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What We Learned About NBA Live 18 At EA Play

NBA Live 18

What We Learned About NBA Live 18 At EA Play

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After a year-plus hiatus, EA showed off the return of the NBA Live franchise. This basketball series, which has been riddled with poor releases on the current and past generation of consoles, showed off a little bit of gameplay and a new mode called “The One” at this year’s E3.

So what do we know about the game so far? The answer: not much. What we do know is that NBA Live seems to be going to great lengths to separate itself from its competitor. The recently announced The One mode seems to heavily reflect several role-playing elements, including a choice in focus on “the streets” or “the league.” Presumably, players will have the ability to increase attributes while earning some kind of reputation for things on and off the court in the mode. EA has also listed several play styles for The One, including hybrid wing and slasher.

The One seems to be heavily focused on online play, with your player from The One able to accompany other players as you take down NBA stars on street courts like Venice Beach. It’s unclear as to whether or not this is a direct answer to NBA 2K’s “Pro-Am” that features several customization features akin to what NBA Live 18 seems to offer.

NBA Live 18

We also received a brief glimpse into what the gameplay might look like. In a first look at the game, EA showed off a right-stick dribble control mechanic that can be defended with left-stick lateral movement. From the little 5-on-5 gameplay that was shown off at E3, the game looks surprisingly smooth and intuitive. EA has boasted of an innovative one-on-one mechanic that is designed to show off the game’s responsiveness. The player models look like a huge upgrade from the extremely disappointing NBA Live 16, and the game has a more refreshing, colorful look.

Though the list may not be final, it would appear NBA Live 18 boils down to three main game modes: the aforementioned The One, an Ultimate Team mode that seems similar to EA’s other sports franchises, and a franchise mode. While there has been precious little info about franchise mode, we’ll almost certainly hear more prior to the game’s release in the fall of 2017.

Regardless of what players think of the small tidbits of NBA Live 18, fans of NBA video games are relieved that competition has made its way back to the current generation of consoles. From what we’ve seen so far, NBA Live 18 looks like a much more solid foundation for the franchise to build off of than it has had in a long time.

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  1. Showing comments 1-21 of 21 comments
    texasgmr
    I agree 100 percent Ben. It definitely will not knock of NBA 2K but I like what I am reading about what they have put into this game. "The One" feature I am really excited for. I have said it in the forums and over and over again. LIVE 16 is not a GREAT GAME, it is a FUN game with friends and that is exactly what I have been doing with the Summer Circuit and LIVE RUN mode.
    Having the options of taking your player to 'the streets' or 'the league' is appealing to me. There will be readers that will not like what I say and bash LIVE 18, and rightfully so. Consumers have not had anything else to talk about as far as basketball titles go. 2K is the king right now.
    Hopefully the hiatus will help EA and put some pressure on 2K because frankly, there has not been much changed with NBA 2K over the last few titles.
    Again, solid article!
    Thrash13
    If I get an NBA game before the end of 2017, it'll be NBA Live 18. I bought my son NBA 2K17 for the PS4 this past year, and we rarely played it after the first few days. I traded the PS4 in for a One S, and I figured I'd give 2K17 another shot since we didn't play it much on PS4. We played it a few times, but it got traded in shortly thereafter. I'm certainly in the minority on this, and that's okay. I've just never enjoyed NBA 2K. They make phenomenal game trailers that make me want their game, but I've always preferred Live.
    I'm excited to see and hear more about Live 18.
    Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app
    Mintsa
    texasgmr
    I agree 100 percent Ben. It definitely will not knock of NBA 2K but I like what I am reading about what they have put into this game. "The One" feature I am really excited for. I have said it in the forums and over and over again. LIVE 16 is not a GREAT GAME, it is a FUN game with friends and that is exactly what I have been doing with the Summer Circuit and LIVE RUN mode.
    Having the options of taking your player to 'the streets' or 'the league' is appealing to me. There will be readers that will not like what I say and bash LIVE 18, and rightfully so. Consumers have not had anything else to talk about as far as basketball titles go. 2K is the king right now.
    Hopefully the hiatus will help EA and put some pressure on 2K because frankly, there has not been much changed with NBA 2K over the last few titles.
    Again, solid article!

