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NBA LIVE 09 XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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Electronic
Arts has made quite a few changes to this year’s
NBA Live 09, adding more flashier content and
polishing several of the old technical issues
that plague the series since its debut. It is
quite obvious that the majority of the gameplay
mechanics have been tighten up, but there are
still a number of on-court components that
remain rough around the edges. Suffice it to
say, this is one of the better Live games we
have played on a 256-bit platform. Long time NBA
Live fans will certainly appreciate some of the
big changes in the game, and they can expect
some solid performance.
With the new season comes a slew of gameplay
enhancements. Starting with the latest features,
Electronic Arts has laid together five
noteworthy innovations to the NBA Live 09’s
performance: Dynamic DNA, NBA Live 365, NBA Live
Academy, Pick-and-Roll Control, and FIBA World
Championship. These latest features give NBA
Live 09 a more refreshing basketball experience.
For instance, Dynamic DNA is employed to act out
the real-life behaviors and tendencies of every
player in the NBA. So far, this DNA component
does a good job of approximating the particular
style and skills of each athlete. Therefore, you
won’t see big men such as Shaq, Dwight Howard,
or Tim Duncan run an isomotion sequence like
speedy shooting guards do, but rather they set
up screens and camp around the low posts.
Dynamic DNA incorporates some very interesting
components such as DNA Streaks. As the season
goes, players get hot or cold. With a
downloadable update via NBA Live 365, you’ll
always be on top of the sporting news about
who’s on fire or in a slump as well as who holds
the longest shooting streaks in the game.
Dynamic DNA and NBA Live 365 go hand in hand. To
take advantage of the ingenuity of DNA, you must
continually download the latest stats at NBA
Live 365. Another interesting feature of NBA
Live 09 is the Pick-and-Roll system. Through the
years, the ability for users to have more
freedom have expanded quite a bit, shifting from
a one-man game formation to two-man game
simultaneous action. The addition of
Pick-and-Roll control couldn’t come at a time.
It gives you extra firepower to your offensive
arsenal.
The idea behind Pick-and Roll is the element of
“tag-team” precision. You call a teammate to set
up a screen for you, then control whether he
slips the screen, rolls to the basket, or pops
open a shot. This sort of classic
Stockton-to-Malone interaction adds huge depth
to the usual collection of scripted offense. The
success of pulling off such a delicate manuever
will depend on player match-ups on the
perimeter; you’ll need space, timing, and the
right “go-to” man to execute the job
effectively. FIBA World Championship is one of
NBA Live 09’s most notable single-player
options. It offers a nice diversion to the
current Dynasty Mode as it allows you to play
with 24 international teams, composing of real
FIBA tournament structure.
What’s interesting about the FIBA portion of NBA
Live 09 is that the stadiums are built within
the specific court dimensions. It also has
excellent stat tracking categories such as
tournament leaders, box scores, and league’s
MVP’s just to name a few. However, the material
we value most about FIBA is creating those dream
matches. It’s nice how you can pit your favorite
NBA team against an international powerhouse,
and see how they play out! Besides FIBA, there
are other prominent single-player modes worth
checking out: Be A Pro Mode, NBA All-Star
Weekend, and Dynasty Mode. There is an
interesting twist to the Pro mode. It plays just
like a regular game but you take control of just
one player the entire time. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 8.0 OUT OF 10 |
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Think of the
Pro mode as an audition to a starter’s position;
you are scored based on both your offensive and
defensive performances. There is a performance
bar meter that indicates how well you are
playing your position. At the end of the game,
you’ll receive a grade, a report summary, and
comments of the kind of player you are. It’s
nice to know where your skills are situated
among the superstars in the NBA. If you can’t
wait for the season to reach the All-Star break,
NBA Live 09 offers you quick access to the NBA
All-Star Weekend. It’s one of the entertaining
aspects of the single-player modes. Some of the
interesting things you can do include Rookie
Challenge – rookies taking on sophomore players,
3-Point Shootout – see who has the top long
range, Dunk Contest – show your gravity-defying
stunts, and last but not least, the NBA All-Star
Game – top players of the East face off the best
in the West.
