Post by DJ Rhude on Oct 12, 2004 13:13:58 GMT -5
Well both games are finally out and the debate about which game is better, rages on. Most people acknowledge that the ESPN series was the better basketball sim the last two years, as Live struggled to regain it's claim as the top dog and shed it's arcadey image. While VVB won't pick a side, we will look at the games objectively and let the masses form their own opinions. Read on
Graphics
Live's player models the last couple of years were not that good. Cartoony looking players, coupled with hit or miss player faces was not a good look. ESPN on the other hand, people said the models were too polygonal and the players looked doofy. ESPN however, the player faces were just always about dead on. Live's player models this year have improved tenfold, but they are still behind ESPN's models.
Live's Kareem (first) ESPN's Kareem (2nd)
Live's Kobe (1st) ESPN's Kobe (2nd)
Live's Shaq (1st) ESPN's Shaq (2nd)
Live's Big Ben (1st) ESPN's Big Ben (2nd)
The Call - Edge ESPN[/color]
The nuts and bolts of it all. I mean, who cares how pretty the car is, if it rides like a clunker? This year both games have their plus and minuses. Live's flow is good this year except when passing. EA still has not gotten it through their heads that players DO NOT jump in the air when catching a damn pass right at them. It's frustrating to see your big man fight for position and get the defender on his hip, only to jump up for a simple entry pass. This puts your man back in front of the defender instead going for the easy two. EA, y'all ever heard of lob passes? Also the fast break is better than last year, but there are still too many instances where a defender seems to get that little extra speed burst to get in front of a player streaking to the basket. You especially see it on the superstar level. Aside from those minor annoyances, the gameplay in Live is tight this year. You see a lot of action on the floor, with players cutting, setting picks and the overall spacing is great. Teams play to their strengths too, as a team like the Sixers will see A.I. take most of the shots. The freestyle and pro hop controls have been toned down, so no more pro hopping & freestyling your way to 70 points with scrubs like Charlie Ward. There are still too many dunks in the game though as the dunk button can be abused. I had 7 dunks with the vertically challenged Kurt Thomas one game. If you turn up the blocking sliders, then you get way too many blocks, so this is something you have to fine tune. Live still has it's arcade elements, but this is the most sim it's ever been.
ESPN's gameplay is good too, but it is also not without it's annoyances. This year, the computer teams take far too little three pointers. I've left good shooters WIDE OPEN just to see, and they refuse to pull the jimmy, instead forcing the ball inside the paint, or driving into traffic. Also the shots the computer takes in the paint are a bit too high compared to real life. The turnover bug also seems to be back in full force. If a player passes the ball and it gets knocked out of bounds, he will be credited with a turnover. One game, Stephon Marbury had 12 turnovers when I know for a fact he only had like 6. It's a shame this wasn't fixed from last year. Other than that, the game play is improved from last year. The Isomotion controls have been tightened up and are actually useful this year and the players behave like their NBA counterparts. Fastbreaks are much easier to pull off than Live and you get a realistic number of fastbreak points. The post game is probably where ESPN really shines. The drop step has been much improved and the amount of up and unders, hooks and fadeways at your disposal are a nice touch. The playbooks have been expanded this year as well and teams run a nice assortment of plays. ESPN is till the top sim.
Kurt Thomas wishes he had hops like this (Live)[/size][/center]
The Call - ESPN[/color]
Both games dynasty modes are great this year, so it will come down to a matter of preference. In Live you have your trusty PDA, to keep you abreast of all the league going ons and keep tabs on your team. The computer A.I. manages it's teams a lot better this year, so you won't be able to sign a lot stars for the minimum like you could do last year. I made a run at Chris Webber doing the offseason, only to have the punk turn me down after he left us twisting in the wind for a week. Very nice touch as it almost feels like recruiting in NCAA. There's also an offseason calendar which makes you feel more involved when doing transactions. When scouting future draft picks, you can actualy bring them in for a tryout as they play against one of the guys on your team. A very nice touch. Of course you have the typical training methods available to you as well, throughout the course of your season. Progression is possible as well. Probably the most important addition that most people are going to be excited about, is the all star weekend. How hot would it be to see that rookie you drafted participate in the slam dunk contest? More on the all star weekend in the extras section...
