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View Full Version : IGN - NBA Live 15 Looks To Earn Your Respect



JBHuskers
10-07-2014, 03:37 PM
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/07/nba-live-15-looks-to-earn-your-respect?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ign%2Fall+(IGN+All)

Given that, last year, I compared NBA 2K14 to NBA Live 14 by saying it’d be like LeBron James playing a pickup game against an arthritic giraffe, you could say that I wasn’t a big fan of EA’s reborn pro hoops series. What few things it did right were drastically outweighed by the Shaq-sized list of things it got horribly, horribly wrong – from laggy and unresponsive controls to ugly presentation and generally poor gameplay. EA recently visited IGN and, to their credit, humbly discussed what transpired last year. More importantly, they came to show, not tell, why NBA Live 15 will be a mightily improved game.

Let’s start with obvious: the graphics. Players no longer look like plastic man-dolls. Skin looks a lot more like actual flesh, and you’ll see much clearer texture detail. Thankfully, the players also no longer have a PS2-like white glow on them; lighting is much better. The lower TV-style camera angle are more pleasurable to play from, and I also saw some nice arena-specific crowd touches too. EA tells me that most players have been completely re-scanned and recreated, and their claim certainly passes the eyeball test.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/10/NBALIVE15_Ratings_Andre_Iguodala_SF-720x405.jpg

Perhaps more importantly, animations are completely overhauled, and it’s obvious. EA says that over 600 dunks and layups alone have had their motion capture redone, and that they now blend better. They also showed me improved physics, where players actually bump into each other and don’t just clip together. However, while the build I saw isn’t finished yet, I did see a number of passing animations repeat far too frequently. Hopefully a bit more variety gets sprinkled in before Live 15 ships.

Finally, I’ll note that the controls are much more responsive. Input lag has been greatly reduced if not eliminated, though at first touch I’d say NBA 2K still feels tighter. Fast breaks do feel a bit too frequent and easy to run right now, though.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/10/NBALIVE15_Ratings_LeBron_James_Dk-720x405.jpg

Tutorials, playcalling, and the halftime show are also all getting focused on. And while my gut reaction after a one-game hands-on tells me that NBA Live might not be dethroning NBA 2K just yet, that’s not a realistic expectation anyway. What matters is that not only is Live clearly heading in the right direction again, but also that Live 15 might be a legitimately fun basketball game without comparisons to animals with musculoskeletal diseases. That’s great news for hoops fans.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, on IGN, catch him on Podcast Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

CLW
10-07-2014, 03:54 PM
If that is the case the ONLY way they are going to do it is to give the game away for free on +/Gold and let people try the game for free and hope enough people do and like it.

Rudy
10-09-2014, 01:38 PM
Finally, I’ll note that the controls are much more responsive. Input lag has been greatly reduced if not eliminated, though at first touch I’d say NBA 2K still feels tighter. Fast breaks do feel a bit too frequent and easy to run right now, though.

This part worries me. The best thing about Live in the past was tighter controls IMO.

JBHuskers
10-09-2014, 01:44 PM
This part worries me. The best thing about Live in the past was tighter controls IMO.
Live 14 was too tight though.

Using Tapatalk on my Samsung Galaxy S5 for shats & gaggles.

skipwondah33
10-09-2014, 01:57 PM
The visuals look pretty amazing from the screens I've seen. Know that isn't what a game is all about.. but on the other hand when they suck people sure do point them out

Rudy
10-09-2014, 02:27 PM
Live 14 was too tight though.

Using Tapatalk on my Samsung Galaxy S5 for shats & gaggles.

I never played Live 14. I don't suppose there's an old demo of it still up for PS4?

bdoughty
10-09-2014, 08:53 PM
I never played Live 14. I don't suppose there's an old demo of it still up for PS4?

According to PSN the demo is still up for the PS4. (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/en-us/games/ea-sports-nba-live-14/cid=UP0006-CUSA00114_00-NBALIVE14EASPRTS)

Rudy
10-10-2014, 04:34 AM
Thanks! Downloading now. I read Live 15 still isn't.t going to have sliders. That's brutal IMO. Especially since I love them.

Rudy
10-11-2014, 04:19 AM
I played one game of the demo 14. It wasn't the disaster I was expecting. It seemed like a serviceable game. The graphics were definitely weak and I'm not sure if they were better than 2K on a PS3 but the announcing and presentation - especially post game were good. I cant comment on the depth with only one game and I can see why most preferred 2K but I was expecting MLB 2k8 type of bad. It was OK.