New IGN Article

[joemimic]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/427/427936p1.html

Not much new but the pro hop thing sounds encouraging if they can add it right.

[SpItFiRe]

I'm more interested by the "few more secret features EA isn't ready to divulge just yet."
Hopefully, this is something more than just some simple eye candy.

[wez312]

The advanced collisions will also enable you to go up for a shot, draw contact with a defender, then adjust your shot in the air to get the score.

That sounds kinda cool, adjust your shot in midair.

[Swoosh]

sound real promising, if only it were true, i will only believe it when i play it, sorry y'all if i seem to be such a pessimist but im just not gettin my hopes up so if the game really is good it will surpass my highest expactations(logically cuz i didnt expect much, still followin' me , no prob me neither )

[Shadow]

I wonder will u be able to do the mid-air shot adjust any time u want like in March Madness 2003 or does it always have to be a collision to change the shot.

[BIG GREEN]

On offense, the biggest improvement is the addition of the "Pro Hop", the two-footed hop in the lane you see players like T-Mac use and abuse on the regular to slide between two defenders. As the defense collapses in the lane, this hop enables you to find an opening and bounce your way closer to the rim. But like I said, your dunk attempt will not go unchallenged as a defender from the weak side will slide across the baseline and try to block you from behind, or even worse, knock you silly and cause an injury.

Sounds very very nice. If they are doing pro hop..they should also do up and under to fill it out. Also, injuries from falling?..nice...but i hope it's not abused. It will definitely make people think twice when trying to do a 360 in the middle of a crowd..which should make for nice slower paced games. I have a good feeling about live this year...graphics are another thing.

The only secret extra that EA could add that would excite me is a full all-star weekend. Anything else...i dont really care.

[Robby]

The only secret extra that EA could add that would excite me is a full all-star weekend. Anything else...i dont really care.

That would be nice and I also wouldn't mind having classic rosters for every team.

[Andrew]

No longer can a guard simply dribble through a defender and drive to the hoop without a challenge. In 2004, not only do the computer defenders help out on defense by trying to put a body on the ball, this year defenders can also block both dunks and layups.

Sounds great, because this is how a lot of point guards racked up 20-25 points with ease in NBA Live 2003. I hope it's not overdone though, driving without committing an offensive foul or getting the ball stripped should be possible.

On offense, the biggest improvement is the addition of the "Pro Hop", the two-footed hop in the lane you see players like T-Mac use and abuse on the regular to slide between two defenders. As the defense collapses in the lane, this hop enables you to find an opening and bounce your way closer to the rim. But like I said, your dunk attempt will not go unchallenged as a defender from the weak side will slide across the baseline and try to block you from behind, or even worse, knock you silly and cause an injury.

Also sounds great, but as Yohance said if injuries are too frequent it wouldn't be any better than having no injuries at all.

The advanced collisions will also enable you to go up for a shot, draw contact with a defender, then adjust your shot in the air to get the score.

Definitely thumbs up. The ability to continue the play to try and make the basket as well as drawing the foul is something that has been lacking throughout the Live series. No longer will shot attempts be at the mercy of the CPU when we're fouled in the act of shooting.

Thanks for the link joemimic.

[joemimic]

They also have a new link up for insiders for new high rez videos of all the EA games...

http://insider.ign.com/articles/428/428000p1.html

Could someone with insider possibly view and give us a rundown?

[Bill Russell]

That Bibby shooting jumpers animation is sublime...

I agree with what everybody said... Yeah.

[DANet]

Injuries during gameplay...finally...

EA's secret little additions have me curious...since EA set the bar quite high last year with one secret...what was it again...oh yeah freestyle control...

[Metsis]

The secret propably contains detailed information about the dynasty mode. I certainly don't hope that it's something as lame as a full all-star weekend or classic teams of all the teams.

Don't get me wrong... Classic teams and all-star weekend would be nice to see, but ah so trivial in bigger scene of things. I'd take a good dynasty mode any day of the week before those.

If the gameplay has gotten rid of those "just standing here" players, well that's good.

[cocobee]

will they just please add trading of draft picks already! I'd be a happy camper with dynasty if they just add that one feature alone--and the rest could just be gravy.

[Andrew]

If we can trade draft picks, I hope we don't have to package them with a player. You should be able to trade a draft pick for a player, providing the team receiving the player has adequate cap room and a free roster slot.

3 or 4 team trades would also be handy, but only if they were implemented in a less restrictive way than in NBA Live 2001. You should be able to trade players between CPU teams in a 3 or 4 team swap, as long as all the CPU teams agree to the trade. Perhaps the CPU teams could suggest the players they wish to trade between themselves in a multi-team deal.

[Ruff Ryder]

The CPU had better give a little more space on trading some players(especially those benchwarmers and IR players)but not too much on stars because in 2003 it wouldn't accept the trade unless it "thought" it was getting the better end of the deal.