NBA Live 19 is a beautifully flawed NBA game, a great basketball game, and the best multiplayer sports game I have experienced in years. All of that is because of The One mode. The One mode is where you can create your player and play through a single player career both in the Streets and in The League. You also take this player to do Court Battles (the best mode in sports gaming in years) and online 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 games.
NBA Live’s franchise mode is antiquated. The WNBA content is still lacking BUT where NBA Live gets it right is how they feature women in the game. In The One you have the option to create a women or man. That’s great. It’s not perfect because if you create a women she can’t play a professional season because The League mode doesn’t have WNBA seasons and teams in it.
What they do right is that women are featured in the game just like the men are in every mode they are available. The 2 modes that feature the most women and are the most content rich parts of the game are Court Battle and The Streets. Court battles have you create a team to defend your home court, then you take a team to play and take over other people’s courts. As you win, level up, and earn credits you can buy loot crates to get better teammates. NONE OF THIS IS SEGREGATED BY GENDER. As you gain new players and open loot crates the women are as easily available and rated as highly as the men. You go to a tournament in the Philippines where Maya Moore plays and shes running the court and leading her team with Jordan Clarkson.
Women have the same animation options as the men, they are just as effective as anybody else on the court and it’s awesome. It’s such a good way to get people to learn who the players are and to care about them. People always want to use the best rated players and I see so many teams with Delle Donne on their team because shes a beast! Lindsey Whalen is my starting PG right now defending my court. She’s rated an 80 and she beat out Jeremy Lin (rated 79) as my starter. I have never seen a game so successfully integrate women into a sports game. The argument has been made that because women aren’t jumping out of the gym like their male counterparts do that they wouldn’t be fun to use and wouldn’t be able to be in a game with men and NBA Live proves that argument dead wrong.
The game doesn’t pat itself on the back for including women and it doesn’t make a big deal out of it. WNBA logos and content are in the drop boxes too! As you are playing through and earning credits to buy in the shop you are seeing the logos and the team colors. A bigger deal should be made of what EA has done with being inclusive. I’ll pat them on the back. Nicely done. Now give me a WNBA Ultimate Team….
NBA 2K18 is rotten with micro transactions. MyPlayer is useless now without endless time or endless money. Lots of fans and journalists have covered 2K’s issues. What isn’t being said is NBA Live 18 is good and only has transactions in Ultimate Team, and the main single player mode is complete without adding money to it! It is killing me that reviewers are not bringing up other options from 2K. This is the time that NBA Live can have a revival.
NBA Live 18 has amazing graphics as always. The “myplayer” mode has a streets mode and a league mode, both fleshed out and very well done. Ultimate team has over 170 challenges in it already. THIS IS THE GAME WITH THE WNBA! (they need to add a season or playoff mode to the WNBA but it’s a good start).
You have options for basketball this year. Take advantage of it. NBA Live 18 has a 10 hour free trial with EA Access on Xbox One. At most it’s 5 dollars for a month of the service to play the game for 10 hours. Try it. Please. I support people boycotting the microtransactions in NBA 2K but the best way to make them feel the need to change is to support the competition.
Arcade basketball games are some of the most important gaming experiences of my life. I learned how to shoot a lay-up from NBA Jam. My undying love of basketball started from NBA Jam. To give you some context for this review, know that I owned NBA Jam TE for Game Gear, Saturn and Genesis. I have watched this genre evolve from Arch Rivals to NBA Street. To say I was excited about NBA Playground is an understatement. I have missed this genre since the last NBA Jam: On Fire Edition EA made back in 2011.
What is NBA Playground- It’s a 2 on 2 arcade basketball game in the vein of NBA Jam. People have made comparisons to NBA Street but I do not see them. NBA Street was all about the handles. It was more like Tony Hawk than NBA jam in my opinion. My love of NBA Street being well documented, this is not that. I think the dunks in this game evoke NBA Street style with the multiple oops and different styles. NBA Playground has an arcade mode like progression where you play different tourney’s and you can play on-line.
