Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Well, well, well.
Granted, it's only been a few days since NBA Live '07's release on the PS2 format, so I've only been able to play a bit. But I think I've - we've - all been suckered once again. Now, I absolutely refuse to spit out more of my hard-earned cash and upgrade to a two-thousand dollar home entertainment system and an Xbox360 (or for that matter, spend twenty bucks more for the Xbox version of the same game), so maybe I'm getting what I pay for. I don't know. But here's what I can say so far:
First, the upside --
1. Gameplay - The A.I. is noticeably improved over last years' edition. Players actually get up on each other and play physical 'D'. They push and shove, defensive players run parallel to a driving offensive player, guys automatically dive for loose balls, big men rebound (finally!), and playmakers run plays. The players don't 'skate' nearly as much over the court, it's harder to steal the ball, get open for dunks and layups, etc.
2. Marv and Steve - In last years edition, the commentary by the EA play-by-play guys wasn't exactly dazzling, especially compared to 2K's Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith. The sound-bytes were repetitive, bland, and often sounded like the guys were recorded on worn-out audio tape. Much better this year - they actually sound like they're conversing in real time, Mr. Bland Steve Kerr adds some oomph into his announcing, and the annoyingly repetitive analysis has gone waaay down.
3. The game hasn't crashed on me yet! (As opposed to - seemingly - the loading of each new game with '06)
4. Franchise Mode - Ahh. Simulation. While still not up to the level of 2K's NBA franchise, or EA's own Madden football, there's a heck of a lot more to do here, and they've ironed out some of the bugs.
As a GM, staff hires mean more, you have more money to work with (get the biggest budget you can from your owner - they'll give you different initial budgets if you exit the Mode and restart - and try to hire overlapping coaches with mis-matched high-grade training skills to get the best out of your player development), and the owner will give you more cash to offer for additional staff upgrades if you do a good job.
Team morale and chemistry are issues. Players make statements that as the GM, you'd better listen to. Some guys would rather play in larger markets, some guys whine about playing time, some guys seem perfectly content. Just like real life.
Your assistant coach serves to budget your players time, scheduling team practices, days off, media events, etc. - all of which affect your team and individual players growth. Now your weekly practices affect all of your team's players, and you can still set aside time for your coaching staff to work one-on-one with your guys to really develop their skills.
Draft day has had just a few simple tweaks, but there is one big difference: You can re-run this years draft, and pick the '07 rookies you think should've been on your favorite team. For all those folks in Portland who wanted the Blazers to draft the 'Stache, Adam Morrison, this is good news. But again, get the best scout you can afford, with a high skill evaluation level in each of the main areas (Athletics, Defense, Offense). Don't worry about hiring a scout with a regional specialty. I've not noticed any appreciable increase in info if my scout is a European specialist as opposed to one who is not, so this seems to be a wasted option. I haven't played my franchise past a single season yet, so I don't know if you lose your scouting info during the upcoming draft (like in Live '06). Let's hope not - that was incredibly annoying.
5. The little things in the game -- in-game music, the crowd and their reactions to sweet plays, chanting for defense during crunch-time, player reactions and celebrations, shot (and foul shot) animations, and more, are much more realistic and better integrated than in the past. Marv and Steve actually call some created players by their names, not just by their jersey numbers - about time!
And the cons --
1. For all the hype regarding the additions to the game on EA's website, there wasn't really much of an upgrade. To wit:
2. Graphics. Just like last year, the menu and in-game graphics are still blurry enough to cause migraines. At least on this platform - they might not be if you have HD and an Xbox360 and whatnot, but like I said, I don't, and I don't plan to anytime soon. This is really frustrating, simply because, in the past, this hasn't been a problem, and it shouldn't be an issue now. At all. Refresh rates are slower than ever, making the create-a-player option amazingly irritating. Court and player design is still weak too, although the players don't look nearly as bad as 2K's zombie-hoopsters.
3. If you hate to micro-manage, this isn't the game for you. The upgraded GM responsibilities are more annoying than fun. Here's another area where EA struggles, when franchises like 2K and Madden basically have the whole thing figured out. I want to create my players and staff exactly the way I want, all the way down to the itty-bitty details. I want to pick how my players and coach and GM look and act, right down to differing attitudes and shoe design, and then let the game run. I want to be able to create new players and add them into each years draft, set player attributes if I want to, and see my created and drafted players faces in their scorecard/statline photos.
4. Gameplay. Although better than last year, it's still not great. The 'Turbo' option is non-existent (you can't blow by anybody, even if you're a wide-open superstar - but the A.I. doesn't seem to have that problem), and guys look (and feel) like they're playing under water. The new 'X-Factor' inclusion is a nice idea, but really, how often is a second string point guard going to be unstoppable, especially with two bigger defenders draped all over him? Apparently every game. Why hasn't EA incorporated player tie-ups or the jumpball? Shot control is getting more and more difficult, yet after playing a couple games, I can still blow out a great team by 50, time-after-time. And the 'big' new features - setting practices, media events, days off, et al? Well, you don't actually get to see or play any of it. You only get a little teensy-tiny icon on your calendar indicating which type of feature your assistant has assigned the team, and the computer just sims right through them. Wow. I know the simulation of these options has an affect on the players attitudes and fatigue and all that, but again, if you're gonna give me a feature, make it worth my while. Give me some animation, or cut-shots, or something, and let me toggle the option on-and-off if I want.
5. Quality control - 95% of the computer generated players (via the draft) are whack. When did 6'2" slow, brick-laying shooting guards and 6'7" power forwards become the norm in the NBA? (besides with the Phoenix Suns, I mean) Here's another thing - I know things like player rosters and most of the photos used in the game are chosen or set before the real NBA's regular season starts. But why are there loading shots of Ben Wallace as a Piston? Didn't he sign with the Bulls right after the playoffs last year? And Al Harrington (unlike a statement from another reviewer here) is still listed as a free agent, and not on the Pacers roster. These are minor complaints, I know, but as cool as Big Ben is, how hard to find another shot blocker to use in the loads, eh? Or have the rosters right? Maybe the release day for the games should be pushed back a month, closer to the NBA's opening night...?
6. And here's a few odds-and-ends. Why can't I save my game DURING a freakin' game? Jeeez! This is such a simple and necessary option to have, that to not is incredibly frustrating. Locked items/NBA store - obnoxious and competely unnecessary. Give me everything I need to create my franchise right at the beginning of the season. Give me more body art options, and bring back the Thorns, dangit!
So there it is, so far anyway. I'll add some other bits and pieces as I play, but right now? Once again, EA's basically given us the same game as last year, but five dollars cheaper and with only a few bare-bones tweaks -- and a lot of the changes may really be more annoying than innovative.
How does it stack up to the unnoffical king of hoop games, 2K's NBA 2K7, or last years biggest NBA sim flop, NBA The Life? Well, I hated 'The Life' so much, I'm not even going to rent it this year, and as for 2K (also on PS2)... I'm playing it now, so I'll address that in the next few weeks. But judging from my own experience and the mixed reviews posted on Amazon so far, my advice is don't believe the hype, and rent before you buy.
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NBA Live 07
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