Of course, the main highlights of NBA Live 09’s
single-player option happens in the Dynasty
Mode. Some of the materials we love about the
Dynasty Mode includes Dynasty upgrades. You’ll
need to earn dynasty points to purchase
improvements for your team such as boosting the
rank of your staff, get better results from
training, improve negotiation with free agents,
develop better scouting for potential prospects,
and more! Part of what makes Dynasty Mode
special is the Academy Training. Championships
can be decided in training camp. By enrolling
your players into the Academy, you’re honing
their abilities through various workouts or
different challenges. This is good for scouted
rookies to see if their potential measures up.
The biggest factor that makes NBA Live 09 a more
respectable title is lies in its gameplay.
Though the gameplay remains relatively
untouched, there are some progress to the way
players move. Two of the most appreciated assets
are Lockdown Mode and Quick Strike Ankle
Breakers. The Lockdown maneuver gives you what
defensive pressure feels like; you get a body on
the ball handler and try to force him to create
a turnover. Just don't overuse it as your
constant purge for such force can wear down your
defense over time. As a result, skilled ball
handlers will serve you a giant "poster". Quick
Strike Ankle Breakers are our most favorite
addition to NBA Live 09’s list of gameplay
enhancements. It gives you the ability to
explode past the defenders. By setting up a big
hesitation pose to the person guarding you, you
have a chance to blow by him with a strong
crossover move. Electronic Arts made it easy to
perform these Quick Strikes and it’s really fun
to see your defender get faked out and left
behind in the dust.
So far NBA Live 09 has seen a few notable
improvements to the gameplay department, but
there are still a number of old technical issues
worth mentioning about. First off, the game is
suffering a bit from lag time when executing
“direct” passing, making it difficult to take
advantage of the fast break opportunities. There
are also some inconsistencies with the blocking
mechanism. When you try to block a shot, you’re
almost always out of reach! What’s more is that
when you’re in flight going for a basic swat,
you feel as though you’re lunging for a
clothesline instead of maintaining a mere
defensive wall. You’ll also notice that when you
miss a layup or a dunk, your player takes a long
time to recover, particularly when shifting back
to defense. As a result, your whole team is
compromised on the other end of the floor,
giving your opponent major confidence to take
open shots and easy buckets without any
contention.
Graphically, the game looks a bit more polished
when compared to last year’s performance.
Character models seem less robotic and have a
more refined texture to them. It’s amazing how
some of the superstars appear so much similar to
their real counterparts, even capturing many of
their prominent features such as fine lines that
go with their age. The crowd, on the other hand,
doesn’t look like they have improved much, but
then again who amongst us take serious note of
what goes on in the stand. Nevertheless, you’ll
be pleased with the latest layups and dunk
sequences. The extra layer of player animation
certainly improved the action on the court. The
way NBA players strut off their patented moves
carry an uncanny resemblance.
Overall, NBA Live 09 is a solid basketball game.
With the addition of Dynamic DNA, NBA Live
Academy, and FIBA World Championship among other
nifty content, this is NBA Live at its best!
Long time fans will certainly appreciate the new
Lockdown Mode and Pick-and-Roll system, which
add more depth to the action on the court. The
gameplay remains exciting for the most part
thanks to the inclusion of Quick Strike Ankle
Breaker, which gives gamers the ability to
explode past the defenders with amazing footwork
never seen before. However, there are some
lingering issues that need to be addressed;
these are mostly associated with the noticeable
“lag time” and the "sluggish recoveries" with
the control. Needless to say, NBA Live 09 is
finally living up to its competition. This is
one dynamic experience NBA Live vets shouldn’t
pass up. |
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