NBA Live 15 and First In-Game Update Available Today, Post Your Impressions

[rudyjuly2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Walt Frazier

Hoping adjusting my defensive settings will see the CPU take some mid range shots. If I take away the drive and 3 ball, surely that will open up the mid range game?

Serious question - how many midrange jump shots do you want to see? Do you define that as 15' to inside the 3 point line? Based on that definition I see that Steph Curry took 40% of his shots in that range, Dirk 35%, Kyrie Irving took 26%, Lebron 19% and Durant only 18%.


(That's just by subtracting the 3 point shot and inside 15' shots from total shot attempts on the web http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.htm...PerMode=Totals).

[Mintsa]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mintsa

Ok cool. If you get a sec. Also, how's the fatigue online ? Do starters get tired? Do bench players get some burn?

24th Letter,

when you get a chance can you answer these questions. The previous questions were about stats/stat tracking online. Thanks man.

[cjallure24]

I downloaded the free trial on XB1, and played almost all 6 hours in one sitting. I don't know if it was just something different from 2K, but this game is pretty solid. I'm leaning towards picking it up. I may trade in my COD:Ghost and my spare 360 for it. I think with some slider tweaks, this could be a very fun game.

[The 24th Letter]

Sorry Mintsa, rotations were on point in the 5-6 games i played, and my bench got plenty of burn. It was really well done, actually.

I didn't see a dedicated place to view stats, so I attempted to look under my profile in the leader board section. It took about 4-5 minutes to load so I backed out of it. I will try again today now that PSN's servers are back stable.

[Walt Frazier]

Quote: Originally Posted by cjallure24

I think with some slider tweaks, this could be a very fun game.

Just so you know...there are no sliders.

[JoeDog10]

Quote: Originally Posted by magiclakers32

My impressions come after playing the game for 3 days straight without playing any of the "other game" to rid myself of the controls. Im a hoops junkie. I could care less who makes what game. I loved inside drive despite how ugly it was because it was re-defining basketball gaming. Initially after getting the early access I could not make it through an entire game. I came here to see what others thought of it and to my utter shock guys were generally happy with it. Im a basketball enthusiast and gameplay first kinda guy. I thought this engine, with it's generic framework, would make a good college game. I can admit that Im in the minority of the "other games" online issues not being my issue. So im not living in frustration. I dont primarily play online. I've come to understand that for the most part people here have an anti "the other game" stance. That this is not about basketball. This is not about the best representation of the sport. It's about being tied to live since I was ".....years old" It's about being bored with the "other game" It's about being or feeling something different It's about liking the shoes better or the colors better It's about liking the unrealistically shiny courts better It's about liking the unrealistic crowd chants at any random time better Really it's about not wanting the most authentic nba experience. I was so dissapointed that for the most part guys are in here defending a mediocre game for some weird agenda. Although "the other game" isn't perfect. It's not about perfection. Its about attempting to represent nba basketball at its best. Live's lack of animations and transitions should not be given a pass. The lack of signature style and movements should not be given a pass. Guys that say this game is like a ps2 game are not exaggerating. It really does feel that way in many respects. It is a marked improvement over the travesty that was released last year. That much is true. And if you dislike the "other game" well, there you go. But to act like this game is up to the standard set by the "other game" is not reasonable. Hell, even they admit that. What I have learned is that there is a segment of OS that doesn't want a game to be a SIM. And that is something I never thought I would see. I'd give live 15 a 6/10

I'm not sure that guys in here are saying that Live is better than 2K - at least the guys that I respect/trust when it comes to their impressions of the game. I love 2K this year, but I can tell that I'm going to love this game as well. To argue that the OVERALL experience of Live is better than 2K would be ridiculous. The graphics, gameplay, modes, depth of those modes, animations, etc. are much better in 2K when you look at it as a whole. I think that most would agree with that.

But, the reason that myself (and I think some of the other guys) enjoy Live - and maybe even prefer it (that doesn't mean it's better) in some cases is because there are some aspects that it does better than 2K. And while they are little things, those little things do matter to some people more than others. In my opinion, here are some of those things:

Arenas
- Each arena is beautifully replicated, along with customized stadium sounds and energetic crowds. There's a big difference in "feel" when you're playing at home as opposed to on the road. And each away game also feels different - the atmosphere is totally immersive.

Color
- Live's graphics aren't as good as 2K's, but the colors really pop and draw you in.

Presentation
- ESPN-style presentation/camera is outstanding. When you combine this with the arenas and the colors, it's very easy to lose yourself in the game.

Automotion
- This is really well implemented this year. While the CPU AI isn't as team specific as 2K, the player movement of Automotion is outstanding. Guys like Pau Gasol don't always camp on the low block every time down. I don't have to call a play to get different types of movement. Also - and this has always been one of my big pet peeves of 2K - when guys come around screens in Live, they don't automatically drift either outside the 3-point line or with one foot on the line. They will actually come off screens tighter and stay inside the 3-point line, actually allowing you to take a mid-range jumper.

