Post by SNiPE on Oct 16, 2003 13:04:11 GMT -5
PRESENTATION (8.5)
Overall, I would have to say that the presentation is very well done. You will notice a definate change over last year's version as the menus, in game sequences, arenas, crowd and commentary are all very clean and presented with excellence. One of the few gripes I had with this is very similar to everyone else, the rookie draft and a few other elements of dynasty mode could have been done better. Much better. Its not as though these flaws make dynasty mode unplayable, but for those who are expecting a franchise mode such as madden's, well, you're simply not going to find it here. Put it this way... without even touching ESPN NBA Basketball i can almost be certain that their Franchise mode will have less bugs than Live.
If you're buying a basketball game solely for a franchise simulation this year... it might be a good idea to rent Live 2004 first, while checking out some of the other games.
GRAPHICS (7.8)
Again, you will notice a huge change in graphics when comparing to last season's counterpart. Personally, I think its a huge improvement. The arenas are very well detailed, but still I can see why some still refer to Live as cartoony. Comparing screens from Live and ESPN will no doubt make Live look bad. But again, before making a definate decision on which game to pick up this year, ask yourself... how important are graphics? Live more than gets the job done for me, as i was just looking for a solid all around basketball game this year. I consider amazing graphics a bonus. Unfortunately Live doesn't excell in this area, but hey, im not complaining.
I did notice the graphics are alot cleaner than the Xbox than on PS2. Which should be pretty obvious, but i thought id just say everythin i know about the game...
Also, some of the player models aren't exactly replicas of their real-life counterparts. And this is where ESPN seems to shine. But would i rather have someone that 'plays' like JKidd? Or someone that 'looks' like JKidd?
More on this in the Gameplay section of my review...
SOUND (9.5)
Excellent. If your not a fan of hip hop then you'd still have to give about a 8.5 to this section. Very well done. Marv Albert makes it very exciting this year. If you're even a remote fan of hoops you'd know his signature line 'With the Facial'! And it comes are great times. Last night i played my brother, Blazers vs. Clippers, and it was one of the greatest basketball gaming moments we've ever had. And i've been playin since '95. Anyways... i call for isolation as the shot clock winds down to 9, Albert 'Anderson calling for isolation as he is going to try and take his man one-on-one and the shot-clock runs down' at 6 seconds i throw in some freestyle, a fake crossover and i blow back the other way, Jaric gets burned! Albert - 'Oh what a move! Anderson beats the defender off the dribble' Brand steps into the lane to cut off the easy hoop with about 3 seconds remaining, but its too late. Anderson cocks it back and throws it down, posterizing Brand. Marv- 'With the facial!' Czar Mike Fratello (color commentary) - 'The blazers are doing a great job of picking apart the clippers defense.'
The crowd goes nuts, and so do me and my brother.
Marv, Czar and the crowd really made the moment. Without a doubt that was the play of the game.
The only problem i had with sound was the dunking sound when you contact the rim. Its still that damn trash-can-pounding sound since like... Live 2001. Maybe not a huge deal, but big enough to keep sound from getting a perfect 10 in my review.
You'll also hear well-done player chatter. Cutters will flash to the basket with a hand out yelling 'im open!' Someone (i think its the coach, maybe a guy yellin from the crowd) will tell a wide open player to shoot.
Relevant game chatter really sets the environment for me. You have no idea.
GAMEPLAY (8.9)
This is what was going to make or break live for me. Im just all about the gameplay. I've been a baller all my life, so i know real basketball when i see it. Last year in Live 2003, gameplay would have gotten about a 4.0 to a 5.0 for me. It wasn't really basketball. It was more like hold down turbo, wiggle the right analog a bit, then dunk. Or... get a rebound, pass it up court then dunk. Thats not basketball.
I don't know how EA did it, but the gameplay has been revamped to the point where you wouldn't even know it was a sequel to last years game. Strategy really came into play last night against my brother. IGN complained about the inability to hit mid-range shots, but if you run an offence you'll get open looks. Trust me. By the same token, if you are able to run defence like its supposed to be run, you wont get into a 120 point scoring fest. For the sim fans (like me) I think the people with the 120 point games this year were probably playing without fatigue even, meaning starters would be on the whole game and fresh, 100%. This is just me though, and my take on it.
Playing 12 minute quarters, me and my brother had a final score of 88-87. My blazers trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter, and thats when i switched it up, going to a 2-3 zone. Anderson and Wells would pressure Jaric as soon as he brought the ball up. He made about 2 or 3 errant passes, and this changed the pace of the game in my favor. My Blazers cut the lead to about 4 with 5 minutes remaining, as the offence my brother was running (a flex offence) was simply in effective against the zone. He wasn't able to get any easy shots off, and the perimeter guys on my zone would collapse on the post when the ball was entered! Excellent EA, thats real ball.
