2004 designed to make the CPU win- by a frustrated gamer

i loved this game when i got it, but now i find some stuff really frustrating and have come to the conclusion that this game is designed for the CPU to win..........read this and i'm sure you'll agree

the game is one big layup drill, with the CPU having a major advantage. When i wanna fastbreak the CPU defender always is able to stop me but when the CPU fastbreaks it's usually a 3-0n-1.

theres no intentional foul where you can foul somebody whenever you want

D instensity is impossible. Have u tried playing intense D. I have, and when the clock winds down and you contest a shot you most likely will foul the player and send him to the line

CPU takes shots early in the shot clock, 80% of the time CPU shoots are with 10+ secs on the shot clock

when i take early shots, CPU rebounds and has a fastbreak. As soon as the ball goes up you have dudes past halfcourt, in the NBA this doesn't happen

on pick & rolls, when the CPU gets open on the perimeter, instead of shooting an opne J it drives to the hoop and of course scores

CPU doesn't shoot unless it's a 3 or a dunk/layup

CPU dbl teams either strip the player or force him to shoot some retarded off balance shot around the basket

When i dbl team, the dbl team doesn't arrive till the ball is in the hoop, sometimes the CPU has finished it's move before it gets the freakin ball

freestyle is useless, you get bumped and pushed back all the time

the CPU still blocks 10-12 shots per game, despite me having put the setting for blocks to 0, my setting is 43 and i get bout 6 a game

What difficulty and sliders are you playing on?

Because everything you said is true, but there are ways around those types of obstacles.

A level like All-Star really is winnable. Superstar needs just plain practice.

yea thats tru, but now after i tweak sliders and new rosters and everything, i dont get all that, i just play tite d and its just like a real nba game for me

CPU takes shots early in the shot clock, 80% of the time CPU shoots are with 10+ secs on the shot clock

I can usually force the CPU to wait until the last second to attempt a shot, but a frustrating number of these forced shots with the shot clock expiring go in. It's nowhere near as bad as Live 2003, but I have seen the CPU hit the occasional desperation three pointer with players such as Dikembe Mutombo and Ervin Johnson.

i feel your pain stack.

my runner on a fastbreak has 92 speed and yet Elden Campbell can catch up to him and BLOCK him.

when I set up a pick for my SG, my SG's guard slides around the pick.

even when I have a very, very, very clean passing lane, God Almighty, at Superstar level every alley-oop you make misses even when you have a PG that has 95 pass and an SG with 99 dunk ratings

i also forgot these

when the CPU blocks a shot, the User player is so slow to recover that that CPU is already on the break. The CPU however recovers instantaneously

rebounding is crap, players just stand around....R Wallace and W McCarty got outrebounded by Snow and AI. Wats up with that, i think i'll switch OR to 0

Like u I encountered them too

Use the roster from NSLC n play at All Star level ul be able to win with lots of practice

i theres no intentional foul where you can foul somebody whenever you want

!?! Just press the "playcall" key in Defense and an intentional foul will be called.

I wholeheartly agree with the rest, though

Dude, I thought it was only me who thought this game was rigged....

I don't know if you realized this, but when you have a close game with the CPU, almost 90% of three point shots fall for the CPU in the fourth when there is less than 10 seconds on the clock.

Sometimes, when I just destroy the CPU in the first half, they make this unbeliviable comeback to eaither win the game or make it close.

EA Sports tried their best to make this not noticable, because it took me a few games to find that out.

The fast break thing is also wierd on this game, I can stop the CPU before starting the break because I run my Point Gaurd all the way down the court before the ball hits rim, but when the CPU is already on the break, they are impossible to catch. Sometimes when I get on the break, players catch up, sometimes they dont.

