Official NBA Live 09 Impressions Thread

KDRE_OS · 10-03-2008, 02:05 AM

I know you guys heard from Tomba and Pared, but there are others that are getting the game now including yours truly or are about to, so you guys can post your impressions away here.

SageInfinite · 10-03-2008, 02:11 AM

This game will be really really good with the proper sliders. Graphics are great as well. EA really took a nice step this year.

KDRE_OS · 10-03-2008, 02:13 AM

Agreed Sage and for those that do have the game and play it, make sure you take note of who needs their sig shots fixed or added so we can make a list for beluba as he requested after next week.

SageInfinite · 10-03-2008, 02:19 AM

Oh yea I forgot to add the sound is PHENOMENAL. If you close your eyes you'd think a real game was on TV. Personally I think all the jump shots need to be re-worked. They just don't feel comfortable. Most feel stiff. Maybe I'm just used to the other game. Also I'm lazy, and the cpu doesn't really auto sub as much as I'd like, also I'd like the cpu to recognize when my players are tired and take the timeout for me. Just something I wish they had in the game, no biggie.

lilvic · 10-03-2008, 02:49 AM

Well, what can I say. I am a little dissapointed in this game. You speak about sliders making this game great but it should play great "out of the box". On superstar, me and the CPU and shooting in the mid-high 60%. Animation look very stiff. It looks forced. Their freestyle animations are good but every else doesn't look fluid. Like you can see little jerks when a player moves from freestyle into shot. Its not one motion.

Same with "signature shots". You can barley tell its their signature shot. Most guards play just like other guards, forwards as forwards, ect. In other words, not much individuality to the players. The new pick n roll thing feels like it could be abusive. Also, some of the faces on the players are down right atrocious. Little graphic glitches here and there like rebounding through players.

On to the good, CPU plays so much smarter now. They run plays, find the open man and will take the jumper if left open. I like the freestyle moves but use it enough and you'll eventually get by your man. Theres also highlight reels at halftime that shows the best plays. Although, this is where you can see most of the animation mishaps. All in all, this is EA's best nextgen live to date. As mentioned, it can play much better with the right sliders but this based on the game straight out the box.

rawdog805 · 10-03-2008, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDRE_OS


	Agreed Sage and for those that do have the game and play it, make sure you take note of who needs their sig shots fixed or added so we can make a list for beluba* as he requested after next week.*

Wasnt Beluba on the 2K side?? What did I miss??

23bluesman · 10-03-2008, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawdog805


	Wasnt Beluba on the 2K side?? What did I miss??

He's now with EA. He wasn't with EA during the full development of 09 though, he came later on. So you'll get the whole Beluba effect next year.

dave374 · 10-03-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDRE_OS


	I know you guys heard from Tomba and Pared.

And Dave!

Jeez. How many impressions did I have to give to get some props here?

KDRE_OS · 10-03-2008, 01:05 PM

LOL, and dave374, sorry about that man.

dave stepped in to give pared that HUGE assist when tomba abandoned us to work on his sliders...lol

Shawny1983 · 10-03-2008, 01:14 PM

Alrighty then, I've put in about 5 games of Live 09 on the PS3.... and I'm loving it a lot more than I thought I would

Graphically, it's not even close for me. Live as a whole has a much more polished and cohesive look to it that really makes it a looker. From the arenas, the lighting, sweating, incidental animations, player bodies etc...it screams next gen. Menus and overlays are slick and informative as well. The only hitches (which I suspect are bugs) are the fact the replays aren't consistently smooth. When I play in Staples Center the replays randomly playing are chuggy as hell yet in the United Center they dont do that. In addition, "The Hightlight Reel" doesn't work it appears as it's just a static page.

Sound, no contest. Live has a much more impressive 5.1 execution going for it relative to NBA2K9. You really feel like you are in an expansive arena while 2K sounds very top heavy. With Kenny "the Jet" Smith gone from 2K, Marv is looking to be the best play by play announcer in this year's game.

