NBA Live Mobile Review
Submitted on: Jul 16, 2016 by Chris Sanner
When EA reps announced they were going to be focusing on mobile for the NBA Live series, it was not that surprising. Still, I was filled with quite a bit of hope that NBA Live Mobile would deliver a new and interesting mobile sports gaming experience.
However, after a week with the game, I can confidently say that if the future of gaming (and sports gaming) is on mobile, we’ve got a very long way to go.
However, after a week with the game, I can confidently say that if the future of gaming (and sports gaming) is on mobile, we’ve got a very long way to go.
Gameplay
NBA Live Mobile has the typical mobile sports-sim experience with buttons associated with actions on the right and a digital analog stick on the left side of the screen. For whatever reason, this has become the default way to control players in these types of games, but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly fun or easy to play.
Without physical buttons to push, which is a result more of the platform than of design, it becomes a study in focus to make sure your fingers are in the right spot and ready to deliver the right command.
Things like passing and shooting always need a slight delay to ensure you are pushing the right part of the screen to deliver the command, and oftentimes this results in a pretty jerky feel to the flow of the gameplay. I’m not sure if this could ever be remedied, especially not in the current design.
The other problem with this type of control is that it is incredibly simplistic. In NBA Live Mobile, you have two buttons on defense: a guard button and a block button. On offense you have pass, shoot and drive.
Don’t get me wrong, anything more than this probably would result in an impossible control situation, and the Live Mobile team has done a decent job at establishing some layers of depth.
For instance, holding down the guard button will result in you guarding your opponent, while tapping it attempts a steal. You hold down the drive button and slide your finger up to the shoot button to dunk or lay the ball up.
In all honesty, this is probably something that can be expanded for most of the functions to enable a deeper level of control while also keeping the simple front-end interface.
A big negative of the gameplay is the AI in the game is incredibly simplistic and doesn’t really go beyond the basics. Players don’t move much off of the ball and there’s no way to call for something as basic as a pick and roll.
In short, the foundation in Live Mobile is solid enough for a mobile game, but this in no way replaces your console experience.
Without physical buttons to push, which is a result more of the platform than of design, it becomes a study in focus to make sure your fingers are in the right spot and ready to deliver the right command.
Things like passing and shooting always need a slight delay to ensure you are pushing the right part of the screen to deliver the command, and oftentimes this results in a pretty jerky feel to the flow of the gameplay. I’m not sure if this could ever be remedied, especially not in the current design.
The other problem with this type of control is that it is incredibly simplistic. In NBA Live Mobile, you have two buttons on defense: a guard button and a block button. On offense you have pass, shoot and drive.
Don’t get me wrong, anything more than this probably would result in an impossible control situation, and the Live Mobile team has done a decent job at establishing some layers of depth.
For instance, holding down the guard button will result in you guarding your opponent, while tapping it attempts a steal. You hold down the drive button and slide your finger up to the shoot button to dunk or lay the ball up.
In all honesty, this is probably something that can be expanded for most of the functions to enable a deeper level of control while also keeping the simple front-end interface.
A big negative of the gameplay is the AI in the game is incredibly simplistic and doesn’t really go beyond the basics. Players don’t move much off of the ball and there’s no way to call for something as basic as a pick and roll.
In short, the foundation in Live Mobile is solid enough for a mobile game, but this in no way replaces your console experience.
Modes
NBA Live Mobile is a game built on the Ultimate Team concept, like the other EA Sports games.
With that in mind, you have head to head, live events, seasons, leagues and practice to partake in. All of this is done within the Ultimate Team framework of earning points to buy cards to then make your team better.
Obviously that’s the extent of your experience with Live Mobile, and at this point, you either love the Ultimate Team concept or you hate it -- and it's doubtful your mind changes much from that.
With that in mind, you have head to head, live events, seasons, leagues and practice to partake in. All of this is done within the Ultimate Team framework of earning points to buy cards to then make your team better.
Obviously that’s the extent of your experience with Live Mobile, and at this point, you either love the Ultimate Team concept or you hate it -- and it's doubtful your mind changes much from that.
Final Thoughts
We have to keep in mind the price of entry into NBA Live Mobile is free, so you can jump in and give the game a try without much skin in the game.
The gameplay is simplistic and pretty average for a mobile sports gaming experience as the game simply breaks zero new ground. The Ultimate Team mode is something you’ve already made your mind up on, and if you don’t like it, there’s no point in giving the game a try as it won’t change your mind.
Overall, if this is the future of sports gaming, I’m not particularly sure I’m a fan of it. The game itself is slightly above average. NBA Live Mobile does everything solid enough, and the modes themselves seem to work without much of a problem. The AI is kind of dumb, but you’ll find there’s a game here to be enjoyed if only for a short while.
However, the experience and prospects for the future certainly leave me hoping for something completely different in the mobile space soon enough.
Score: 6.0 (Above-Average)
The gameplay is simplistic and pretty average for a mobile sports gaming experience as the game simply breaks zero new ground. The Ultimate Team mode is something you’ve already made your mind up on, and if you don’t like it, there’s no point in giving the game a try as it won’t change your mind.
Overall, if this is the future of sports gaming, I’m not particularly sure I’m a fan of it. The game itself is slightly above average. NBA Live Mobile does everything solid enough, and the modes themselves seem to work without much of a problem. The AI is kind of dumb, but you’ll find there’s a game here to be enjoyed if only for a short while.
However, the experience and prospects for the future certainly leave me hoping for something completely different in the mobile space soon enough.
Score: 6.0 (Above-Average)
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