What makes this game different from NBA Jam? The game is more skill based. The shooting is very particular. You need to have a perfect release (when you release X after you shoot) to get an extra point and make the shot. If you release too early or too late you will miss the shot (lay up, or dunk). This takes out some of the nebulous “why did John Stockton miss that open 3?” moments. If you miss, it’s because you got blocked or messed the release up. The game has a ton of powerups and plays loose and fast with points. There is a meter that fills up and when its full you get a random powerup. Some of these give you more points, more turbo, shorter shot clock, etc. It’s a neat feature that can give a team a chance to comeback or give you a chance to bury an opponent.
There are no teams. You just pick players from teams. When you start the game, you are given 3 packs of cards. Each pack has 5 players. Those are the players you can use, as you level up and play you get more packs to get more players. I love and hate this. I love opening cards, it’s an exciting way to add some replay-ability to this game. What sucks is that I want Patrick Ewing. I have not opened him yet. I have opened a large amount of packs (11 hours of gameplay). Luckily, I am an NBA head so playing as Paul Westphal and Thon Maker is cool but honestly some packs will have Roy Hibbert and Ian Mihimi in them and at that point….just shut it down.
Controls- The shooting controls need to be explained better. As of now, it’s all feel. You pick a player and learn his release. The game will tell you when you shoot too early or too late but it’s hard to place where in the animation to change up. This is most frustrating in the lay-ups and dunks. Dunks go slow mo and kill all timing. Dribbling moves are assigned to the right stick and are canned animations. Steal and jump are just button presses. To block a shot you need to release the button at the right time. It all works but it all needs better tutorials.
Graphics- The stylized players look dope! They exaggerate certain features on players….which can look a little problematic at times but the models themselves and graphics are amazing. The game runs very smooth and all the courts have a unique feel.
Sound- The music is forgettable and the commentating sucks. Find a podcast to listen to and mute the game.
Multiplayer- local, online and soon co-op (I have only played online a few times and I can say that it works well enough.)
Comparisons to other games- The most important characteristic this game shares with NBA Jam are the secrets. This series is known for secrets (hot spots, special animations for legends etc). All of the special moves legendary players have are a secret, player releases and hot spots are a secret. All NBA Playgrounds needs now is to have some presidents or mascots become playable. The game that this one reminds me of the most is the long forgotten NBA Jam for PS2.
There was an NBA Jam reboot for PS2 just called NBA Jam. It was an OK game that has very similar animations and character models to NBA Playground. This was a little unnerving because NBA Jam for PS2 was such a clunky game to control. It had the best progression in the series. You play through all the eras of the NBA. When you play the ’60s Celtics and Lakers the games are in black and white and there is no 3 point line. It’s pretty amazing. They simulate what a TV broadcast from each era would be like. NBA Playground emulates this to a point by having instant access to legendary players from each era. NBA Jam for PS2 also had a soundtrack from Bootsy Collins! It’s rarely mentions but he was the centerpiece of the entire games soundtrack and it’s great! NBA Playground does not have Bootsy or any licensed music for that matter. NBA Jam PS2 also had a lot of licensed music to evoke the eras it was representing.
This current NBA Jam representation (Playgrounds) does not lean into the era’s as much but they do utilize classic players. Instead of representing an era the game represents the special moves of each legend. Hakeem has a special dream shake on mid range jumpers. Iverson’s crossover has gold stars all over it and is unstoppable. Dirk has a fadeaway 3 that is unblockable. It’s a nice touch.
What I want from this game- WNBA Teams and players! Why not??? Put them in the packs of cards and let me use Candace Parker with Lebron James. The WNBA has the most Star it has ever had. Kelsey Plum, Elena Delle Donne, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Skylar Diggins, Maya Moore! That’s the just tip of that list. A game like this doesn’t need to worry about gender differences. Put them in the game and watch them work!
I like this game and I think at the 20 dollar price point it’s an easy risk to take. Buy it.
I wrote a post about how I think there should be a WNBA game a few weeks ago (Here), and after writing and looking for examples of women in basketball games I was pointed towards one. I had my attention turned to EA Sports March Madness 2001, a collegiate basketball title featuring both men and women!
This is a PSOne game, so I grabbed it for 10 bucks new and popped it in. The game is broken up into differences play modes. Quick mode, season, march madness and….wait for it…..it’s coming……. WOMEN’S NCAA SWEET 16!!! It is a mode featuring the sweet 16 teams from the year before.
