When will Live Climax?

[Ruff Ryder]

When do you guys think Live will "climax"? I'm talking about reach it's peak like Madden 2001 did, on the eve of the new consoles. For instance:


Madden 2000


Madden 2001

This year is the 15th Anniversary for Madden, and 10th for NBA Live(not counting previous games by EA before Live 95), so if Madden climaxed in 2001, that would be in it's 11th season. So within the next year or two, Live could be on top of its game. The PC version is a port of the ps2 version, if I'm not mistaken, and the graphics aren't that great, but they finally got the cyberfaces down. Next year the New PlayStation comes out, so this could be it. I, myself, think that Live is close enough they can taste it, but just need a little bit more juice and maybe that will be enough to leap ahead of the competition. Since apparently the graphics can't seem to improve much without more high power consoles, they can critique the gameplay in the meanwhile and then have something to build aroung. Gameplay first, Graphics second. The gameplay has been improving each year, and there is still some bugs and kinks to work out, and maybe the end-or the beginning is near.

What do you guys think?

[trubucksfan]

thats actually a good point but lets just hope ea dosent make things worse moving to a new console. once upon a time 989 used to make really good sports games but now everyone thinks they suck shit. i dont think this will happen to ea though and the game should be real good next year and possibly on top of its game 2 years from now.

[Steve [The Spiderman]]

But, what we need to remember is football is a lot different than basketball. This still stays true for the realism with gameplay. Basketball is a constant game, that doesnt get stopped every play to get readjusted. Therefore, I think that Madden has it easier than Live when making games. So, I would give Live maybe 5 more years to reach its peak.

[Ruff Ryder]

But, what we need to remember is football is a lot different than basketball. This still stays true for the realism with gameplay. Basketball is a constant game, that doesnt get stopped every play to get readjusted. Therefore, I think that Madden has it easier than Live when making games. So, I would give Live maybe 5 more years to reach its peak.

Well, Madden doesn't really have it easier. How does stopping the game make it easier? That's just more stuff needed in the game. Hundreds or thousands of plays, very sharp graphics and accurate player faces for probably 75% of the NFL players, and there is 45-55 on a team so that makes it that much harder. There are weather conditions, players on the sidelines, cutscenes, more game modes, and more things than the NBA. Madden got gameplay down, and is only improving from there. Believe me, some of the older Maddens weren't very realistic. Defensive Backs knocking the crap out of Tight Ends, or QB's throwing interceptions and making the tackle on the Line Backer driving him back 3 yards. Madden has improved over the past few years.

I feel once Live gets the graphics and gameplay down to an art, then they can experiment with new ideas and concepts, and tweaking different things.

[Micchy_boy]

the way is see it. it might take sometimebefore live would peak. Ea tends to improve something but always forget to bring back some other stuff. they will improve the gameplay but forget about graphics, next time they improve the graphics but forget about somethings. they jsut can get to put all the right stuff in one game. so i gonna give it 4 to 5 before we see a very good Live.

but i still hoping i'm wrong coz i love to see live peak as soon as possible.

[ilya]

i wouldn't say madden climaxed in 2001.
the improvement from 2000 to 2001 was perhaps the most drastic ever, but i still think madden 2005 is the best madden game.
near perfect gameplay, lots of control options, great features, awesome dynasty etc.

[Andrew]

I expect NBA Live 2006 will be even better than NBA Live 2005. Dynasty Mode is heading in the right direction and has been rebuilt on a solid foundation; refinements and expansion is the next step. Similarly, the gameplay just needs a bit of tweaking. Couple that with fixing some of the smaller issues and details, and NBA Live 2006 should be quite a game.

[cyanide]

I expect NBA Live 2006 will be even better than NBA Live 2005. Dynasty Mode is heading in the right direction and has been rebuilt on a solid foundation; refinements and expansion is the next step. Similarly, the gameplay just needs a bit of tweaking. Couple that with fixing some of the smaller issues and details, and NBA Live 2006 should be quite a game.

Agreed

I hope EA has been reading on these boards, because I've been pretty hard on them If they can take our criticisms and keep that in mind while building 2006, then it definitely would be an excellent game.

