Rudy
12-08-2015, 05:36 PM
I have played quite a bit of Live since it came out and just got NBA 2K on a Black Friday sale. I don't think I've even played 10 games yet on NBA 2K but these are my thoughts between the two games. Keep in mind I'm a casual fan, not a hardcore one.
THE EXTRAS
If you want a fully customizable, complete game with a ton of features and no glaring weaknesses go with NBA 2K. The My player stuff (I don't care about that), massive amounts of sliders, roster edits, tons of camera angles that you can also adjust (can't adjust any of them in Live), classic teams, NBA Today (Live doesn't have theirs working), etc are all big positives. NBA Live is a lot more bare bones. I think the presentation in NBA 2K is significantly better. From pre-game shows, to half time highlights to player interviews, TV angles and overlays it is better. There are tons of player specific commentary as well. Live's announcing is good and the presentation is OK but 2K does this better. I think the graphics are good in both games and about a tie (maybe 2K slightly). I think fouls are more organic in 2K (you will see fouls away from the ball unlike Live) and you will see a greater variety of animations.
CONTROLS
Controls are a big part of the discussion. For the on court gameplay 2K's controls are tougher to learn. The amount of stuff mapped to the r-stick is crazy. You get better post moves as a result if you can learn them (I struggle). I saw the cpu Kevin McHale (classic Celtics) pull off some sweet moves. The post game is pretty basic in Live. But I prefer the player feel and movement as well as controls. The dribble moves, pick and roll and play calling in Live are better although that may be because I have more experience with them. Having to hit up on the d-pad (and taking your hand off the L-stick) in 2K16 isn't as desirable.
ON COURT GAMEPLAY
The cpu half court game in NBA 2K does not feel sim to me. Just playing on Pro and a little All-Star (or whatever is above Pro) the cpu seems to rush their half court offense way too much. You barely set up on defense and they are making 1-2 quick passes and firing up a shot. The real NBA is far more methodical and slow with a much greater use of the pick and roll than I saw in 2K. The half court pace is a lot slower, more realistic and more enjoyable in Live imo. Maybe people can fix this issue with the 2K tendencies and sliders but I was disappointed in how rushed the cpu half court game was. There are a lot of mid range jumpers which gamers like to see but don't really represent today's NBA where only 20% of the points scored are via the mid-range game. In Live the cpu takes a lot more time to try and get off a shot which I like. Live does have too many points scored in the paint as on default it is too easy to get to the rim although sliders help. The mid-range game is a bit too weak as a result. 2K basketball has a crazy amount of steals (you can use L2 to protect the ball more but it's easy to lose the ball when trying to break someone down) while it's very difficult to pick the pocket of someone in Live. Live is accused of teams playing too generically although they do a good job of having the best players take the most shots as they should.
VERDICT
At the end of the day I don't think you can go wrong with the universally loved NBA 2K16. But the feature-less Live does look really good and plays a really solid game of basketball on the floor. I prefer the feel of the player and controls in Live which is a lot of fun. It's too bad some of the pre-existing hatred for NBA Live continues to deflect away from the solid product on the floor. For me I choose NBA Live as my basketball game of choice although the sales put me in the 1% category.
THE EXTRAS
If you want a fully customizable, complete game with a ton of features and no glaring weaknesses go with NBA 2K. The My player stuff (I don't care about that), massive amounts of sliders, roster edits, tons of camera angles that you can also adjust (can't adjust any of them in Live), classic teams, NBA Today (Live doesn't have theirs working), etc are all big positives. NBA Live is a lot more bare bones. I think the presentation in NBA 2K is significantly better. From pre-game shows, to half time highlights to player interviews, TV angles and overlays it is better. There are tons of player specific commentary as well. Live's announcing is good and the presentation is OK but 2K does this better. I think the graphics are good in both games and about a tie (maybe 2K slightly). I think fouls are more organic in 2K (you will see fouls away from the ball unlike Live) and you will see a greater variety of animations.
CONTROLS
Controls are a big part of the discussion. For the on court gameplay 2K's controls are tougher to learn. The amount of stuff mapped to the r-stick is crazy. You get better post moves as a result if you can learn them (I struggle). I saw the cpu Kevin McHale (classic Celtics) pull off some sweet moves. The post game is pretty basic in Live. But I prefer the player feel and movement as well as controls. The dribble moves, pick and roll and play calling in Live are better although that may be because I have more experience with them. Having to hit up on the d-pad (and taking your hand off the L-stick) in 2K16 isn't as desirable.
ON COURT GAMEPLAY
The cpu half court game in NBA 2K does not feel sim to me. Just playing on Pro and a little All-Star (or whatever is above Pro) the cpu seems to rush their half court offense way too much. You barely set up on defense and they are making 1-2 quick passes and firing up a shot. The real NBA is far more methodical and slow with a much greater use of the pick and roll than I saw in 2K. The half court pace is a lot slower, more realistic and more enjoyable in Live imo. Maybe people can fix this issue with the 2K tendencies and sliders but I was disappointed in how rushed the cpu half court game was. There are a lot of mid range jumpers which gamers like to see but don't really represent today's NBA where only 20% of the points scored are via the mid-range game. In Live the cpu takes a lot more time to try and get off a shot which I like. Live does have too many points scored in the paint as on default it is too easy to get to the rim although sliders help. The mid-range game is a bit too weak as a result. 2K basketball has a crazy amount of steals (you can use L2 to protect the ball more but it's easy to lose the ball when trying to break someone down) while it's very difficult to pick the pocket of someone in Live. Live is accused of teams playing too generically although they do a good job of having the best players take the most shots as they should.
VERDICT
At the end of the day I don't think you can go wrong with the universally loved NBA 2K16. But the feature-less Live does look really good and plays a really solid game of basketball on the floor. I prefer the feel of the player and controls in Live which is a lot of fun. It's too bad some of the pre-existing hatred for NBA Live continues to deflect away from the solid product on the floor. For me I choose NBA Live as my basketball game of choice although the sales put me in the 1% category.