Gameplay, overall a very positive experience. The court feels very big and, in turn, when you run plays you feel like you can take advantage of how the defense is playing. When I post up Pau or Bynum, I can feel the defense collapse and I can work the ball to the open guy for a good shot.

The playcalling and execution feels so good this year as it's very easy to follow how the play is supposed to develop and work. Indifferent to the preference of shot stick vs two shooting buttons as I've been able to adjust pretty well. In the 2K games, I feel like I can easily cover both the paint and the perimeter at the same time because the players move and stop on a dime. In Live, you truly have to pick your poison.

Pick and roll play is the biggest innovation imo, and it's a game changer for me considering I am heavy pick and roll guy. I was concerned about this being too overpowered, but playing a mixture of zone defenses and manual steals ensure you can defend it decently.

Biggest disappointment, rebounding! 2K9 feels so much better in this respect it's not even funny. In Live I'm still trying to understand the idiosyncrasies of the system to understand how I should rebound. It's currently a crap shot on whether I can manually grab rebounds, but it's not a game breaker for me.

A big question of mine was whether or not player DNA a gimmick or real? From my early experience, it does have an impact on how the game is being played. When I was playing Wizards, Gilbert Arenas was coming up court and chucking up 3 point shots early in the shot clock just like real life. When I was playing against the Jazz, Deron Williams was killing me with the penetrate and kick action to his sharpshooters in addition to playing the two man game with Boozer. Can't wait to see how this changes are the season and "DNA" gets updated.

I haven't even got into all the extra features, but this game is a damn fun b-ball title. It takes a little bit of deprogramming if you've played 2K every year for the past 6-7 years, but it's well worth the effort. Hopefully some of you guys pick it up and we can run some games here and there. Otherwise I look forward to using this primarily for the franchise action as it looks pretty feature rich there.

Highly Recommended so far even with the few bugs and annoyances I've referenced...

10-03-2008, 02:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
KDRE_OS 23 OVR: 49 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 24,693	Official NBA Live 09 Impressions Thread I know you guys heard from Tomba and Pared, but there are others that are getting the game now including yours truly or are about to, so you guys can post your impressions away here.

10-03-2008, 02:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
SageInfinite Pain & Glory OVR: 21 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 5,565	Re: Official NBA Live 2009 Impressions Thread This game will be really really good with the proper sliders. Graphics are great as well. EA really took a nice step this year. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/sagetheinfinite http://www.myspace.com/phillthegenesis Fanboys made me hate my PS3 "Better know who to trust, she might roll wit thugs who roll bodies up in Asian rugs" Nas KB24 Why must dudes on message boards exaggerate everything?! Most of the time you are NOT funny

10-03-2008, 02:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
KDRE_OS 23 OVR: 49 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 24,693	Re: Official NBA Live 2009 Impressions Thread Agreed Sage and for those that do have the game and play it, make sure you take note of who needs their sig shots fixed or added so we can make a list for beluba as he requested after next week.

10-03-2008, 02:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
SageInfinite Pain & Glory OVR: 21 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 5,565	Re: Official NBA Live 2009 Impressions Thread Oh yea I forgot to add the sound is PHENOMENAL. If you close your eyes you'd think a real game was on TV. Personally I think all the jump shots need to be re-worked. They just don't feel comfortable. Most feel stiff. Maybe I'm just used to the other game. Also I'm lazy, and the cpu doesn't really auto sub as much as I'd like, also I'd like the cpu to recognize when my players are tired and take the timeout for me. Just something I wish they had in the game, no biggie. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/sagetheinfinite http://www.myspace.com/phillthegenesis Fanboys made me hate my PS3 "Better know who to trust, she might roll wit thugs who roll bodies up in Asian rugs" Nas KB24 Why must dudes on message boards exaggerate everything?! Most of the time you are NOT funny