Post Game
- 2K has an insane amount of post moves and animations that are beautiful to watch. But what good are they when I can take any post player - let's just say Kendrick Perkins - and back down Dwight Howard every single time until I'm a foot away from the basket for an easy hook shot? While the post moves are limited and sometimes ugly in Live, it's also a much more physical "experience" because you can't just do whatever you want down there. Guys that are tough to back down are actually tough to back down.

Offensive Rebounding
- Sliders do help this in 2K, though it's still ridiculous. Not only are the offensive rebounding numbers insanely high, but they put the shots back up off the rebound every single time. I saw someone else mention this and I'm glad they did, but in Live, they will actually kick the ball back out. Even though that's a little thing, that is a HUGE deal when it comes to a realistic experience.

And when it comes to "sim" as you mentioned above, a game is only as sim as you want to play it. I don' think either 2K or Live are sim games. But, they can both be played as a sim should you choose to play that way. That's why Live having sliders would help tremendously. But, the idea that 2K gameplay trumps live when it comes to a sim experience simply isn't true.

I didn't want to make this into a 2K/Live debate, but it seems like that's the best way for people to understand how Live stacks up. 2K does a lot of things better than Live does, but this is the Live forum, so I'm highlighting why I enjoy Live. Luckily, I have both games so I'm able to enjoy each of them for different reasons.

[Mintsa]

Quote: Originally Posted by The 24th Letter

Sorry Mintsa, rotations were on point in the 5-6 games i played, and my bench got plenty of burn. It was really well done, actually. I didn't see a dedicated place to view stats, so I attempted to look under my profile in the leader board section. It took about 4-5 minutes to load so I backed out of it. I will try again today now that PSN's servers are back stable.

Cool. Good to hear about fatigue/bench use. This was basically ignored in previous Lives. Starters would just play the whole game your team wouldn't auto sub anyone either.

[Walt Frazier]

Quote: Originally Posted by JoeDog10

I'm not sure that guys in here are saying that Live is better than 2K - at least the guys that I respect/trust when it comes to their impressions of the game. I love 2K this year, but I can tell that I'm going to love this game as well. To argue that the OVERALL experience of Live is better than 2K would be ridiculous. The graphics, gameplay, modes, depth of those modes, animations, etc. are much better in 2K when you look at it as a whole. I think that most would agree with that. But, the reason that myself (and I think some of the other guys) enjoy Live - and maybe even prefer it (that doesn't mean it's better) in some cases is because there are some aspects that it does better than 2K. And while they are little things, those little things do matter to some people more than others. In my opinion, here are some of those things: Arenas - Each arena is beautifully replicated, along with customized stadium sounds and energetic crowds. There's a big difference in "feel" when you're playing at home as opposed to on the road. And each away game also feels different - the atmosphere is totally immersive. Color - Live's graphics aren't as good as 2K's, but the colors really pop and draw you in. Presentation - ESPN-style presentation/camera is outstanding. When you combine this with the arenas and the colors, it's very easy to lose yourself in the game. Automotion - This is really well implemented this year. While the CPU AI isn't as team specific as 2K, the player movement of Automotion is outstanding. Guys like Pau Gasol don't always camp on the low block every time down. I don't have to call a play to get different types of movement. Also - and this has always been one of my big pet peeves of 2K - when guys come around screens in Live, they don't automatically drift either outside the 3-point line or with one foot on the line. They will actually come off screens tighter and stay inside the 3-point line, actually allowing you to take a mid-range jumper. Post Game - 2K has an insane amount of post moves and animations that are beautiful to watch. But what good are they when I can take any post player - let's just say Kendrick Perkins - and back down Dwight Howard every single time until I'm a foot away from the basket for an easy hook shot? While the post moves are limited and sometimes ugly in Live, it's also a much more physical "experience" because you can't just do whatever you want down there. Guys that are tough to back down are actually tough to back down. Offensive Rebounding - Sliders do help this in 2K, though it's still ridiculous. Not only are the offensive rebounding numbers insanely high, but they put the shots back up off the rebound every single time. I saw someone else mention this and I'm glad they did, but in Live, they will actually kick the ball back out. Even though that's a little thing, that is a HUGE deal when it comes to a realistic experience. And when it comes to "sim" as you mentioned above, a game is only as sim as you want to play it. I don' think either 2K or Live are sim games. But, they can both be played as a sim should you choose to play that way. That's why Live having sliders would help tremendously. But, the idea that 2K gameplay trumps live when it comes to a sim experience simply isn't true. I didn't want to make this into a 2K/Live debate, but it seems like that's the best way for people to understand how Live stacks up. 2K does a lot of things better than Live does, but this is the Live forum, so I'm highlighting why I enjoy Live. Luckily, I have both games so I'm able to enjoy each of them for different reasons.

Great post.