The NBA Live 10 demo has been out for quite a while now, but with the release of Live 10 just a week away, we felt it was time to roll out some final thoughts on the demo.

Based upon your time with the demo, what is your favorite new addition to the game?

Steve Bartlett: The most welcomed addition the NBA Live series is the fluidity while running the offense this year. Now that the passing game is serviceable, the game flows at a good tempo that keeps the pace going up and down the court smoothly and naturally. You don’t get locked into the animations your ball handler performs and it’s a joy to attack the rim. The game is now much more responsive when you chain together some moves and take it to the rack.

Christian McLeod: Analog passing. This is going to sound a bit unbelievable, but after the stellar Live 2004 was released on PS2, I started a thread on the EA forums talking about how cool it would be to implement analog-stick passing. It may have taken five years to come to fruition, but I love dishing the rock while driving the lane with a simple analog flick.

TD St. Matthew-Daniel: Offensive controls. Getting rid of the second shot button was a great idea, but it's also one that should have been implemented years ago. Being able to dribble with the left stick also gives you more control on the perimeter with the better ball handlers in the league. Lastly, having to time your release on jump shots adds authenticity to your offense while requiring a bit of skill to get outside buckets, especially if you’re trying to pull off a Kobe fall-away jumper or a D-Wade step-back J. The rebound animations are good, too. There's still some noticeable warping at times, but NBA Live 10 easily has the most rebounding animations ever in a basketball video game (but that doesn't always lead to good rebounding logic).

Jayson Young: I was most impressed with the upgrades to Live's defensive AI. Playing on the higher difficulty levels, I frequently saw defenders with their hands in the passing lanes breaking up or stealing most of my bad pass attempts. I also like the new collision animations on the sidelines that prevent people from exploiting the baseline drives that ended up dominating online play last year.


Steve Bartlett: Live 10 is more refined. Last year’s demo exhibited many flaws in the dribbling system as well as basic basketball moves (such as passing the ball to the open man). The controls are also less clunky, which leads to a feeling that there is more more freedom on the court. Basically, Live 10 is just a more enjoyable experience than the Live 09 demo.

Christian McLeod: To me the game feels a bit slower and more controlled during certain situations. If I had one major gripe with Live 09, it was that the game's speed caused some animation and clipping issues while in the paint. The slower pace of the game around the basket feels great, and has in turn caused the animations to look incredibly smooth and realistic.

I'm also digging the new presentation aspects, sans the ridiculous player intros. Maybe the Live team should work on NCAA Football next season.

TD St. Matthew-Daniel: NBA Live 10 is definitely an improvement over last year’s game, but the real question is, by how much? Sadly I can’t properly assess that question right now since it’s just the demo, but I can tell you that EA Sports has put in the effort to make the game more authentic on both sides of the court. But effort doesn’t always yield results, and from my early experience with the game, basketball purists like me who value playing defense just as much as putting points up on the board may be let down once again by Live 10.

There just isn’t much to do while on defense. You can try staying in front of your man, but you only have to use the left stick to do that, which makes for a very dull experience when playing man-to-man D. In essence, you can take breaks on defense –- just the way Vince Carter likes it. Luckily for Live 10, the improvements and variety on offense may make fans feel like they are playing a new and improved game either way.

Jayson Young: The dribble-drive game remains Live's biggest advantage over NBA 2K9. On offense, you are in total control of your player as he executes moves and weaves through traffic for a shot. In NBA 2K9, I often end up performing moves I didn't intend to, and it can feel like pure chance when the game actually triggers the proper dribbling/shooting animation for your player. I don't have that problem in this game because it seems like the controls and animations are synced up better in Live 10 than in any other basketball game I've played this generation.


Steve Bartlett: Live 10 will be a solid basketball game. Defense is a challenge since the game puts all the motion and footwork onto the left analog stick. I still haven’t figured out a way to post-up naturally on the blocks either. While it lacks the overall depth you would naturally look for in a basketball simulation in these gameplay areas, Live 10 looks like it will stand up to NBA 2K10 this year in terms of atmosphere, presentation and sound.

Christian McLeod: I'm approaching Live 10 with cautious optimism. I really liked Live 09 a lot, but it just had too many AI and animation issues to outlast the competition's product. From a controls standpoint, the Live series finally feels like basketball again, but my main problem is that it still doesn't look as fluid as the competition's yearly offering. In addition, court spacing seems off, and I still do not like the game's rebounding and blocking animations. However, my biggest issue is that the game still feels very arcade-like, with success being determined by your ability to attack the paint even on the higher difficulty levels. I am looking forward to playing the final build with and against a team like the Pistons in order to see whether or not their dynamic style makes it possible to establish a solid mid-range game.

Basically, I think Live 10 will be good, but it will take one more year for the Live series to return to its '96 greatness.

TD St. Matthew-Daniel: It’s surely going to be the best Live game in about four years. Effort was definitely put into this year’s game and for the most part it shows. The hangar is a ton of fun this year as well -- I spent just as much time in the gym refining my handle as I did playing an actual game. The introductions, commentary and presentation are all stellar, but the visuals when the camera zooms in on a dead ball are lacking to say the least. Overall, it’s a solid improvement, but like I say all the time, I’m a baller before a gamer. NBA Live 10, based on the demo, is a videogame first and a basketball game second.

Jayson Young: As someone who is primarily an online player, it's hard for me to look at the demo and gauge how the game will play against an opponent who has a game plan that consists of winning at all costs. Will people still be able to chuck home-run passes the full length of the court? Are offensive players still unguardable when they're running around in circles with the turbo button held down? What about the automated inbound passes that led to lots of dumb turnovers in the backcourt? These are all questions I want to see answered before I think about giving Live my money this year.


...Hopefully this roundtable will satiate our own hunger for NBA basketball until next week.