Official NBA Live 09 Impressions Thread

[ExtremeGamer]

Quote: Originally Posted by JSKYWALKER1

Damn you EG/Bluengold!!!!! I said I was not going to buy this game and I need to stick to my guns You guys are making it very hard. I do not want to drive to the Northern Ohio spot. I am trying to suck it up and not go there. By the way. Are you guys playing this on PS3? And can you shoot me a pm as to where you got this game. Peace!!!

360, and the Northern Ohio spot

[23]

Jsky, its a fun game..

Ex, how do you make those videos?

bluengold... that 365 video only plays once and you can skip it, I like watching it myself.

The playcalling is awesome as we've seen. Its so much better to see plays ran for other teams and other players in their hotspots...and off the ball movement has always been nice in NBA Live, one thing they got right from jump.


Takes a little longer to load up from the practice court than the demo when you decide to play so you can shoot around a few seconds longer.

Its probably not going to be as favorable as 2k in most people's eyes but its not total garbage. EA is headed in the right direction.

[Moegames]

I just want to say the LIVE is a complete turnaround this year..totally!! 360 owner here...

I got the game today and been playing it all day..its such a huge improvement over last years game that it totally baffled me..i got the game from a import shop where i had store credit..otherwise my heart was set on 2k9 but my uncle said 2k9 has major framerate issues that ruins the gameplay on all but defualt camera..all other camera angles has severe framerate issues...and i hate broadcast angle in 2k9 which is its defualt camera angle..so no 2k9 for me this year but thats ok..LIVE will work just fine for me this year lol

LIVE's baseline low camera angle is SICK!!! Its the most perfect angle ever created for a bball game..seriously..but thats just opinion of course.

With that said..the gameplay in Live is fun..fighting for room under the rim is top notch and feels REAL like im really fighting for room to get close to the rim for a better shot..its a tugAwar..near the rim and the on the floor overlay's ..for instance..when your backed up against a defender..these red and blue arrow overlays appear on the court helping you decide on which to go for your juke..right or left..nice stuff and another nice feature is the onscreen floor overlay percentage colored grid appears on the floor when your looking for a jump shot...another nice feature that helps you choose a good shooting distance for your player who has the rock thats about to pop off a jumper.

Also animations are NICE...i think they are a big leap forward this year and in some ways..BETTER then 2k9's..simply put..this game FLOWS WELL.

The all star weekend feature is icing on the cake guys..the 3point contest and dunk contest is RAW!!! I love it and adds much atmosphere to the game. speaking of atmosphere..i was SHOCKED that LIVE nailed it this year..wow..another complete turnaround again..even during gameplay the atmosphere feels ALIVE with LIFE...thats what i love with 2k games but this year.. LIVE also delivers..dont get me wrong..2k9 comes with some nice atmosphere but LIVe does too this year in its own ways..you'll see players on the bench getting hyped up,etc during certain plays..sometiems the camera just pans thru your teams sidelines..just to give you that tv feel broadcast...LIVE developers..have you guys been reading my posts in Madden forums? LOL I been stressing this about how Madden feels so dead and that it needs these cutscenes and presentation elements that bring a game to life..sports games needs to feel alive and feel like a real tv broadcast..using cut scenes and panning the camera around the stadiums and sidelines does give a game atmosphere and LIVE nailed it perfectly this year..well i shouldnt say that..more could of been added and i have yet to see the playoffs and championship games yet in LIVE but i hope the playoffs and championship has some specific atmosphere..if the All Star weekend mode in LIVE is any indication of this..then im sure LIVE will deliver some post season atmosphere...

