NBA Elite 11 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (PS3, 360)

[Tha_Kid]

A lot of positives in this game. A lot of jank too. I find the graphics better than Live 10, just less vibrant. There is sterile quality to presentation but the commentary is surprisingly solid. They won't tell stories but its a refreshing team to listen to. Right stick controls are much more intuitive than past Lives for me. On Defense, it's even better. I like the game best in broadcast.

The defense is worlds better, there are good bodying animations and using LT can help a lot (unless its Kobe, who roasted me each game). It gets shaky again in the post, as there will be a lot of awkwardness animation wise. Still, the post game is pretty fun as well, though i'm still getting used to the moves. The blocking can get pretty bad on jumpshots. It got better the more i played (as in the shots I was taking weren't as obvious) but it still looks super unrealistic. The verticals also contribute to the how bad the mid-air collsions can look, particularly on rebounds & adjusted shots. Steals & pressuring the ballhandler feels great but I wasn't impressed with the loose ball hustle. Better than Live 10 but still meh. Multiple times the ball was going out of bounds and in all I got one hustle animation, from Bynum who threw it out anyway. Loose balls where the ball stays on the court could also use a controllable hustle, if you will.

Once I got a hang of the controls (which wasn't until i stopped 5-on-5 and played Be a pro and then went back) I pulled off some plays and moves that really felt rewarding, particularly the finishes. I don't think it was a good idea making layups harder to make than dunks, but it definitely is rewarding when you do pull off a great drive and get the layup all because of skill. Feathering the LS can bring some good stuff in the Elite demo as well when it comes to getting space for the jumper or the drive.

There are fastbreaks, which surprised me. I had one where Pierce picked up a looseball around halfcourt and Artest and Fisher were right with him, but I edged him and Pierce bursted forward to finish with a sweet fingerroll. It's not ideal, as Fisher could chase down Rondo, but when the sprint kicks in at the right time it can make for a great break.

I had a completely positive experience with Become Legendary. With playcalling on, it was pretty fun. I was a SF and we were feeding Cousins, when the game was close, the black team brought in Hayward and ran him off of screens on either side for 3's. Good late game logic by the AI as far as fouls. I sent the game into OT by hitting 2 clutch free throws. I like the Free Throw shooting in the game as well. Turned the difficulty up to superstar and it is a legitimate skill making those. Sealed the game by getting a pick roll off a broken play. Screen was set to my right, i kept the ball in my right hand and strafed my man (who went over) then I crossed him left, and fed the rolling screen for a big jam. That mode will get a lot of play should I get Elite.

I think those that play Elite will find a lot to like, though looking past the blatant traveling that can be done (it's possible in all bball games but it can look particularly heinous at times in Elite due to gathers and rocket dunks in the demo) and the hanging that goes with the funky look of the mid-air collisions might be asking too much of gamers who haven't seen animations this rough in years (esp those who stuck around to see them get better, only to regress). For those who accept the tradeoff, there is a really nice organic feel there with a dash of anything can happen. For example, you might get an ugly no call collision from going for a long board, but at the same time another player can duck in and scoop it up for a run out. I guess it's a beautiful ugly if you can appreciate it.

The game/series has great potential but the animation quality is bad enough to give it almost a beta feel. I can't blame people for not being able (or wanting to) get past that, but there is pretty good bball game underneath that. I already know I won't be able to put any friends onto this game as a serious option until the physics animations catch up with the rest of the game. I'm very curious in what a patch can do for any of this.

[Stickz24]

Quote: Originally Posted by faster

I did and I want NBA Live 10 back -- badly. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO many of us thought 10 was a really really good game that needed a few things ironed out. Instead, we've got.............. this. Over the past couple years I turned from the 2k series to live and was really excited for this year. I haven't been on the forums for months until recently. I came on and saw they scrapped a tremendous came for a project. Ok, that sucks but let's see how it goes. After today I can officially say I'm a 2K guy again. The AI is atrocious. The announcing is embarrassing. The graphics are, well, I don't need to say it. The controls are "meh" -- and albeit an attempt to be revolutionary, what really happened is you guys shot yourself in both feet with shotguns. Sales will dictate how bad of a move this will be. Don't think just because we're sim gamers here we don't in some way represent what casual gamers are going to say and do. The single biggest move that EA did was make the graphics aweful and casusal gamers will not stand for that. Returns and word of mouth will destroy sales. Maybe the EA hype machine can overmarket this game and trick a few, but eventually it's going to catch up. Shame on you EA.