Reflecting on what i was saying earlier about JKidd, he plays like his real life counterpart. He dropped 12 dimes on me this morning, including a sick oop to KMart.
I earlier wrote my review of the ESPN demo, and in ESPN, JKidd would throw the most ridiculous passes. Everytime. Behind the back no look. Thru three defenders. Harlem Globe Trotter stuff. even when just making a simple post entry pass. Or swinging the ball. No big deal to anyone else maybe, but this is my review, and it was starting to drive me nuts when every pass he would make was play of the millenium material. Its nice havin those in there, just not every play.
Freestyle is about the same, just been toned down. Alot. To the point where its reasonable. Guys like iverson will still be able to cross you up once in a while, but you gotta work for it. No more freestyle ending up in dunk every play.
The button for shot and another for dunk lay is sort of a piss-off at first, but in the long run its brilliance.
One gameplay problem i had was the pro hop (triangle button). While its far from unstoppable, its alot more powerful than it should be, as it sort of drives your defender back, giving you a better chance at a score near the hoop. Its nothing that some help defence wont fix, but it definately lacks realism in how you can just sort of have your way with the defender like that. For the most part it looks nice. And the post players do a drop step instead of the pro hop! Damn does that make it look like Shaq. Oh yeah, tons of post moves. You can really pull off some nice stuff in the low block.
All in all, solid gameplay. Rock Solid.
Lasting Appeal (9.1)
The free agent and rookie problems in dynasty will definately effect this category for franchise fans. Its simply bugs that seemed so easy to fix, but weren't. Online play is very smooth on broadbrand, so if your playin wit friends away its pretty much like they're with u (plus addition of headset!) It is without a shadow of a doubt the best two player game i can think of. Me and my bro had such hardnosed competition, and thats really what i wanted this year.
Personally, i would have given this category a higher rating, but if i ever do decide to really get into a franchise mode that free agent mess will really disappoint me. I was just simulating season and it seems like the big names just sorta pile up in that free agent pool.
When My brother missed the game winnig shot with Magette as the buzzer sounded, i knew this would be a game i loved...
Overall Score (Not an average) 9.4
Overall, I would have to say that the presentation is very well done. You will notice a definate change over last year's version as the menus, in game sequences, arenas, crowd and commentary are all very clean and presented with excellence. One of the few gripes I had with this is very similar to everyone else, the rookie draft and a few other elements of dynasty mode could have been done better. Much better. Its not as though these flaws make dynasty mode unplayable, but for those who are expecting a franchise mode such as madden's, well, you're simply not going to find it here. Put it this way... without even touching ESPN NBA Basketball i can almost be certain that their Franchise mode will have less bugs than Live.
If you're buying a basketball game solely for a franchise simulation this year... it might be a good idea to rent Live 2004 first, while checking out some of the other games.
GRAPHICS (7.8)
Again, you will notice a huge change in graphics when comparing to last season's counterpart. Personally, I think its a huge improvement. The arenas are very well detailed, but still I can see why some still refer to Live as cartoony. Comparing screens from Live and ESPN will no doubt make Live look bad. But again, before making a definate decision on which game to pick up this year, ask yourself... how important are graphics? Live more than gets the job done for me, as i was just looking for a solid all around basketball game this year. I consider amazing graphics a bonus. Unfortunately Live doesn't excell in this area, but hey, im not complaining.
I did notice the graphics are alot cleaner than the Xbox than on PS2. Which should be pretty obvious, but i thought id just say everythin i know about the game...
Also, some of the player models aren't exactly replicas of their real-life counterparts. And this is where ESPN seems to shine. But would i rather have someone that 'plays' like JKidd? Or someone that 'looks' like JKidd?
More on this in the Gameplay section of my review...
SOUND (9.5)
Excellent. If your not a fan of hip hop then you'd still have to give about a 8.5 to this section. Very well done. Marv Albert makes it very exciting this year. If you're even a remote fan of hoops you'd know his signature line 'With the Facial'! And it comes are great times. Last night i played my brother, Blazers vs. Clippers, and it was one of the greatest basketball gaming moments we've ever had. And i've been playin since '95. Anyways... i call for isolation as the shot clock winds down to 9, Albert 'Anderson calling for isolation as he is going to try and take his man one-on-one and the shot-clock runs down' at 6 seconds i throw in some freestyle, a fake crossover and i blow back the other way, Jaric gets burned! Albert - 'Oh what a move! Anderson beats the defender off the dribble' Brand steps into the lane to cut off the easy hoop with about 3 seconds remaining, but its too late. Anderson cocks it back and throws it down, posterizing Brand. Marv- 'With the facial!' Czar Mike Fratello (color commentary) - 'The blazers are doing a great job of picking apart the clippers defense.'