The gameplay is rock'n bros...seriously, do not worry, the game plays great and it feels right..teamxbox review says pretty much how i feel..im sure you read that..well i can stand behind teamxbox review on LIVE this year..its SPOT ON. The core gameplay fundementals are just revamped in a major way... controls feel nice also someone or a few were complaining about the jump button how its sequence animation is slow..well there are varied jump animations..if you move the stick just a tad towards the guy popping off the shot..he wont do a full jump up leap in the air animation..he'll do a quick one arm up quick jump which triggers off much more quickly to make the timming more on then off with the other jump animation that seems to take for ever to execute.

Oh the CPU LOGIC is so smarter this year..you actually feel llike your playing a human when playing the cpu this year..seriously.. turn it up to allstar difficulty..you'll get a good game from the cpu..wow, i was also suprised here coming off last seasons god aweful AI.

One last thing..the international tournament with Team USA is Awesome!!! You cant lose with this game this year people..its worth every penny ..and im a HUGE 2k guy but im passing up 2k this year for LIVE..the framerate hurts the 2k experience overall way too much for me to spend my hard earned cash on it..maybe a patch will fix 2k9's framerate issues..who knows ..all i know is that NBA LIVE 09 is a complete turnaround this year..

[ExtremeGamer]

Quote: Originally Posted by KDRE_OS

Jsky, its a fun game.. Ex, how do you make those videos? bluengold... that 365 video only plays once and you can skip it, I like watching it myself. The playcalling is awesome as we've seen. Its so much better to see plays ran for other teams and other players in their hotspots...and off the ball movement has always been nice in NBA Live, one thing they got right from jump. Takes a little longer to load up from the practice court than the demo when you decide to play so you can shoot around a few seconds longer. Its probably not going to be as favorable as 2k in most people's eyes but its not total garbage. EA is headed in the right direction.

Agreed, best play calling in a basketball game to date. Love how the DNA info is there for each play as well.

To make the replays, pause the game, click instant replay. You then have markers you can set (press X on 360), that's what changes the camera angle. In each maker, you can press Y (no clue on PS3) and then you can edit the marker. So you can slow it down as I did on the LeBron steal, or speed it up, whatever you want. This makes 2K's Reelmaker look like garbage IMO.

[23]

I heard you could put those videos on the screen in the practice gym too. Not sure how but I need to give that a shot.

Im guessing you have to have a EASW account

For the sheer fact that this game a ton of animations should make this thing a blast.

I dont for some reason feel as hampered on defense and for blocks like i was on the demo. Not holding the stick and not holding down the turbo button seems to give me results similar to what i want. I need to experiment a little more.


...and Thank God its not like 08 where your teammates stand there and watch the ball go out of bounds or watch it roll away for no reason.

[ExtremeGamer]

Every video I've saved has been shown during the practice gym, it's a nice touch.

Yes, you will need a EASW account to upload them.

[SoMiss2000]

Dre, you have the PS3 version? 2K is a mess on PS3, how does Live look on it? I want to get a baskeball game for my PS3. Leaning towards Live and with Little Bigplanet on the 21st, not buying to hoops games.

[Moegames]

Im on the 360 version... also i edited my quick impressions ..i added a bit more to it

[dave374]

Quote: Originally Posted by KDRE_OS

I know you guys heard from Tomba and Pared,

... and dave

[JSKYWALKER1]

OK I'm sold. My 16 year old son has films for football game from tonight in the morning at 7:45, my 5 year old son has a football at 9:00 am. After that, I'm gonna call The Spot in Bowling Green and confirm that 2K9 came in and if it did I am off for the 2 hour trek. I have to figure out a way to trick the wifey. She would punish me if she knew I was making the trip tomorrow only because my son and daughter have Homecoming Dances at night. OS brothers wish me luck on this one. I just have to be back by the 3:00 with the kids taking pictures and all that gushy stuff.

Thanks for all the impressions from all that have contributed. Now that I have my priorities in order. Do the players/teams play true to life? Do this DNA really makes a difference after you have played a few games then DL the DNA feature? Also how are the graphics on the PS3 since I'm only a Sony guy now. Thanks fellows for your answers. Peace!!!