NBA Live 16 News Post

NBA Live 16 Hands-On Preview

09:53 PM - June 25, 2015 by ChaseB

When a game starts from the bottom like NBA Live did two years ago, it's easy to say it's improving year over year because it's hard to really fall any further. At the same time, on some level it might be fair to say "it's easier to go from bad to average than average to great." Still, right now as I take a step back and look at what NBA Live 16 is trying to pull off this year, it finally brings about a level of excitement that has not existed with the franchise in many years.

However, this is not me saying "LIVE IS BACK!" or "WATCH OUT NBA 2K!" This is not a hype piece, but rather me saying it feels like Live is finally moving forward. The development team is adding and improving NBA Live now rather than just simply trying to create a functioning basketball game.

So with that in mind, after the jump I'll share my thoughts after playing six full games of NBA Live 16.

Read More - NBA Live 16 Hands-On Preview

Game: NBA Live 16Reader Score: 5.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 4 - View All

NBA Live 16 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 bxphenom7 @ 06/25/15 11:00 PM

Great read! Overall encouraging stuff from EA.

# 2 Vic Viper @ 06/25/15 11:02 PM

I love this insight. It's definitely what I want to hear, but I also want to see this in action for myself. Can't wait to get my hands on the sticks and I hope LIVE is Back for good.

# 3 asu666 @ 06/25/15 11:17 PM

I'm hoping for in-game saves.

# 4 TreyIM2 @ 06/25/15 11:22 PM

Good stuff here. The demo for 15 wasn't strong enough to make me buy the full game when I already have 2K15 but it showed promise. The 16 demo, which I assume there will be one, I'll be waiting for in earnest.

# 5 El_Poopador @ 06/25/15 11:23 PM

Great write-up. I'm looking forward to a deeper post game, and the dribble hand-offs are going to be a lot of fun. They've absolutely been moving the series in the right direction since they came back, and this year seems no different.

# 6 Walt Frazier @ 06/25/15 11:44 PM

This is the 1000% key.....IF they add authentic playbooks and IF teams are differentiated, this game will be really good as the base is there.

If not...it is going to be generic and get old really quick.

WTF has said aunthentic playbooks WILL be in. If so, I will be buying it day one.

Quote:
The development team is promising to really improve and add unique sets to the game. In the demo, playbooks were not turned on, so the Warriors just had one basic set where Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes would more or less come off a series of baseline screens and down screens. On the other end, Cleveland was built more around JR Smith moving off the ball and LeBron trying to get a dribble handoff of sorts. Even in this limited state, there was enough you could do with these basic sets to create some interesting halfcourt moments, but the real hope is that teams will actually feel different on the court when the game is released.

# 7 tsbmolina @ 06/26/15 05:59 AM

Why is Chase Becotte an ex-EA Sports employee writing these articles on an EA Sports tittle? Not saying he isn't qualified just saying.

# 8 RaychelSnr @ 06/26/15 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsbmolina


	Why is Chase Becotte an ex-EA Sports employee writing these articles on an EA Sports tittle? Not saying he isn't qualified just saying.

Because Chase is one of the best videogame journalists I know -- and he happens to be the most qualified person to talk NBA Live who was at E3. If anything, knowing the intricacies of how things are developed at the big level probably gives him better perspective from both ends of the spectrum and makes him particularly qualified to write pieces on any sports games.

# 9 DBMcGee3 @ 06/26/15 10:57 AM

Sounds and looks good every year about this time, but then you see gameplay footage and the players just don't move in a natural, organic way. Such a fine line between having ultimate responsiveness and realistic looking motion. I'm dying to try something new this year, but they have a lot to do in the next few months to get my $60.

# 10 Mintsa @ 06/26/15 11:16 AM

Bottom line/in short....Live just has to get better every year and eventually it will be on par or atleast give the other game a run for its money.

No more setbacks, starting from scratch, 3 year cycles etc. Just keep building every year and it will get there and be a game that everyone respects again.

# 11 JKSportsGamer1984 @ 06/26/15 11:21 AM

I hope 2K adds the dribble handoff. It looks good.

# 12 nick_sr @ 06/26/15 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mintsa


	Bottom line/in short....Live just has to get better every year and eventually it will be on par or atleast give the other game a run for its money. No more setbacks, starting from scratch, 3 year cycles etc. Just keep building every year and it will get there and be a game that everyone respects again.

This might be the last year tho lol

Westbrook and adidas live run are going to help sales but they need to bring it!!!!!

# 13 seanhazz1 @ 06/26/15 12:22 PM

Good read. I love that he mentions that Live 16 is focusing more on teaching their game this year, as I feel its been a big hurdle for both new and returning players, and its also been one of my biggest pet peeves about the LIVE series since its re-emergence.

# 14 nick_sr @ 06/26/15 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mintsa


	Bottom line/in short....Live just has to get better every year and eventually it will be on par or atleast give the other game a run for its money. No more setbacks, starting from scratch, 3 year cycles etc. Just keep building every year and it will get there and be a game that everyone respects again.

This might be the last year tho lol

Westbrook and adidas live run are going to help sales but they need to bring it!!!!!

# 15 Guapo516 @ 06/26/15 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKSportsGamer1984


	I hope 2K adds the dribble handoff. It looks good.