[ShivaSquad]

i think live 2006 will be the peak, 2006 or 2007... because if u look at the graphics now, they are almost near perfect... at least on console verions, i hav xbox and its awesome

they already brought back the 3 point contest, created the dunk contest... nice all star break... and the commentary is better, gameplay is definetely better, and sooo much more is realistic then 2004!

last year there was no mid range game, this year they implemented that... this year the layup animations r awesome, the dunks r 100 times more fun because of the net swish and rim animations... and shooting is more creative... more interesting

all in all 2005 is much better, and i think all they have to do for 2006 is make some minor tweaks, just to fix mistakes... and then dynasty and other things can be enhanced greatly

(at least i hope)

[Ruff Ryder]

i think live 2006 will be the peak, 2006 or 2007... because if u look at the graphics now, they are almost near perfect... at least on console verions, i hav xbox and its awesome

I wouldn't go that far. I have it on ps2 and it makes me almost want to boot up ESPN just for the graphics. The cyberfaces are near perfect, but the body's, jerseys, and other areas of the game need some improvement.

i wouldn't say madden climaxed in 2001.
the improvement from 2000 to 2001 was perhaps the most drastic ever, but i still think madden 2005 is the best madden game.
near perfect gameplay, lots of control options, great features, awesome dynasty etc.

I don't mean climax, like hit it's best and steadily fall, but hit it's best, and keep offering slight improvements and extra features.

2005 isn't as big as an improvement from 2004 as 2000-2001. IMO Madden 2005 is the best of the series.

[Jing]

hopefully as soon as possible.
i mean madden hasn't exactly gone down, so hopefully EA can reach its peak and somewhat maintain that as well

[Andre]

I think this year the game is great. This is the first time I actually confuse what is happening in my dynasty with what is happening in the real league.

The box scores are impressive and a very nice touch. The all-star weekend is awesome. Scouting is great.

I think live is close to climax. 1 year or 2.

[cyanide]

I don't think Live will ever climax. What I mean by that, with the progress of technology and improving code and animations, the Live series will only improve. There's always going to be bugs, but there's always a chance that it will be better than the previous year. Even if it sucks the next year (a la 2001), you'll be seeing improvements down at least two or three years later. It's going to keep on going as long as EA keeps making Live by adding, refining, and improving.

[fgrep15]

But, what we need to remember is football is a lot different than basketball. This still stays true for the realism with gameplay. Basketball is a constant game, that doesnt get stopped every play to get readjusted. Therefore, I think that Madden has it easier than Live when making games. So, I would give Live maybe 5 more years to reach its peak.

Well, Madden doesn't really have it easier. How does stopping the game make it easier? That's just more stuff needed in the game. Hundreds or thousands of plays, very sharp graphics and accurate player faces for probably 75% of the NFL players, and there is 45-55 on a team so that makes it that much harder. There are weather conditions, players on the sidelines, cutscenes, more game modes, and more things than the NBA. Madden got gameplay down, and is only improving from there. Believe me, some of the older Maddens weren't very realistic. Defensive Backs knocking the crap out of Tight Ends, or QB's throwing interceptions and making the tackle on the Line Backer driving him back 3 yards. Madden has improved over the past few years.

I feel once Live gets the graphics and gameplay down to an art, then they can experiment with new ideas and concepts, and tweaking different things.

Gameplay is 10 times easier in football because their aren't near as many scenario's, and "on the fly" things that can happen.

[John-John Joe]

Before I weigh in here let me just say that this is a great topic my brother!

Okay, peak? Not anytime soon and I'll tell you why. It's because of the nature of the sport, basketball of all the sports has proven itself to be the most difficult to represent in the world of videogames because of it's perpetual motion and split second changes of direction.

The franchise itself is in an excellent place and I do mean excellent. But unlike Tiburon who has pretty much got a handle on the nuances of football and just makes changes here and there, EA Canada has a ways to go to reach that level. If I really had to take a wild guess I'd say don't expect it to hit that proverbial peak until about six or seven years and I know that sounds like a long time from now but it really isn't.....

I mean, doesn't it seem like just yesterday when we were all here excited for Live 2000 and the prospect of playing one on one? We've had five games since then and the improvements have been grand. Now with a rock solid foundation to build on, EAC can continue to tweak, change and create a more realistic basketball atmosphere for the gamer.