There is actually a cool graphic for the logo featuring two women jumping after a ball and it’s classy. Graphically, the game is rough. Early 3D games have aged about as well as…well it’s a bunch of triangles. BUT you can tell that the female player models are different than the men. The skill sets the women have are different as well!
The game plays well, the women have lay up animations but could not dunk. There were a few moments where the game would say men or something in a stat and not realizing they were a graphic on a women’s game.
Here’s my point-
IN 2001 VIDEO GAMES REPRESENTED FEMALES IN THEM PLAYING BASKETBALL. ENTIRE TEAMS, WITH ARENAS, ALL WITHIN A LARGER GAME.
WHY CAN’T WE DO THIS NOW? ADD A WNBA MODE TO CURRENT GAMES. /END RANT
also, watch the WNBA Finals. The Lynx are playing the Fever and it is going to a decisive game 5. Maya Moore, Tamika Catchings….it’s a great series.
The metaphorical storm being NBA Live 16 as a real competitor in the basketball scene this year. That said, I grew up playing NBA Action, NBA Live, NBA 2K, Jordan vs. Bird, Tecmo NBA, and many other basketball games. I use to relish in playing different developers vision of the sport. The differing takes on how to shoot, how to dribble, player ratings.
Kobe Bryant with the YAM in NBA 2K for Dreamcast!
Bulls vs. Lakers for NES, back when Jordan gave his license like every other player.
Konami NBA In The Zone! A personal favorite game that was underrated.
That era died years ago, and the nail in it’s coffin was Jesus’ Bynums NBA Elite. That debacle of a game ended EA’s basketball run and it has taken years for them to recover. During that down time NBA 2K has been defining and redefining the genre in incredible ways throughout the years. EA started over with NBA Live 14 and it was absolute trash. That is the nicest thing I can say about it. It’s so bad they gave away Live 15 instead of Live 14 on EA Access so people wouldn’t play it.
All of that said NBA Live 15 came out last year and I really enjoyed it. NBA Live 16 has brought the life back to EA. This game is a return to form for EA in a big way.
Before I get into the videogame stuff I have to talk about my favorite aspect of this game, play calling! The over lay for running plays is incredible. It does 2 things that make it great and usable; 1) The over lay discreetly tells you the next 2 moves coming up (if you need to dribble towards a screen then pass, they inform you of that pass while your dribbling). This is huge because because the hardest thing about running plays in basketball games is that rarely does a player (at least me) look at the play in its entirety before entering the game. That requires memorization of both the play and the name. That’s a lot to ask, but by showing you where the play is going you can move accordingly instead of waiting to see what’s next.
2) They run motion offenses. They ran a flex style offense and it never stopped. I have seen my offense run Princeton style offense as well. Impressive stuff, especially because I rarely deviate from running the pick and roll.
The graphics- The graphics look very smooth and crisp. Last year looked a little sterile, but this year the stadiums are full of life and the player models are more realistic than last year. The biggest thing that Live has struggled with are animations and clipping. Players would have wonky animations (quick impossible lay up scoop shots, weird defensive blocks, etc) and they would clip through each other during steals and blocks. This issue has been toned back hugely this year. I compared blocks shots and steals from this year to 2K and neither was clipping in a major way. The arms, the ball, and the air all took up space in a meaningful way. I love the dunk animations in live. There are still too many hook shot animations in the game though, most players can hit a baby hook and it’s a move rarely seen in the NBA outside of the Grizzlies big men. I love how colorful NBA Live 16 is. The reflections off the court look amazing. I’d say the graphics are very impressive this year and dare i say look “next gen”.
The gameplay- The best compliment I can give the game this year is that Live 16 has put enough work into the A.I. that it feels like a game of basketball is being played. Adjustments are made on the fly, players are constantly running plays and moving. Last year, if plays weren’t called players would be standing around. This year players are doing their own thing to try and help the team. It makes a huge difference. The ball handling controls are tight as ever. The right stick controls moves like a fighting game. Momentum is more realistic this year so players aren’t sliding back court or out of bounds this year.