2k had dribble handoffs since at least 14

# 16 Izzy Snow @ 06/26/15 04:38 PM

Thanks for this nicely written and honest preview. I've stressed many times that the graphics needed the least amount of work. It's the post-game, animations, commentary, and modes that needed the most attention. Based on what I saw so far from E3, two of these have been addressed which are modes and animations (which still needs work). But again, if the post-game is the same, and I know they said they still haven't added animations for post-game, then right now, I honestly cannot take their word for it as they've promised and NOT delivered on past promises before. As for the commentary, I hate to be pessimistic, but I think it'll be the same and that's not a good thing. Even Sean O'Brien basically has said they need their commentary to be like 2K's current one and right now their commentary is on PS2 level and I'm not even trolling.

# 17 Tonyattia @ 06/26/15 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick_sr


	This might be the last year tho lol Westbrook and adidas live run are going to help sales but they need to bring it!!!!!

There isn't a manual control that calls some one over for one though. It's just if your close they have hand off animations. This is a separate control on live like a pick and roll

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 18 bigsmallwood @ 06/27/15 12:11 AM

Great write-up! I'm hopeful for a great NBA Live 16....time will tell

# 19 CaseIH @ 06/27/15 12:33 AM

I would love if Live actually can finally be competition for NBA2k, but unfortunately I highly doubt that happens. The game does seem to be improving atleast some, so maybe there is hope. If EA really started to push a true sim where Association mode was where all the time was put into to make that there specialty, and get a realistic simulation they will get my full attention. As 2k seems to be going the gimic mode route for the casual gamer, not that the simulation of Association mode is bad in NBA2k, as it still plays a great game, but it no longer seems to be where there concentration is at anymore. It use to be the other way around, and NBA2k was for the hard core basketball fan, but that don't seem to be no longer the case sadly, so if EA starts to focus on realism of Association mode, they will have me back.

# 20 chisportsfan23 @ 06/27/15 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaseIH


	I would love if Live actually can finally be competition for NBA2k, but unfortunately I highly doubt that happens. The game does seem to be improving atleast some, so maybe there is hope. If EA really started to push a true sim where Association mode was where all the time was put into to make that there specialty, and get a realistic simulation they will get my full attention. As 2k seems to be going the gimic mode route for the casual gamer, not that the simulation of Association mode is bad in NBA2k, as it still plays a great game, but it no longer seems to be where there concentration is at anymore. It use to be the other way around, and NBA2k was for the hard core basketball fan, but that don't seem to be no longer the case sadly, so if EA starts to focus on realism of Association mode, they will have me back.

Truthfully, and I'm looking at this without any bias, Live is in some ways better than 2k.

Let's break it down

Facial Scans/ Overall accuracy of player appearance

Live 15: It seems to me that live has more accurate facial scans than 2k. Yes some obvious ones aren't present or look off. But imo, just playing games back to back i feel 2k focuses on big name players more and Live covers a wider range of players. Player's that come to mind here are Deandre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, Jared Dudley, Nerlens Noel to name a few that Live has done better than 2k. Skin tones here are another advantage in Live than 2k. Best example here is Lebron James. James in a lot of ways looks better in Live 15 than 2k15. James is far too light in 2k15 and they widened his jaw a bit too much in 15, i felt James looked far better in 2k14 than 15.

2k15: 2k struggles in this category for one simple reason, they tend to over do it in the detail. Players that come to mind are Kemba Walker, Embiid, they have this weird discoloration in their face as a way to look detailed and accurate, but imo it just looks off. Also, 2k doesn't face scan everyone. And when they don't it's obvious. Players that don't get faced scanned tend to look flat faced. Good example here is Deron Williams, Crawford, and Dudley.

In this category it's closer than people act like it is.

Overall Jersey color and accuracy

Live 15: This area is a strength of Live and more so in Live 16. Yes, the jerseys are loose in 15. But let's talk about two things here. Fluidity with player movement and colors. Let's look a few examples here, Cavs alternate blue AND yellow. Bucks, alternate red. Come to mind, that actually look more accurate on Live 15 than 2k15. If you look particularly at the Cavs blue alts. on both games. While yes, 2k is much more vivid, it's not particularly accurate. Live 15 presents a darker deep blue that's more real life than 2k.

2k15: As i mentioned, 2k presents more vivid colors. But not always entirely accurate. Sometimes colors need to be darker, and 2k's lighting doesn't allow for a realistic representation of some jerseys. A clear advantage in both 2015 games is the jersey fit in 2k, but that appears to be disappearing as it looks like Live 16 fixes this.

Obviously as it stands 2k is still superior than Live, but the advantages are dwindling down at a terrific pace. As far as gameplay is concerned 2k wins. Animations, 2k wins. But imo 2k can easily suffer from TOO MANY animations. What's interesting here is that 2k appears to be taking it easy on internal things with every new release, focusing more on getting MJ on a cover, or getting a big name to help widen their reach with publicity. While Live and the team behind it comes across as a team with a chip on their shoulder after so many awful basketball games. It's a great time to be a nba video game fan that's for sure.

« Previous12 Next »

More Links

NBA Live 16 Hands-On Preview