Wooow. I'm having trouble moving my mouse and typing after that demo.
I didn't think it would be that bad .. and I've been playing video games since Atari's ping pong.

And maybe it's cause we heard about it .. but the hockey guy messed up man. Big Time. Funny thing about basketball is that it will call you out quicky if you haven't been playing it forever. Even w guys like Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Yao .. you can tell they were more quick/catch-up studies with athletic talents than outright gifted natural basketball talents. They're different from your Mikes, Kobes, Durant's, Shaq, Garnett, Dwight etc.

Point I'm making is that if you pull someone from a hockey game to lead the strategic designs of a bball game that has evolved since 1988 ish (assymetries) .. It's not even fair to that man. He'd damn near have to be a savant to make up that gap in 1 yr. Esp when you consider .. even those dudes I mentioned up there that were good studies/late bloomers;? Most of them started playing ball around 13-15 ish. He's not going to have that intuition for the game. That "je ne se quoi" ... On paper all that control stuff makes sense ... but practically .. playing it. Nah.

Remember this EA .. first the true test of a good game is how fluid it looks to the casual observer. Then you get into those control tests ..

I honestly don't think this demo passes either. I doesn't look good. It doesn't feel good. The core logic of the game .. the science/triangles upon which basketball work are not embedded in the game (just ignore this statement if it doesn't make sense). Not a static or flawed flow .. imo - just no flow at all. A bunch of individuals with some connected animations but no synergy at alll.

Forgive me for not going into petty details about animations and stuff .. I'm one of those people that looks at the bigger picture first .. and lets the details sort themselves out .. as long it the details vehicle the project to match that bigger picture vision.

No way this way you guy's vision. No way. Not even for the 1st of a 3 leg phase.
And that's where the game fails.

Only example I can give here that fits .. w/ 2k you can see their vision in the product ... whether you agree w their perspective or not is a matter of personal opinion. With this game .. you're told what the vision is ... but it is definitely .. not present in the product.

I do hope you get your fair share of customers this year though .. Hopefully I'm full of **** with all this talking and you all smash 2k in sales.
What those lawyers always say ..? Res Ispa loquitur.

[Tha_Kid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob. D

after finally playing I gotta say.......Ima fan. Yea there's some weird stuff happening ie animations but the pace and feel is cool. The controls will turn the average joe off, but ima stick it out and get em down. But with the amount of control we have EASBA will be INSANE. This feature alone sells this for me plus I know EA delivers on the online aspect of things.

This is similar to how I feel, though Become Legendary would probably get more time than EASBA from me.

[NDIrish98]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

You better believe we will be going back through this thread and handing out infractions. Some of these comments are completely out of line and will be handled appropriately.

Thank you for this.

[x_irish6]

Although I didn't like the demo, I am confident Elite can be a good game by the end of its 3 year cycle, much like FIFA was. I didn't like '08 when new controls were introduced, but loved '10.

rEAnimator, thanks for being so candid with your responses. I have one question.

I did like the shot mechanic controls based on skill. I didn't mind other stick controls, but wasn't a fan of having the passing on the shoulder buttons & the face buttons losing most of their functionality. I know the demo gave an option to choose old school controls, but I didn't really want to play with them, I wanted to play with a hybrid, being able to use the stick controls, but at the same time have passing mapped to X button as well as others.

So my question, is it possible in Elite 11 for me to customise my controller options in the final retail version to a hybrid so that I can keep stick controls for offense, but move say pass to X or anything else like pro hop to triangle?

[pnutz313]

Quote: Originally Posted by michaeljordanjr

I played the demo a lot tonight. 1. The freedom of movement(even if a little slide here and there) is nice. 2.For the first time, I'm conditioning a part of my brain I never have before when playing NBA games. I feel like I'm actually translating my real life control of the ball into the game, which is weird and which is why I haven't won a game yet, this will take lots of discipline to grasp. 3. I performed a few moves I've never done in a basketball game. KG was in the post, he turned, threw the ball off the backboard then dunked it over bynum, in a realistic, contact everywhere, bodies flying, sort of EMPHATIC WAY. 4. Shooting with Ray Allen finally feels great. In the past I would release perfectly and he would miss or make 50/50, now I know when I'm off on the timing and angle and I know when I'm on. It feels VERY REWARDING. Again, feelings I've never had before in an NBA game. I'm not judging the aspects which were not focused on by the development team, as there is no point, everyone knows it needs attention and it will get it obviously. Overall, the demo succeeded in providing a refreshing game play experience and if I'm only judging it on the controls, I give it a 9/10. And the announcers are AMAZING. I actually felt like I was listening to the real telecast, they make the immersion factor of the game that more palpable.

