my review of gameplay videos from ign.com

[sho89mtx]

i know this will probably suprise a lot of you, but I think after watching those clips, Sega definately has their work cut out for them. The gameplay is off the hook this year! Here's what i liked and what i didn't like:
Likes:
player intros are very nice with nice player overlays

the collision system is very authentic and real and i love when they get bumped like yao did in that one series how he double-pumped it and made it.

there are a lot more animations and this time they are actually smooth

the graphics are better with the lighting effect and udates, not as good as ESPN last year, but A LOT better than live 2004

I love the custom shooting style like duncan had!

the blocks are incredible, especially off the backboard blocks, i love those!

the commentary is very good with fratello and marv albert

the allyoop jumpshot is cool where the player lops it to a guy and he jumps, catches it in mid air and shoots it.

the intentional foul animation looks really realistic

the loose ball dive animation looks good

the timout cutscene looks really good(i thought there wasn't any cutscenes)?

the quick release floater shot is hot!

and the endind is pretty cool

things i don't like

graphics still aren't on the same level as ESPN

that's my only complaint so far, the game looks and play really realistically and with the addition of all the new features, i would not be suprised if it wins this year! Unless ESPN has something up there bag, but even then, it would be hard to beat live. Now i can't wait for Live to come out, this sucks! I want a demo to play now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[some guy]

where did you see this/these vids, i haven't seen these things.
can you please link where you saw this thuff

[sho89mtx]

where did you see this/these vids, i haven't seen these things.
can you please link where you saw this thuff

sports.ign.com

[John-John Joe]

where did you see this/these vids, i haven't seen these things.
can you please link where you saw this thuff

As a matter of fact Future started a thread with a link to it and we've been discussing it there....

[Sauru]

i know this will probably suprise a lot of you, but I think after watching those clips, Sega definately has their work cut out for them. The gameplay is off the hook this year! Here's what i liked and what i didn't like:
Likes:
player intros are very nice with nice player overlays

the collision system is very authentic and real and i love when they get bumped like yao did in that one series how he double-pumped it and made it.

there are a lot more animations and this time they are actually smooth

the graphics are better with the lighting effect and udates, not as good as ESPN last year, but A LOT better than live 2004

I love the custom shooting style like duncan had!

the blocks are incredible, especially off the backboard blocks, i love those!

the commentary is very good with fratello and marv albert

the allyoop jumpshot is cool where the player lops it to a guy and he jumps, catches it in mid air and shoots it.

the intentional foul animation looks really realistic

the loose ball dive animation looks good

the timout cutscene looks really good(i thought there wasn't any cutscenes)?

the quick release floater shot is hot!

and the endind is pretty cool

things i don't like

graphics still aren't on the same level as ESPN

that's my only complaint so far, the game looks and play really realistically and with the addition of all the new features, i would not be suprised if it wins this year! Unless ESPN has something up there bag, but even then, it would be hard to beat live. Now i can't wait for Live to come out, this sucks! I want a demo to play now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if that is truely your only complaint you should get live. then again it my opinion that you, you're dad, friend maybe, works for that company. maybe you work for espn and just insist on buying anything and everything espn. maybe you just hate ea cause back in the day they made tom chambers a basketball god. who knows?

[John-John Joe]

if that is truely your only complaint you should get live. then again it my opinion that you, you're dad, friend maybe, works for that company. maybe you work for espn and just insist on buying anything and everything espn. maybe you just hate ea cause back in the day they made tom chambers a basketball god. who knows?

Hehehe, you remember Tom Chambers unstoppable double pump from the 3 point line? I used the Lakers against the cpu but it was Suns all the way for head to head just because of that move!

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

I actually thought a lot of the gameplay was almost exactly like Live 2004.
There were a lot of changes too .. as mentioned above.

I have to admit that I also didn't like some things about the video I saw.

First of all, there was an instance when Yao knocked the ball out of the basket and it was called a block (the ball was rattling on the rim). This happened in Live 2004 and I was hoping it wouldn't happen in 2005.

Some of the offensive fouls still do not look realistic. However, they did improve in this department from last year. In the NBA, those calls would be counted as defensive fouls because it clearly looks like there was a lot of contact from the defender's side.

Most of the commentary sounded like the same as last year. I only noticed a few differences. But I'm not really concerned on that part.