ESPN's calls their dynasty mode, The Association. Here you are responsible for a team and maintaining the team chemistry. Different players throughout the course of the year will come to you, voicing various concerns depending on how your team is doing. A nice addiction, but by about the 5th year it gets repetitive and you will soon be throwing players out of your office. ESPN's big addition this year is what they call Full Authority. What this is, is a very involved simulation format. Before each game if you decide to use FA, you get to assign players shots and assign orders and then sit back and watch highlights each quarter as your commands are carried out. HOT! There are also halftime higlights at each game, but only Xbox users get to see full motion. PS users see still shots, unless you buy the hard drive.
What the hell do you want now!?. Get the hell out of my office![/size][/center]
The Call - EVEN[/color]
By far the biggest edition to Live this year was the inclusion of the All Star Weekend. Available as a seperate mode, it can be very addicting. The slam dunk contest, 3 pt contest, all star game and the rookie/sophomore game are all at your disposal. The only downer is the AS mode is not available online. The announcing in Live is on point as you have the energetic Marv Albert with Mike Fratello calling the action. The pregame shows the players warming up on the floor and overall the presenation in Live is nicely done.
ESPN returns with it's 24/7 mode. In this you can create a player and improve him by performing different training methods and playing in different venues. The addicting thing about this mode is, your player is running in real time with your playstation's internal clock, so if you don't play with him for a week, you will see significant stat detoriation. 24/7 is also online so you can test your created guy against someone elses. As far as presentation ESPN is kind of bland. And to top it off Bill Walton calls the action. Bill Walton???. Come on ESPN, this guy makes last year's choice Tom Tolbert seem like a great choice.
Too bad this isn't Bill, we'd love to dunk on him[/size][/center]
The Call - NBA Live[/color]
Live still has problems online. No capability to adjust the cameras individually, lag is still noticeable and fatigue is OFF during rank games, resulting in some cheese fest three point shoot outs. Unranked you can turn off fatigue and adjust the sliders to your liking, so that's good news for leagues
ESPN has improved online this year. Last year was horrible and eventually they had to shut down their great online leagues, because the server was so bad. This year it's been revamped and is smooth. The few games that I have played, lag seemed to be at a minimum. They also have the capability for users to adjust the cameras accordingly. ESPN developers recognized that people are comfortable playing with different camera angles. Now I can play with my side view while my opponent isn't affected because he can play at the view he likes. With the addition of online leagues, ESPN comes out on top here.
The Call - ESPN[/color]
Graphics
Live's player models the last couple of years were not that good. Cartoony looking players, coupled with hit or miss player faces was not a good look. ESPN on the other hand, people said the models were too polygonal and the players looked doofy. ESPN however, the player faces were just always about dead on. Live's player models this year have improved tenfold, but they are still behind ESPN's models.
Live's Kareem (first) ESPN's Kareem (2nd)
Live's Kobe (1st) ESPN's Kobe (2nd)
Live's Shaq (1st) ESPN's Shaq (2nd)
Live's Big Ben (1st) ESPN's Big Ben (2nd)
The Call - Edge ESPN[/color]
- Gameplay
The nuts and bolts of it all. I mean, who cares how pretty the car is, if it rides like a clunker? This year both games have their plus and minuses. Live's flow is good this year except when passing. EA still has not gotten it through their heads that players DO NOT jump in the air when catching a damn pass right at them. It's frustrating to see your big man fight for position and get the defender on his hip, only to jump up for a simple entry pass. This puts your man back in front of the defender instead going for the easy two. EA, y'all ever heard of lob passes? Also the fast break is better than last year, but there are still too many instances where a defender seems to get that little extra speed burst to get in front of a player streaking to the basket. You especially see it on the superstar level. Aside from those minor annoyances, the gameplay in Live is tight this year. You see a lot of action on the floor, with players cutting, setting picks and the overall spacing is great. Teams play to their strengths too, as a team like the Sixers will see A.I. take most of the shots. The freestyle and pro hop controls have been toned down, so no more pro hopping & freestyling your way to 70 points with scrubs like Charlie Ward. There are still too many dunks in the game though as the dunk button can be abused. I had 7 dunks with the vertically challenged Kurt Thomas one game. If you turn up the blocking sliders, then you get way too many blocks, so this is something you have to fine tune. Live still has it's arcade elements, but this is the most sim it's ever been.