.................................................. .....................

[sportyguyfl31]

Ive spent close to an hour on just controls.

I really like them, I mean REALLY like them.

Im not going to play a game though, until I feel like I can do what I want to do without having to pause and think.

[fatleg3]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tha_Kid

A lot of positives in this game. A lot of jank too. I find the graphics better than Live 10, just less vibrant. There is sterile quality to presentation but the commentary is surprisingly solid. They won't tell stories but its a refreshing team to listen to. Right stick controls are much more intuitive than past Lives for me. On Defense, it's even better. I like the game best in broadcast. The defense is worlds better, there are good bodying animations and using LT can help a lot (unless its Kobe, who roasted me each game). It gets shaky again in the post, as there will be a lot of awkwardness animation wise. Still, the post game is pretty fun as well, though i'm still getting used to the moves. The blocking can get pretty bad on jumpshots. It got better the more i played (as in the shots I was taking weren't as obvious) but it still looks super unrealistic. The verticals also contribute to the how bad the mid-air collsions can look, particularly on rebounds & adjusted shots. Steals & pressuring the ballhandler feels great but I wasn't impressed with the loose ball hustle. Better than Live 10 but still meh. Multiple times the ball was going out of bounds and in all I got one hustle animation, from Bynum who threw it out anyway. Loose balls where the ball stays on the court could also use a controllable hustle, if you will. Once I got a hang of the controls (which wasn't until i stopped 5-on-5 and played Be a pro and then went back) I pulled off some plays and moves that really felt rewarding, particularly the finishes. I don't think it was a good idea making layups harder to make than dunks, but it definitely is rewarding when you do pull off a great drive and get the layup all because of skill. Feathering the LS can bring some good stuff in the Elite demo as well when it comes to getting space for the jumper or the drive. There are fastbreaks, which surprised me. I had one where Pierce picked up a looseball around halfcourt and Artest and Fisher were right with him, but I edged him and Pierce bursted forward to finish with a sweet fingerroll. It's not ideal, as Fisher could chase down Rondo, but when the sprint kicks in at the right time it can make for a great break. I had a completely positive experience with Become Legendary. With playcalling on, it was pretty fun. I was a SF and we were feeding Cousins, when the game was close, the black team brought in Hayward and ran him off of screens on either side for 3's. Good late game logic by the AI as far as fouls. I sent the game into OT by hitting 2 clutch free throws. I like the Free Throw shooting in the game as well. Turned the difficulty up to superstar and it is a legitimate skill making those. Sealed the game by getting a pick roll off a broken play. Screen was set to my right, i kept the ball in my right hand and strafed my man (who went over) then I crossed him left, and fed the rolling screen for a big jam. That mode will get a lot of play should I get Elite. I think those that play Elite will find a lot to like, though looking past the blatant traveling that can be done (it's possible in all bball games but it can look particularly heinous at times in Elite due to gathers and rocket dunks in the demo) and the hanging that goes with the funky look of the mid-air collisions might be asking too much of gamers who haven't seen animations this rough in years. For those who accept the tradeoff, there is a really nice organic feel there with a dash of anything can happen. For example, you might get an ugly no call collision from going for a long board, but at the same time another player can duck in and scoop it up for a run out. I guess it's a beautiful ugly if you can appreciate it. The game/series has great potential but the animation quality is bad enough to give it almost a beta feel. I can't blame people for not being able (or wanting to) get past that, but there is pretty good bball game underneath that. I already know I won't be able to put any friends onto this game as a serious option until the physics animations catch up with the rest of the game. I'm very curious in what a patch can do for any of this.

this is spot on the exact same way i feel about elite. there are things thats crazy looking then there are things that you do that make you feel like you have done it by yourself without the help of animations.

Like i said both games have different things to offer but as you can tell from the entire tread what most people will go for. Me im still on the fence and dont know. I dont want to break down and get both but i might have to

I also didnt fully get a grasp of controls until i did legendary mode. Why do you think that is?

For me a lot of the mid air collisions happen so fast that you dont notice the things like players falling backwards