    Do people still play Live 16 ProAm online or is it just a bunch of CPU controlled players ??
    Sorry, just a quick question, not trying to de-rail the thread.
    texasgmr
    Mintsa
    Do people still play Live 16 ProAm online or is it just a bunch of CPU controlled players ??
    Sorry, just a quick question, not trying to de-rail the thread.

    There are still some players on there. I can live with some of the awkward movements in LIVE 16 to play with some guys that play team ball. We have a good laugh at some of the animations but we live with it haha.
    drugsbunny
    I am a 2k17 junkie but I must admit that I am excited about having an alternative this year. As much as I loved 2k17, I must honestly say that certain choices they made anger me as a fan of the series. The fact that playing offline disables certain features like choosing animations, articles of clothing and boosts are simply mind-blowing to me. They really went to0 far with with the necessity to spend real money to really do anything of significance. Sure you can grind it out but there literally isn't enough time in a day to achieve certain milestones. I hope that NBA Live doesn't make the same mistakes.
    Nemesis Enforcer
    The player models in 16 were "extremely disappointing" said no one...
    Live run still going strong and had a boost with the free access last week. Clubs on Xbox is a good way to find sim ballers.
    Does the drew and other pro am leagues have quarters and fouls?
    texasgmr
    Nemesis Enforcer
    The player models in 16 were "extremely disappointing" said no one...
    Live run still going strong and had a boost with the free access last week. Clubs on Xbox is a good way to find sim ballers.
    Does the drew and other pro am leagues have quarters and fouls?

    Good question. I thought the player models on 16 were actually pretty good.
    I too would like to know the answers to these questions.
    Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports
    bigmike0077
    I love everything im seeing and hearing about live this year, Ive been mainly a 2k player especially since new gen.
    Im intrigued by this game now tho, quick question to anyone who has info. Im mainly a Franchise mode player, that is always my main mode in any sports game. Anyone have any info about it?
    Mecca_G
    I KNOW I am in the vast minority with my next statement, but is it possible to get Connected Franchise on their radar for Live? There is still a want for this among video basketball players. I would LOVE to have an online league/franchise. That would take this game over the top for me!
    WTF
    CFM is on the radar, but not this year. I don't think regular franchise will see much this year either. I know it's a focus moving forward though.
    SeaTownGamer
    wacko11
    Playing to 21 is cool and all, but I would rather have a option to play 4 5 min qrts. I really hope that's in the game for pro am.

    Yeah up to 21 sucks.
    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Tomba
    WTF
    CFM is on the radar, but not this year. I don't think regular franchise will see much this year either. I know it's a focus moving forward though.

    as far as roster editing not being in do we know if more slider gameplay options were added?
    personally if they didn't do roster editing I would have liked them to maybe make a pc version or even a switch version any news on those two other platforms?
    mmafan18
    I hope this nba live will be good. I'm not gonna expect anything like 2k. If its fun then I will be good. I mostly like to play online with myplayer and i'm liking what live is showing in that aspect.
    cjacks17
    WTF
    CFM is on the radar, but not this year. I don't think regular franchise will see much this year either. I know it's a focus moving forward though.

    This is what I was expecting. It seems a lot of work went in to the gameplay, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
    That being said Franchise going forward will need to become a big focus.
    The One looks like it could actually top 2k (unless 2k makes some big improvements). However, Franchise will pull people back to the MyLeague/MyGM this year.
    I may buy both just to get a feel for both.
    I do feel as though I'm overly hyped about Live because info has come out and 2k hasn't realeased anything, but I'm just really impressed so far.
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