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

[BULLS-eye]

Sigh.. I found the demo boring (after 4 plays + abusing the hanger)

Lebron's shot looks incredibly generic and has about two specific dunks in his arsenal (One hand, two handed tomahawk).

Kobe's jumpshot looks to be set at 30 frame rate per second.

Too many steals/losing the ball.

No specific button for post up, have to walk into the animation.

Players jump higher than the ball itself on rebounds.

No player specific celebration animation when making a basket and/or running down the court ( All I saw was prancing [which is supposed to be out after a patch update] and showing of the teeth).

Player's face models look great, but overall models look cartoonish as oppose to life like.

When they showed the Staples center from outside, I expected a 3D model, but instead was given a pic of the actual center (at night).

Players jersey's seem inorganic, only the shorts move when running.

I don't like this graphic/physics engine they continue to use for live. This demo feels like Live 09 with more polygon count and animations.

[EvanRG]

Few disclaimers:
I haven't played a next-gen NBA Live Game
I owned 2k9 last year (first next-gen basketball game)

Coming into this game with a 2k9 background it is definitely different. I will be as neutral as I can but maybe I'm just a 2k guy after all...

First off, the game's graphics are awesome in a sense of the depth of field and lighting. The crowd and benches really bring the game to life and I like how the scoreboard is a simple yet effective overlay -- almost like I'm watching a game on NBA TV.

Now, personally speaking, I am just a 'shot stick' kind of guy. I'm also a guy who would rather give up TOTAL control of my player to see more smooth animations so right there is a big difference between me and some of the others on here.

The game just runs smoother when you have less control -- it's a fact of life unfortunately.

Shooting in NBA Live seems to offer a lot of possibilities -- especially going to the rim, but I found myself having trouble initiating a simple lay up and accidentally would pull up for a jumper instead.

On the defensive side, I feel like I lack all the tools to stop the CPU from driving inside. There were a few instances that I was Dwight Howard and Gasol would catch an pass from Kobe and then SPEED UP for a dunk. To continue with that, every time a player went to the rim or there was a loose ball, the game seemed to speed up for those few moments and it seems to throw off the ebb and flow of the game.

I don't know -- NBA LIVE is a nice game but if you are used to 2k9 -- it's personally, for me, not an easy transition from using shot stick and lockdown D to NBA LIVE's offensive and defensive options.

Player models are pretty nice but why are they so "PLASTIC" looking? It bugs me and I'm not sure why... the live cut scenes are nice but I always seem to notice how shiny the players are.

So I guess in closing -- LIVE is a very decent game and should do well, it's just not my cup of tea right now.

I'll keep trying the demo out and see if anything changes.
Major props to EA though for making such a big turn around in one year. I'm glad we have two options this year so everyone can be happy. There's not need to pick sides, just choose whatever game suits your needs as a basketball fan.

[Pared]

In case you haven't realized, if you take a big man and put him against a mismatched guard in the post, the guard will look to commit a hard foul instead of letting the big man shoot. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes they aren't.

Brilliant.

[DaveDQ]

One thing this game does very well is that it captures the NBA. Everything is very seamless, from the crowd's reaction, to the commentary. And the audio levels are there. That's so important. Then come the overlays and the "Finals" graphics. You just feel like it's the NBA. There's no confusion about it. In many games, even outside of NBA games, you go back and forth with no consistency, but this game does a great job of giving you that feel and not dropping the experience.

[Pro Bowler]

I haven't played a Live game outside of a demo since 2K BB and i must say i'm BLOWN away. Having not ever have played FIFA i've never seen this locomotion, but damn is it good. The momentum is great and players feel like they have weight. I don't know if i got lucky, but the 2 games i played looked as good as a 2k game, but the gameplay feels so much better.

Somethings i really like are: (and i'm still learnning the controls)

-The L trigger passing with R stick.(still wish we had some control for bounce and lob passes)

-The shooting animations are excellent and feel more life like than the slower animations in 2K. Even the dunk animations feel better imo.

-The dribbling controls. Really enough can not be said about this.

-I really love how you can't just dribble through the middle of a clogged lane without being stripped or getting the ball knocked loose even with Kobe. That really killed 2k9 online for me.


The hype is real and this very well could be the better game this year. Great job to the Developers. You really have re-invented this game into something special and something to definetly look forward to this and coming years.

[DubTrey1]

Basically I like the demo - However the biggest negative I have is on the Defensive side of the ball. It is near impossible it seems to stop anyone or stay in front of any defender much less Kobe. It may be tweaked in the final, but as it stands, playing D is not nearly any fun compared to how playing O is a blast with the plethora of moves and shots at our disposal. I will surely give this a rent at best.

[XxX syntax XxX]

Quote: Originally Posted by Da_Czar

Honestly I don't like the demo as much as the final i played. If memory serves correct and its been over a week. But the control was much tighter. They feel a bit too loose to me right now on offense and defense.... So its fun to play again but not the same experience I remember. also not a big fan of the auto post ups both games went to.

I kinda figured that...

[Stumbleweed]

Quote: Originally Posted by DubTrey1

Basically I like the demo - However the biggest negative I have is on the Defensive side of the ball. It is near impossible it seems to stop anyone or stay in front of any defender much less Kobe. It may be tweaked in the final, but as it stands, playing D is not nearly any fun compared to how playing O is a blast with the plethora of moves and shots at our disposal. I will surely give this a rent at best.

I actually like the individual defense... I made Kobe pass off more often than not when he was looking to be aggressive or forced him into the help and a miss. He was 2/8 or something in one of the game I played and Marv even mentioned it to start the 2nd. My problem was more with keeping the bigs out of the paint, both on offensive rebounds (especially the damn Lakers) and in the post, where it seemed tough to reliably get a good contest. I did get a few blocks or very tough shots down there though, but not as many as it seemed like I should have.

Like Czar said, just concentrate on keeping your defender in between your man and the basket, use the diagonals and watch for the quick cross back, force them into help... basically just don't crowd them and you won't get burned all that often.

I'm on All-Star, btw.