NBA Live 2009 Review - PS3

6

Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 8
Audio: 7
Multiplayer: 6
Innovation: 2

Introduction

EA Sports' NBA Live franchise has long been struggling in the skirmish with rival basketball franchise 2K, which boasts smoother gameplay, better controls and superior graphics. Well, EA’s game is back, and bringing enough new and improved features to the court that you might just think it's Christmas. From the new DNA tendencies, to Pick and Roll controls, to the expanded FIBA teams list, NBA Live 09 seems like it will finally give 2K something to worry about.

Gameplay

The most obvious improvement NBA Live 09 brings to the table is its massive leap forward in online capabilities. The DNA system, powered by Synergy Sports Technology, analytically catalogues data for over twenty NBA teams, and updates daily how the players score, work as a team and their overall tendencies on the court. If a player starts off the season on a hot streak, his stats will reflect the improvement. If another player suddenly starts going rogue, his stats will drop accordingly. It’s a nice leap forward in realistic gaming and keeps the game fresh and in sync not only with week-to-week scores, but day-to-day changes. With that being said, NBA Live 09’s rival, 2K09, features ‘Living Rosters’, a fairly similar stats uploading system, so EA aren’t the only ones with a shiny new toy.

Most of the gameplay modes have been carried over from NBA Live 08. You can practice your skills in the NBA Academy, which includes dozens of challenges to be completed. You can take part in the minor sideshows of the game like the Slam Dunk contest or Three Point Shootout. You can jump straight into the action with the FIBA World Championships, going head to head with the words best, or even take the helm of an NBA franchise in Dynasty Mode.

It can take quite a bit of practice to get familiar with the controls, which makes the Academy a great asset. It lets you free roam about your home court, where you can practice the minor control moves, or simply walk up to a coach to learn new ones, both defensive and offensive, in a team environment. Once you have the new move down, you can select a challenge, which usually has a score to be reached in a certain time.

Thankfully, and surely to the delight of many fans, the controls have been tweaked from EA’s 08 title, and are designed to be more intuitive and allow for much more control of the players. One of the issues brought up by fans of NBA Live 08 (which put it behind 2K) was its horrible and often overly arcade-like control system, which was frustrating to say the least. While 09 is still far from perfect, especially in defense, it is measurably closer.

The basic control system is still very similar, with the right control stick handling dribbling etc, one button passing and so on, but the DNA tendencies system also allows for more effective play calling. Anytime during play you can bring up the play call menu, which gives you ...