However, overall they did a great job with this game. I know that they cannot make it perfect ... I'm sure they've tried really hard to do the best they can. But hey, this is how you improve on games year after year. So maybe next year, these problems can be fixed.

[madskillz]

I am speechless.. Greatest Live Ever?!?! I think so.

[sho89mtx]

i know this will probably suprise a lot of you, but I think after watching those clips, Sega definately has their work cut out for them. The gameplay is off the hook this year! Here's what i liked and what i didn't like:
Likes:
player intros are very nice with nice player overlays

the collision system is very authentic and real and i love when they get bumped like yao did in that one series how he double-pumped it and made it.

there are a lot more animations and this time they are actually smooth

the graphics are better with the lighting effect and udates, not as good as ESPN last year, but A LOT better than live 2004

I love the custom shooting style like duncan had!

the blocks are incredible, especially off the backboard blocks, i love those!

the commentary is very good with fratello and marv albert

the allyoop jumpshot is cool where the player lops it to a guy and he jumps, catches it in mid air and shoots it.

the intentional foul animation looks really realistic

the loose ball dive animation looks good

the timout cutscene looks really good(i thought there wasn't any cutscenes)?

the quick release floater shot is hot!

and the endind is pretty cool

things i don't like

graphics still aren't on the same level as ESPN

that's my only complaint so far, the game looks and play really realistically and with the addition of all the new features, i would not be suprised if it wins this year! Unless ESPN has something up there bag, but even then, it would be hard to beat live. Now i can't wait for Live to come out, this sucks! I want a demo to play now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if that is truely your only complaint you should get live. then again it my opinion that you, you're dad, friend maybe, works for that company. maybe you work for espn and just insist on buying anything and everything espn. maybe you just hate ea cause back in the day they made tom chambers a basketball god. who knows?

Of course I'm going to get Live, never said I wasn't. I said i'd get it even if it sucked this year because of the dunk contest but obviously it's not this year. No, I don't have any relatives working for ESPN and neither do I, I just am a huge fan of Sega ever since dreamcast came out with their sports games and I'm sure I'll like this year's version of ESPN basketball too, but it looks like this year i'll acutally like and play live. Thank god! BY the way, just because I liked sega's games better, doesn't mean I didn't play live since the beginning. I used to love the old nba live's, my favorite one was when they had michael jordan's "kiss the rim" dunk in it and only michael and a few other people could do it, but I can't remember what year that version was. Tom chambers was way too good, but I don't care how good David Robinson was in real life, he could never do a windmill from the free throw line like he could in that game too hahhahahha

[BIGBEN2K5]

I agree that live2005 is the greatest live edition BUT I AM BETTING anyone here that ESPN NBA 2k5 will spoil it this year and we will see it on the final review of IGN & Gamespot soon...

For only $19.99 - Superb Graphics, Realistic player models, NEW ESPN sportscenter presentation, Triple threat commentary (Walton, Stuart, Tafoya), REACTIVE Court Sense, The Next Movement, The Association, 24/7 mode...

Check the latest videos later at espnvideogames.com and u will see what i mean..

I am not a live hater beco'z I am getting it also.. Just want u guys NOT TO MISS THE REAL BASKETBALL VIDEOGAME this year!!!

[fgrep15]

I agree that live2005 is the greatest live edition BUT I AM BETTING anyone here that ESPN NBA 2k5 will spoil it this year and we will see it on the final review of IGN & Gamespot soon...

For only $19.99 - Superb Graphics, Realistic player models, NEW ESPN sportscenter presentation, Triple threat commentary (Walton, Stuart, Tafoya), REACTIVE Court Sense, The Next Movement, The Association, 24/7 mode...

Check the latest videos later at espnvideogames.com and u will see what i mean..

I am not a live hater beco'z I am getting it also.. Just want u guys NOT TO MISS THE REAL BASKETBALL VIDEOGAME this year!!!

Operations Sports, that's where you should go for sports game reviews

[Sauru]

if that is truely your only complaint you should get live. then again it my opinion that you, you're dad, friend maybe, works for that company. maybe you work for espn and just insist on buying anything and everything espn. maybe you just hate ea cause back in the day they made tom chambers a basketball god. who knows?

