a terrible game. Playable, yes, but it had very little going for it. Even with Live 09's engine, there is still some hangover from MM08, but it doesn't look like enough to detract from the overall experience of the game. I don't want to get into the pro's and con's too much, you can find my in-depth thoughts in the demo impression thread.
So the question everyone is asking is, "can EA's first go-around with the 'new' NCAA Basketball series really dethrone the now-legendary College Hoops 2K8?" As a complete package, the short answer is certainly 'no', not in Year 1, but I don't believe it will be long before this series moves past College Hoops. NCAA 09 will still be behind 2K8 in several categories; animations, legacy, coach mode, multi-user legacies, names online, roster accuracy, etc. Plus all the "little things" that OSers drool over. Some of those areas are deal-breakers for OSers and they will not be playing NCAA 09 this winter because of it.
However, kudosis in order for EA's dev team. They started where they should start; with the game play. They are starting from a solid foundation and will be able to build and add all the features demanding OSers want in the future years. And I honestly believe that after the OS community has enough time with NCAA09 the gameplay will be as good as CH2K8.
The ingriguing improvements that we should see over the next few years are easy to get excited over. It's only a matter of time before online dynasties are brought over from NCAA Football, though it may be taxing since there are three-times as many teams in DI basketball than in DI-A (or whatever it's called these days, FBS?) football. The animations need improvements, the rosters need to get more accurate, improved online experience, multi-user legacies offline, etc.
But the beautiful thing is that as these features get added into NCAA '10 and beyond, we are still going to be able to rely on the strong foundation of the game play (which will also be tweaked, tuned and improved) to create a better complete product year in and year out.
When I see posts in the forums along the lines of "How can they not have ONLINE DYNASTIES?! I will never buy this trash!" give me a slight chuckle while sitting at my keyboard. Those features will come, we just need to be patient. After all, how much are you going to enjoy an online dynasty if the gameplay resembled MM08 more than Live 09? Our alternative is a college basketball series concurrent with NCAA Football. A messy, half-broken game that causes more headaches than high-fives. No thanks, I'll stick with what we have and count my blessings and know that EA does care about making quality games and finally learned to reach out to the community to help make those games better.
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