ESPN's gameplay is good too, but it is also not without it's annoyances. This year, the computer teams take far too little three pointers. I've left good shooters WIDE OPEN just to see, and they refuse to pull the jimmy, instead forcing the ball inside the paint, or driving into traffic. Also the shots the computer takes in the paint are a bit too high compared to real life. The turnover bug also seems to be back in full force. If a player passes the ball and it gets knocked out of bounds, he will be credited with a turnover. One game, Stephon Marbury had 12 turnovers when I know for a fact he only had like 6. It's a shame this wasn't fixed from last year. Other than that, the game play is improved from last year. The Isomotion controls have been tightened up and are actually useful this year and the players behave like their NBA counterparts. Fastbreaks are much easier to pull off than Live and you get a realistic number of fastbreak points. The post game is probably where ESPN really shines. The drop step has been much improved and the amount of up and unders, hooks and fadeways at your disposal are a nice touch. The playbooks have been expanded this year as well and teams run a nice assortment of plays. ESPN is till the top sim.
Kurt Thomas wishes he had hops like this (Live)
The Call - ESPN[/color]
- Dynasty Mode
Both games dynasty modes are great this year, so it will come down to a matter of preference. In Live you have your trusty PDA, to keep you abreast of all the league going ons and keep tabs on your team. The computer A.I. manages it's teams a lot better this year, so you won't be able to sign a lot stars for the minimum like you could do last year. I made a run at Chris Webber doing the offseason, only to have the punk turn me down after he left us twisting in the wind for a week. Very nice touch as it almost feels like recruiting in NCAA. There's also an offseason calendar which makes you feel more involved when doing transactions. When scouting future draft picks, you can actualy bring them in for a tryout as they play against one of the guys on your team. A very nice touch. Of course you have the typical training methods available to you as well, throughout the course of your season. Progression is possible as well. Probably the most important addition that most people are going to be excited about, is the all star weekend. How hot would it be to see that rookie you drafted participate in the slam dunk contest? More on the all star weekend in the extras section...
ESPN's calls their dynasty mode, The Association. Here you are responsible for a team and maintaining the team chemistry. Different players throughout the course of the year will come to you, voicing various concerns depending on how your team is doing. A nice addiction, but by about the 5th year it gets repetitive and you will soon be throwing players out of your office. ESPN's big addition this year is what they call Full Authority. What this is, is a very involved simulation format. Before each game if you decide to use FA, you get to assign players shots and assign orders and then sit back and watch highlights each quarter as your commands are carried out. HOT! There are also halftime higlights at each game, but only Xbox users get to see full motion. PS users see still shots, unless you buy the hard drive.
What the hell do you want now!?. Get the hell out of my office!
The Call - EVEN[/color]
- Presentation & Extras
By far the biggest edition to Live this year was the inclusion of the All Star Weekend. Available as a seperate mode, it can be very addicting. The slam dunk contest, 3 pt contest, all star game and the rookie/sophomore game are all at your disposal. The only downer is the AS mode is not available online. The announcing in Live is on point as you have the energetic Marv Albert with Mike Fratello calling the action. The pregame shows the players warming up on the floor and overall the presenation in Live is nicely done.
ESPN returns with it's 24/7 mode. In this you can create a player and improve him by performing different training methods and playing in different venues. The addicting thing about this mode is, your player is running in real time with your playstation's internal clock, so if you don't play with him for a week, you will see significant stat detoriation. 24/7 is also online so you can test your created guy against someone elses. As far as presentation ESPN is kind of bland. And to top it off Bill Walton calls the action. Bill Walton???. Come on ESPN, this guy makes last year's choice Tom Tolbert seem like a great choice.
Too bad this isn't Bill, we'd love to dunk on him
The Call - NBA Live[/color]
- Online
Live still has problems online. No capability to adjust the cameras individually, lag is still noticeable and fatigue is OFF during rank games, resulting in some cheese fest three point shoot outs. Unranked you can turn off fatigue and adjust the sliders to your liking, so that's good news for leagues
ESPN has improved online this year. Last year was horrible and eventually they had to shut down their great online leagues, because the server was so bad. This year it's been revamped and is smooth. The few games that I have played, lag seemed to be at a minimum. They also have the capability for users to adjust the cameras accordingly. ESPN developers recognized that people are comfortable playing with different camera angles. Now I can play with my side view while my opponent isn't affected because he can play at the view he likes. With the addition of online leagues, ESPN comes out on top here.
The Call - ESPN[/color]