The Modes
Pro Am- This is my dream mode, it’s P v P or P v E basketball. You can do progression through the P v E either alone or with people. And P v P is 5 on 5 goodness with bots if needed. My only issue with this mode is that not a lot of people own Live. What separates Pro Am from other games is the progression of your character. There are a lot of clothing and show unlocks as well as the ability to unlock NBA player animations for your person. My player Jax Briggs is currently decked out in some nice J’s, camo shorts, and a Melo jersey. Very much me.
Ultimate Team- Ultimate team this year is a mixed bag. I love it, it’s cards. But I really wish these modes would have a way to actually play with the cards….think bud bowl with NBA Cards.
I CAN’T FEEL MY LABEL!
Seriously though, it’s a tough progression. The rookie challenges are a breeze but everything after that is on Superstar difficulty and frankly the rewards have not been worth the grind. In Madden, you get lots of Elite cards for single player grinding. In Live not so much yet. I get that in basketball 1 great card can make a team so I get why they are frugal but it puts too much pressure on getting lucky in a pack. That said it provides tons of content and they added specialist players. For example, Eric Gordon is rated 92 for 3’s. His 3-point specialist card is a 97. Much like in Madden, these specialist cards are required for certain challenges.
The comparison- It’s the elephant in the room, how does this game stack up with NBA 2k16? The biggest thing I can say as a plus for NBA Live 16 is that they communicate information in an incredible way. They communicate info better than 2K does on every level. Miss a shot in Live 16? They tell you 12% (he’s not a good shooter). Hitting the back of the rim on your shots? The shot meter shows you a hoop and you can aim for the front or back of the basket via the meter. Let’s say you are having trouble defending the paint ( a big complaint for the game), the game communicates that you are successfully defending a lay-up by vibrating your controller.
They show and vibrate countdowns when you are crossing half court or throwing the ball inbounds. It’s amazing. In my opinion it replicates the info a player has looking at a shot clock or hearing the coach yell at you. 2K has a shot meter at players feet. It works but staring at Melo’s feet is dumb.
All of that said, 2k16 is a better game. The Spike Lee Joint that is the MyPlayer mode blows NBA Live’s equivalent out of the water. The lay up animations are much more consistent in NBA 2K every miss feels fair. I think graphically, Live is better but 2K has an art style and realism that is fantastic. I think 2K is a little slow but the precise controls this year are fantastic. Also, the worst feature of the series for me has always been the servers and this year they have been great on PC.
In summary, the biggest compliment I can give NBA Live 16 is that I am not embarrassed to say I like it. Operation Sports had good thing to say about it, and it has been getting fair reviews. my only frustration is 1) Game journalist refusal to take sports games seriously 2) People’s immediate dismissal of the series due to NBA Elite 11. Live 16 is good and EA does a great job updating their games.
With the inclusion of female athletes in the new FIFA game, why can’t we have a WNBA game?
Let’s look at a brief history of woman in basketball video games-
NBA Street! The NBA Street series has always been very gender inclusive. They have had WNBA stars such as Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi as well as the pop group 3LW.
I am going to be honest with you… this is all I found. There might be more but in a world where Arena Football has a blitz clone AND an EA game you’re telling me we can’t have a WNBA game?!?!
People say they’ll support the WNBA when they can dunk….they can. They have the talent, the women in NBA Street were extremely fun to control in the game.
Females have been in Tennis games, soccer, golf, volleyball but why not a simulation basketball game?
The WNBA is not some fly-by-night league. It is one of the premier leagues for women’s basketball in the world.
Now is the best time to make this game. WNBA 2K16 will have Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins, Brittany Griner, Candace Parker, as well as legends like Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings still playing.
Lisa Leslie is being inducted into the basketball hall of fame. There is a history and present day that deserves to be immortalized in video games. American Collegiate legends are going to the WNBA instead of over seas. Let’s make it happen.
Before the world cries out “But nobody watches the WNBA and a game would never sell!” I will respond that more people would watch if they learned about the players and teams via gaming. Have a WNBA mode in NBA Live or NBA 2K. Women are gaming! Sports games sell! DO IT!
I take a lot of medications. I have some health issues. Due to these things, I pee a lot. Not like I pee twice a day and it’s a thing a lot, but I mean I pee basically every 30-45 minutes like clockwork. Regardless of how much I have or have not drank (drunk? Drinken?). This is relevant because on-line gaming cannot be paused. I realized I hit rock bottom with Freestyle Street Basketball 2 (a basketball MMO) when I pee’d into a cup because I couldn’t pause the game and I wasn’t just going to walk away. Rock bottom never felt so good.
