NBA Live 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

[Pared]

Quote: Originally Posted by Melman

Hey did you guys know in the Hangar if you press the "back button" it zooms in on the main monitors in the Hangar... FYI not sure if its already been stated.

That's on the screen's controls when you first start at the hanger...

[Tully]

I like the Demo, but not crazy about it. Its no doubt a big jump from last season.

2 issues I have are.

I don't think they have Roy's shot right.

Also why does Live continue to look and feel like the guys are too big for the court? This is particularly noticeable when you rebound. They jump over the friggin rim

[Pappy Knuckles]

Well I went and paid off my NBA 2K10 today. I'm liking the Live demo a lot and may ultimately buy it, but I've got a lot of 2K in my blood that's hard to shake. Plus I really think I'm gonna enjoy the combine this year. The Live demo is on point, I can see a lot of people giving it a chance this year who wouldn't in years past.

[cf00]

All hype. Yeah they did a lot of work on the dribble controls and the looks of players but if you really play the demo you notice a lot of the same Live problems that have plagued it for years remain. The control is great on offense and players look great, but the defense, rebounding. There i sno box out button. man defense is terrible. Moving in and out of the post offensively and defensively is very awkward. The post game in general is very simplistic and everyone plays the same. Still a lot of ridiculous awkward animations and a lot of animations that don't finish themselves at all and cut out. Blocks and rebounding and boxing out are ridiculously unrealistic.

The passing is bad and players dont adjust their pass angle. You actually have to move your player or the AI will throw it directly at the defender instead of adjusting the angle. It's a very simplistic game. I played the demo a ton today If EA actually backed up all their claims and pushing this game on people that would be one thing, but they haven't . Marketing. It amazes me how many people have been buying it. It's a shallow thing when you don't back it up. Watch the trailers they've showed. notice how they never show defense. There still is no inbound steal button. The steal animation is delayed and a crapshoot in general. Players still jump awkwardly and the game is simplistic. I don't know how to describe it but the way players just stand there and bounce off each other in rubber band way is very archaic. The playcalling system is also extremely simplistic. Minor, but the rim and block sounds are pretty bad.

I will say some positives so people don't think I'm trolling here. These are my honest impressions. I do think the control offensively is excellent and has a good feel to it. The players have weight to them. They aren't solid like 2k but there is more of an organic feel. 2k used to be organic back int he day but has gotten kind of robotic as tech has advanced. I would say the way players move and animate is more organic in Live. Graphically the game is stunning. The menus are all sleak and nice. The atmosphere is nice. The game flows nicely and plays a decent game of basketball minus some glaring unrealistic things. The tech in the game is good and EA did a great job capturing various players. Although players still morph through the lane and i've seen several instances of a player going right through me or the ball. The AI on fight for the ball is terrible. I've had possesion only to have my own player suddenly dive for it and knock it out of bounds. As far as having control over an offensive player and being able to dip and cross over and pull off all sorts of combos and have the defense react is very smooth. But that's the extent of the depth in this game.

IMO EA loses a lot of credibility here. So does DA_Czar. I've been playing these games for a long time so this isn't a case of getting used to the controls. I'm playing on allstar where the real ballers play Czar. I've been playing these games for years. I took the time and played and adjusted and played within the flow of the game and learned all the controls. EA talks a good game but then there's the truth. Hopefully EA doesn't run everyone else out of business and start charging whatever they want for addons and additional difficulty levels.

[bizcanos]

Quote: Originally Posted by Teebone21

WHAT 2k's defense is nonexistant usually. how can you not like the fact that you have good paint defense and help D?

I never said that. To be more clear I mean me sticking the cpu. Just does not feel like I have enough defensive options to counter balance all the offensive arsenal at our disposal.

[Tha_Kid]

Quote: Originally Posted by bizcanos

Just does not feel like I have enough defensive options to counter balance all the offensive arsenal at our disposal.

This.

[RayAllen20]

Here are my impressions..

The dribbling moves are great but it is hard to control at times. I think I just need to get used to it. Passing is the hardest thing to get used to but when you complete a great pass it is just sweet. Off ball movement is fantastic but I have trouble with passing them the ball right away because I am not used to the passing controls.

The graphics are just insane. It is the best looking game Ive ever seen. I dont think the player models are cartoonish at all. I can easily tell who everyone is from a far distance. On broadcast camera the game looks fantastic, unforutantely I just cant play on it because it is hard to see if someone is open.

Defensively this is the best in a game I can remember. No suction and the CPU isnt a push over at all. I cant just continuosly do moves with Derek Fisher for 24 seconds and get by my man for a lay up. If you bump into them continously you will lose the ball. Even Kobe. The blocking is pretty good, and I performed some great blocks against D-Howard with Bynum. Help is fantastic, and it leads to great dump off passes.

But my favorite part of this game is the fastbreaks. Pietrus steals the ball but Artest and Kobe are at his side trying to stop him. Im thinking, in all basketball games the defender is so much faster than the ball handler because they dont push the ball. But then Pietrus just explodes and throws it down with authority. That is the greatest fastbreak Ive ever seen in a video game.

No more canned animations feels great, and the game feels very fluid this year. I feel like every play is different. Im loving this game and want to buy it now. But 2k could always change my mind.

And for people that havent had any great plays its because your not familiar with the controls and arent good enough to have wow moments. Look at Da Czars video where LeBron does that sweet behind the back and does a sweet jam over 2 Knick defenders. That had top 10 play written all over it. 2k to me has too many great plays with dunks.

Somethings need to be patched though like shots going off the side of the backboard and the PGs holding the ball the whole game. Now I may be mistaken but I think these might have been fixed before the retail game. Not sure though. Anyway I love this game right now and it will share time with Madden.

[withauthority22]

All I can say is, 2k better start getting its act together, because Live has a real chance of eclipsing it in the near future. The game has slowly gotten better the past 3-4 years, and 2k has been going backwards and forwards.