When the computer gets on the break, my intention is just to hack, I don't think of anything else but just trying to hack them to prevent them from scoring.

in my dynasty im always up at the half. then they go on like a 18-2 scoring run

CPU doesn't shoot unless it's a 3 or a dunk/layup

oh man, i can feel your pain about this one. it really irks me...there's just no mid-ranged game in live 2004. it's too crappy...for one, the CPU never takes the mid-ranged shot...and they hardly ever play real ball/defensive rotation basketball where the open big man ends up taking the open shot. it just NEVER happens. and my big men just can't hit open 16 foot jump shots (unless their names are Dirk Nowitzki or Vladimir Radmanovic) even though in real life they can...

my runner on a fastbreak has 92 speed and yet Elden Campbell can catch up to him and BLOCK him.

i get really annoyed by this a lot...and the fact that i dont get a foul call, even though IRL it's 99% of the time a foul call (seriously how can you reach over about 3-4 feet over someone's head and swat the ball away without hitting the guy?). i've turned up the shooting foul frequency before but i really don't want stupid fouls where even on the replay my guy never even touched Allan Houston when he went up for a 3. a very large majority of the fouls in bball come from drives and the big man goes up for the block (or a post player and the big man goes for the block)...and the big man gets called for the foul. or there's a foul because of positioning for a rebound...these fouls just don't happen in Live 2004 and it really annoys me...

rebounding is crap, players just stand around....R Wallace and W McCarty got outrebounded by Snow and AI. Wats up with that, i think i'll switch OR to 0

i agree with this somewhat...it's really stupid when the player just stands there and the ball is loose...and everyone just stands there and watches...and watches...until it goes OOB. or until a little man runs up and grabs the ball and makes a layup.

i have two other beefs with this game:
i might have Kobe...and let's say he's already dribbled...it's almost impossible to drive past Jason Richardson without mashing my crossover key. And I mean literally mashing it...non-stop. I wish the guys at EA would realize that sometimes Kobe can just drive past JRich without crossing him over. and if my guy (let's say Kobe again) hasn't dribbled, I can make him pivot without dribbling...and then move...but he seems to blow right by the guy every single time without failure...that part is just too easy....while if i've already dribbled, it's too hard to past my guy without a pick or crossing over.

my 2nd main rant is an extension of my speedster on the break getting his shot packed from behind by Shaq. or Shaq hacks him so badly but there's no foul call. for some odd reason, 75% of the time, my guy, being 3 feet away from the basket doesn't go for the layup. he turns into albert einstein (essentially, a genius) and takes a half-jump shot, half-off balanced lay up, where he sorta double pumps but doesn't fully double pump. and meanwhile Shaq is all over him, all ball, all arm, all everything...the shot misses and there's no whistle. here's what should happen...a) my guy continues his fluid layup motion...b) Shaq either 1. decides to try to block and in 98% of the case, should get called for the foul if he behind my player or 2. backs off not wanting to get fouled. i've seen so many of my easy points get wasted away with stupid AI like this.

My problem is that I can't seem to lose, I even try sometimes. When I play human players the games are normally close. The CPU is not really a challenge for me anymore. I tried lowering my shooting ratings using the sliders and upgrading the cpu's sliders and still no luck. I even tried setting the speed to like 60 and I still win. I am on Superstar difficulty with 10minute quarters using the Detroit Pistons.

I do agree with you with some points but some really needs practice for realistic games.

the game is one big layup drill, with the CPU having a major advantage. When i wanna fastbreak the CPU defender always is able to stop me but when the CPU fastbreaks it's usually a 3-0n-1.

>> you should know how to use more of the freestyles to get loose of your defender. though sometimes they caught up on u. On defense, try raising your player's arms, this sometimes changes the shot of the CPU

theres no intentional foul where you can foul somebody whenever you want

>> there is... its the "select" button on the gamepad...

D instensity is impossible. Have u tried playing intense D. I have, and when the clock winds down and you contest a shot you most likely will foul the player and send him to the line

>> i have been playing serious man-to-man defense on CPU. sticking to your man would be a good one and try not to defend not too close and not too open. when he shoots, raise the hand or go for the block.

when i take early shots, CPU rebounds and has a fastbreak. As soon as the ball goes up you have dudes past halfcourt, in the NBA this doesn't happen

>> try switching off the "crash boards" option in the playbook during the game. this will make the guards not go for the rebound during offense and get back to defense asap.

freestyle is useless, you get bumped and pushed back all the time

maybe your having freestyle with the player's back on the basket. try doing it with the player facing the basket and break CPU's ankles. also you can turn down the "on-ball physical (something)" in the sliders, this will lessen the bounce when having contact with the defender.

the CPU still blocks 10-12 shots per game, despite me having put the setting for blocks to 0, my setting is 43 and i get bout 6 a game

choose your shots. dont often go for the dunk or layup... =)

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