What is Freestyle Street Basketball 2?
FSB2 is a massive multiplayer on-line game where you create an avatar and play basketball. This game is a 3 on 3 “street” basketball simulator. You create a baller at the beginning of the game. You can choose from some templates of a Center, Power Forward, Small Forward, Shooting Guard, and a Point Guard. After you create your player you are introduce to a confusing set of menus to show you how to upgrade your player. The game is a basic 3 on 3 basketball simulator that keeps you involved by having lots of customization options to unlock and currency to earn. There are some pay to win items if you choose to go that route but you can be competitive without spending money. I spent 5 dollars to get a pair of sunglasses and a high top fade….. I still have currency left. I felt like it was worth the money for the time. All of the upgrades that improve my performance were bought during the game.
How does it play?
This game is not NBA 2K, nor is it NBA Live. I would say this game plays like an early NBA Street crossed with NBA Jam. The controls are very simple. Pass, Shoot, Screen. Those same buttons double as rebound, block, steal on defense. There is a turbo button ala NBA Jam. The controls can get more complex if you want them to. You have the option to purchase via in-game currency new moves like jukes and v-cuts. The animations are a little choppy but the game is made to run on any PC. The games are high scoring, 3 point shooting, dunking affairs. You have great control of your character and there is basically no lag. Once you play a game or 2 the controls become second nature and that is when things get really fun.
The beauty of this game is in it’s simplicity and sports foundation. You don’t need to mid-mad characters upfront or spend money to have fun. The game of basketball has not changed. If you understand the game and can pick up the simple controls, you can play and win. The game is pure. You build your character as you see fit, you can run with a crew, or fin some randoms to pick up and run with. My level 3 PG is just as effective as a level 12 if I know the game better (and am surrounded by complementing talent).
How is the presentation?
The presentation is really eye-catching but the menu design is very unintuitive and takes some playing around with. There are so many things going on at once. You are constantly being informed of unlocking different things. Earning new nicknames, new icons, access to a wheel to spin, it can be overwhelming. The graphics look really nice. It’s a cel-shaded game. The characters are long and fluid. The game oozes color and style. The females characters are a little too sexy but overall it’s a very appealing game to look at. The courts are all outdoor and they have weather effects.
Another nice touch is that all upgrades are visual. No 2 characters look the same and it makes the entire experience constantly feel fresh.
How is the on-line community?
About as toxic as a real game of pick up basketball, so take that for what it’s worth.
Are there Black people in this game?
Yes! and women! and Asian people! and zombie looking creatures….. and everything in between. This game handles diversity in the best way. You have access to all sexes and races from the jump. Female centers are just as capable as males. The game has a weird cultural feel to it. It’s like this is what I imagine black and hip-hop culture looks like to somebody from Germany…or Japan even. It’s almost hyper-urban and hyper gaudy. It’s like MTV Cribs meets Def Jam crossed with Pokemon. I am not going to lie, the black characters in this game have real suspect lips….but otherwise they do a great job of giving lots of options for hair styles. This is the first game series i remember to have corn rows. It’s truly impressive. It doesn’t flaunt the diversity, and it’s just a great 3 on 3 basketball game that happens to have everyone in it. It’s really cool.
In conclusion, this game is a pleasant surprise. When I was in High School, I discovered the first FreeStyle Street Basketball game I loved it. I was addicted to it. This game represents community and basketball in a way that NBA 2K multiplayer doesn’t. The sequel doesn’t disappoint. The game is still addicting and fun as ever. Every time i log on, i feel like I am walking into a gym hoping to find some guys I gel with so I can keep winning and stay on the court. This game represents the dream for me. I always wanted a sports RPG and while 2K MyPlayer mode is great single-player representation of this, it always failed to capture my interest on-line. This game is special. It’s Free. I downloaded it on Steam. I recommend you do the same! Thanks for reading! peace
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Kobe Bryant with the YAM in NBA 2K for Dreamcast!
Konami NBA In The Zone! A personal favorite game that was underrated.
J3Blackgamer 