The crowd goes nuts, and so do me and my brother.
Marv, Czar and the crowd really made the moment. Without a doubt that was the play of the game.
The only problem i had with sound was the dunking sound when you contact the rim. Its still that damn trash-can-pounding sound since like... Live 2001. Maybe not a huge deal, but big enough to keep sound from getting a perfect 10 in my review.
You'll also hear well-done player chatter. Cutters will flash to the basket with a hand out yelling 'im open!' Someone (i think its the coach, maybe a guy yellin from the crowd) will tell a wide open player to shoot.
Relevant game chatter really sets the environment for me. You have no idea.
GAMEPLAY (8.9)
This is what was going to make or break live for me. Im just all about the gameplay. I've been a baller all my life, so i know real basketball when i see it. Last year in Live 2003, gameplay would have gotten about a 4.0 to a 5.0 for me. It wasn't really basketball. It was more like hold down turbo, wiggle the right analog a bit, then dunk. Or... get a rebound, pass it up court then dunk. Thats not basketball.
I don't know how EA did it, but the gameplay has been revamped to the point where you wouldn't even know it was a sequel to last years game. Strategy really came into play last night against my brother. IGN complained about the inability to hit mid-range shots, but if you run an offence you'll get open looks. Trust me. By the same token, if you are able to run defence like its supposed to be run, you wont get into a 120 point scoring fest. For the sim fans (like me) I think the people with the 120 point games this year were probably playing without fatigue even, meaning starters would be on the whole game and fresh, 100%. This is just me though, and my take on it.
Playing 12 minute quarters, me and my brother had a final score of 88-87. My blazers trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter, and thats when i switched it up, going to a 2-3 zone. Anderson and Wells would pressure Jaric as soon as he brought the ball up. He made about 2 or 3 errant passes, and this changed the pace of the game in my favor. My Blazers cut the lead to about 4 with 5 minutes remaining, as the offence my brother was running (a flex offence) was simply in effective against the zone. He wasn't able to get any easy shots off, and the perimeter guys on my zone would collapse on the post when the ball was entered! Excellent EA, thats real ball.
Reflecting on what i was saying earlier about JKidd, he plays like his real life counterpart. He dropped 12 dimes on me this morning, including a sick oop to KMart.
I earlier wrote my review of the ESPN demo, and in ESPN, JKidd would throw the most ridiculous passes. Everytime. Behind the back no look. Thru three defenders. Harlem Globe Trotter stuff. even when just making a simple post entry pass. Or swinging the ball. No big deal to anyone else maybe, but this is my review, and it was starting to drive me nuts when every pass he would make was play of the millenium material. Its nice havin those in there, just not every play.
Freestyle is about the same, just been toned down. Alot. To the point where its reasonable. Guys like iverson will still be able to cross you up once in a while, but you gotta work for it. No more freestyle ending up in dunk every play.
The button for shot and another for dunk lay is sort of a piss-off at first, but in the long run its brilliance.
One gameplay problem i had was the pro hop (triangle button). While its far from unstoppable, its alot more powerful than it should be, as it sort of drives your defender back, giving you a better chance at a score near the hoop. Its nothing that some help defence wont fix, but it definately lacks realism in how you can just sort of have your way with the defender like that. For the most part it looks nice. And the post players do a drop step instead of the pro hop! Damn does that make it look like Shaq. Oh yeah, tons of post moves. You can really pull off some nice stuff in the low block.
All in all, solid gameplay. Rock Solid.
Lasting Appeal (9.1)
The free agent and rookie problems in dynasty will definately effect this category for franchise fans. Its simply bugs that seemed so easy to fix, but weren't. Online play is very smooth on broadbrand, so if your playin wit friends away its pretty much like they're with u (plus addition of headset!) It is without a shadow of a doubt the best two player game i can think of. Me and my bro had such hardnosed competition, and thats really what i wanted this year.
Personally, i would have given this category a higher rating, but if i ever do decide to really get into a franchise mode that free agent mess will really disappoint me. I was just simulating season and it seems like the big names just sorta pile up in that free agent pool.
When My brother missed the game winnig shot with Magette as the buzzer sounded, i knew this would be a game i loved...
Overall Score (Not an average) 9.4