10-03-2008, 02:49 AM	#5 (permalink)
lilvic Rookie OVR: 1 Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 113	Re: Official NBA Live 2009 Impressions Thread Well, what can I say. I am a little dissapointed in this game. You speak about sliders making this game great but it should play great "out of the box". On superstar, me and the CPU and shooting in the mid-high 60%. Animation look very stiff. It looks forced. Their freestyle animations are good but every else doesn't look fluid. Like you can see little jerks when a player moves from freestyle into shot. Its not one motion. Same with "signature shots". You can barley tell its their signature shot. Most guards play just like other guards, forwards as forwards, ect. In other words, not much individuality to the players. The new pick n roll thing feels like it could be abusive. Also, some of the faces on the players are down right atrocious. Little graphic glitches here and there like rebounding through players. On to the good, CPU plays so much smarter now. They run plays, find the open man and will take the jumper if left open. I like the freestyle moves but use it enough and you'll eventually get by your man. Theres also highlight reels at halftime that shows the best plays. Although, this is where you can see most of the animation mishaps. All in all, this is EA's best nextgen live to date. As mentioned, it can play much better with the right sliders but this based on the game straight out the box.

10-03-2008, 01:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
KDRE_OS 23 OVR: 49 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 24,693	Re: Official NBA Live 2009 Impressions Thread LOL, and dave374, sorry about that man. dave stepped in to give pared that HUGE assist when tomba abandoned us to work on his sliders...lol

10-03-2008, 01:14 PM	#10 (permalink)
Shawny1983 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 15	Re: Official NBA Live 2009 Impressions Thread Alrighty then, I've put in about 5 games of Live 09 on the PS3.... and I'm loving it a lot more than I thought I would Graphically, it's not even close for me. Live as a whole has a much more polished and cohesive look to it that really makes it a looker. From the arenas, the lighting, sweating, incidental animations, player bodies etc...it screams next gen. Menus and overlays are slick and informative as well. The only hitches (which I suspect are bugs) are the fact the replays aren't consistently smooth. When I play in Staples Center the replays randomly playing are chuggy as hell yet in the United Center they dont do that. In addition, "The Hightlight Reel" doesn't work it appears as it's just a static page. Sound, no contest. Live has a much more impressive 5.1 execution going for it relative to NBA2K9. You really feel like you are in an expansive arena while 2K sounds very top heavy. With Kenny "the Jet" Smith gone from 2K, Marv is looking to be the best play by play announcer in this year's game. Gameplay, overall a very positive experience. The court feels very big and, in turn, when you run plays you feel like you can take advantage of how the defense is playing. When I post up Pau or Bynum, I can feel the defense collapse and I can work the ball to the open guy for a good shot. The playcalling and execution feels so good this year as it's very easy to follow how the play is supposed to develop and work. Indifferent to the preference of shot stick vs two shooting buttons as I've been able to adjust pretty well. In the 2K games, I feel like I can easily cover both the paint and the perimeter at the same time because the players move and stop on a dime. In Live, you truly have to pick your poison. Pick and roll play is the biggest innovation imo, and it's a game changer for me considering I am heavy pick and roll guy. I was concerned about this being too overpowered, but playing a mixture of zone defenses and manual steals ensure you can defend it decently. Biggest disappointment, rebounding! 2K9 feels so much better in this respect it's not even funny. In Live I'm still trying to understand the idiosyncrasies of the system to understand how I should rebound. It's currently a crap shot on whether I can manually grab rebounds, but it's not a game breaker for me. A big question of mine was whether or not player DNA a gimmick or real? From my early experience, it does have an impact on how the game is being played. When I was playing Wizards, Gilbert Arenas was coming up court and chucking up 3 point shots early in the shot clock just like real life. When I was playing against the Jazz, Deron Williams was killing me with the penetrate and kick action to his sharpshooters in addition to playing the two man game with Boozer. Can't wait to see how this changes are the season and "DNA" gets updated. I haven't even got into all the extra features, but this game is a damn fun b-ball title. It takes a little bit of deprogramming if you've played 2K every year for the past 6-7 years, but it's well worth the effort. Hopefully some of you guys pick it up and we can run some games here and there. Otherwise I look forward to using this primarily for the franchise action as it looks pretty feature rich there. Highly Recommended so far even with the few bugs and annoyances I've referenced...

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