If you read my review of NBA Live 14, then you should have an idea that the game's developers have a mountain of work towering above them. Even the team has acknowledged the game must be fixed, by posting an apology and promise to bring NBA Live to an acceptable level of performance and play.

Now here we are, with a specific checklist of what needs to be improved to make NBA Live 14 worth the $60 that Electronic Arts is asking basketball fans to pay.

Practice Mode

• Create a training environment where gamers can practice dribbling, shooting and running plays.

Dribbling

• Increase the fluidity and responsiveness of right joystick dribble moves.
• Decrease the effectiveness of the dribble spin move.
• Generate more charges, travels and turnovers whenever poor ball handlers use the hop step/euro step and whenever the move is used in traffic.
• Eliminate clipping issues with limbs, bodies and the ball.
• Make steal attempts more dependent on proper collision physics and less reliant on attribute-driven "dice rolls."

Passing

• Remove the charge-up passing mechanic. All X button passes should automatically release at maximum speed. Let the O button "lob" passes be used for soft throws.
• Speed up all throwing and receiving animations.
• Improve players' ability to catch passes in stride without spinning around and coming to a complete stop.
• Players should be squaring their shoulders to the basket during catch animations instead of waiting until the catch animation completes.
• Fix the bug where the pass recipient will stare down the ball and let it go right by him or bounce right off his body.

Shooting

• Either add a directional "shot stick" or significantly improve the animation selection for shots around the rim.
• Reduce the shooting penalty from flat-footed shot contests if the shooter has a significant height advantage over the defender.
• Provide more on-screen feedback explaining why shots do or do not go in (late timing, contested shot, off-balance attempt, etc.).
• Speed up and smooth out the transitional animations when going from a dribble move to a shot attempt. Give special attention to the post move transitions.

Play-Calling

• Examine why so many AI teams are simply pounding the ball into the post, regardless of a player's talent or defensive matchup.
• Improve the AI's off-ball movement, both for the user and computer teams.
• Instead of sliding and jogging around the court, make the AI players' cuts sharper and more explosive when they are executing plays.
• Boost the responsiveness of the "call for screen" command.
• Eliminate clipping issues between the screener and the on-ball defender.
• Enhance the effectiveness of screens and how often they impede an on-ball defender.

Defense

• Allow defenders to move their feet and keep their hands up simultaneously.
• Reduce the ball-tracking ability and the speed of all shot blocking animations.
• All players around the rim should be attacking the ball on rebounds. The ball should never be bouncing to the ground while multiple players stare at it complacently.
• The ball handler should be more vulnerable to a steal, charge or a turnover whenever he is driving and the "cut off" defensive animation occurs.

Rules

• Referees make way too many incorrect blocking calls or no-calls and not enough charging calls.
• Increase the likelihood of a shooting foul occurring during turbo-aided block attempts.
• Solve the consistency issues with out-of-bounds calls.
• Stop counting foot-on-the-line jumpers as three pointers.
• Raise the amount of CPU fouls committed per game.
• Include gameplay sliders for all NBA rules.

Dynasty

• Create an in-game Jalen Rose model that appears on-screen during his studio show.
• Have Jalen Rose show video highlights, not just box scores, for the night's out-of-town games.
• Make the "wired for sound" cut scenes play during time outs and breaks between quarters, not at halftime and after the game.
• Reduce the amount of dead-air in commentary.
• Solve the random in-game crashes.

Rising Star

• Reevaluate each position's starting attributes. The default ratings are way too low for a first-round pick.
• Improve draft logic and coaching decisions.
• Overhaul teammate AI.
• Expand the simplistic in-game grading system.
• Add more in-game goals besides simply outranking your matchup.
• Allow the user to import his or her EA Sports Game Face.
• Develop off-the-court storylines and cut scenes.

Camera Issues

• Boost the frame rate on the "Baseline High" and "Baseline Low" cameras up to a steady 60 FPS.
• Include a "Custom Camera" option ala NHL 14 that lets users create a custom gameplay perspective.
• Have the scoreboard dynamically disappear whenever it is covering up a player with the ball.
• Players should be substituting and lining up in real time during play stoppages instead of using a choppy cut scene to teleport everyone into place.

Online Play

• Fix the latency issues.
• Let gamers play online with the "ratings only" shooting option.

Ultimate Team

• Add an auction house where gamers can buy or sell specific NBA players.
• Release special "team of the week," "player of the game" and "milestone" cards throughout the NBA season ala Hockey Ultimate Team.
• Include the option to challenge a friend's Ultimate Team to an exhibition game.

NBA Rewind

• Prevent the generic "Point Guard #0" player from appearing on the user team.

Big Moments

• Eliminate the disappearing crowd audio bug.
• Solve the random freezes and crashes.

30-Team Online Leagues

• Online Leagues have been a standard feature in triple-A sports games for several years now. They should be in NBA Live 14 if it is going to being sold and marketed as a complete, $60 game.

Online Team Play

• Whether it features Rising Star players or existing NBA players, NBA Live 14 should give gamers the option of teaming up online for 5 vs. 5 games. Ideally, the mode should include persistent online clubs like in FIFA 14 and NHL 14.