Hehehe, you remember Tom Chambers unstoppable double pump from the 3 point line? I used the Lakers against the cpu but it was Suns all the way for head to head just because of that move!

i remember one time i scored 244 points in that game, 240 came from chambers. i am sure you also remember the game didnt track stats so i had to count myself. it was kinda easy since he scored all but 2 shots lol. i forget what team i played against but i guess it dont much matter, i know it was not one of the all star teams. you know i could still play that game to this day if they changed only 2 things. 1 i want stats. 2 i hated that you could not run a fast break cause the guy always fully stopped to catch the ball.

[John-John Joe]

I agree that live2005 is the greatest live edition BUT I AM BETTING anyone here that ESPN NBA 2k5 will spoil it this year and we will see it on the final review of IGN & Gamespot soon...

For only $19.99 - Superb Graphics, Realistic player models, NEW ESPN sportscenter presentation, Triple threat commentary (Walton, Stuart, Tafoya), REACTIVE Court Sense, The Next Movement, The Association, 24/7 mode...

Check the latest videos later at espnvideogames.com and u will see what i mean..

I am not a live hater beco'z I am getting it also.. Just want u guys NOT TO MISS THE REAL BASKETBALL VIDEOGAME this year!!!

Operations Sports, that's where you should go for sports game reviews

Wussup fgrep! Is it just me or are "The 2K Twins" (please give credit where it's due if anybody chooses to use my name for Big Ben and sho 89, thanx. ) putting a hell of alot of stock into reviews?

They fail to grasp the concept of formulating one's own opinion based on personal preferences and gaming viewpoints. Hmm, let's suppose that EVERY SINGLE GAMING source from IGN to EGM magazine on this whole planet rates ESPN higher, right?

Okay, then I play both and prefer NBA Live. What does this mean, that I need to seek psychological evaluation? Or perhaps I may want to invest in a stick, tin cup and a seeing-eye dog named Butch? Or just maybe that I'm a sick individual who's so obsessed with EA Sports that I've tatooed their insignia on my scrotum?

I use my warped sense of humor to drive home this point: What does it matter how gaming sources view a game if you personally absolutely love it? C'mon 2K Twins, give it a rest like Shaq in the fourth quarter...

[Sauru]

all a review is, is someone elses opinion. i dont know about the rest of you, but i am gonna base a game on my own damn thoughts and opinions. same shit goes for movies too.

[John-John Joe]

all a review is, is someone elses opinion. i dont know about the rest of you, but i am gonna base a game on my own damn thoughts and opinions. same shit goes for movies too.

Exactly there have been movies that the critics have absolutely raved about (Most notably the Matrix series) that I've abhorred and vice versa. Why do I need anyone else's opinions to validate my own?

[Andrew]

I can't shake the feeling that some of the hype that the ESPN/2K series generated can be attributed to the fact that it's a fresh face challenging an established entity. It appears new, bold and fresh, while NBA Live is being portrayed as old, in decline and stale.

And that's not to say that the ESPN games are terrible. I haven't played them so I can't comment on them personally, but from what I've seen they certainly aren't terrible. But I think NBA Live has suffered a case of "Out with the old, in with the new". It always seems that reviews of NBA Live highlight its faults while its good points are downplayed.

The comparison to movie reviews is a good one. Critics tend to hate light-hearted, fun comedies because they are generally devoid of artistic value. Some of these movies do extremely well at the box office and are enjoyed by a large number of people. Does this mean that the masses are stupid and the critics are the only intelligent individuals? Perhaps. Or perhaps the critics are jaded individuals who dislike (or pretend to dislike for the sake of being critical) anything that does not conform to a certain standard.

For example, American Pie is no Casablanca, but it's not meant to be. You can't fault one comparing it to the other because they're different styles of movies. A critic reviewing these two movies is going to make judgement based on personal preference - what they like and dislike in a movie - because the different styles mean that one movie doesn't necessarily fail where another succeeds.

I know it's a little different with NBA Live and ESPN because you can apply the same standard given they are the same kind of video game - an NBA basketball simulation. But there's still the matter of personal preference.

That's why when I rate and review NBA Live, I do so against previous NBA Lives. Being a fan of the series and the fact that it's my basketball game of choice, I'm more interested in seeing improvement within the series than winning some showdown with a rival game.