NBA Live 10 News Post

NBA Live 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

04:03 AM - September 11, 2009 by 23

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009 - Electronic Arts announced today that a playable demo of NBA LIVE 10 is now available for download on Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace for all Xbox LIVE Gold Subscribers. Play as the Orlando Magic or the Los Angeles Lakers and re-write, or relive, last year’s NBA Finals match-up. The demo will be available to Xbox LIVE Silver members and on the PLAYSTATION® Network™ on September 17th, 2009.

With a renewed focus on creating an authentic 5 on 5 basketball videogame experience, NBA LIVE 10 introduces a myriad of gameplay improvements to the long running franchise. Computer controlled players will now move and react like their real life counterparts with enhanced player A.I. (artificial intelligence), and authentic, team-specific playbooks. In addition, all new dribbling, passing and shooting systems now give users more control over individual players than ever before seen in the franchise. Gamers can now control every movement as they break down a defender on the perimeter, drive to the basket, and finish at the basket using their left or right hand. From dishing no look passes to releasing a step back shot early or late to avoid a block from a defender, NBA LIVE 10 lets you to create highlight reel plays on your terms.

NBA LIVE 10 also features significant improvements in the franchises overall presentation. Arena specific lighting and crowd behaviors, signature pre-game rituals and celebrations, evolving storylines, and an all new broadcast package are just some of the many enhancements that will ensure that NBA LIVE 10 looks and sounds like a real life NBA game.

Powered by Dynamic DNA, NBA LIVE 10 will use the latest stats, rosters and tendencies for all the players and teams in the NBA*. With data supplied by Synergy Sports Technology – the premier analytics provider for over 25 NBA teams, Dynamic DNA allows NBA LIVE 10 to provide the most authentic basketball simulation experience in a videogame to date.

For more information, please visit http://nba-live.easports.com/home.action.

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Game: NBA Live 10Reader Score: 7.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PSP / Xbox 360Votes for game: 48 - View All

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Member Comments

# 221 antoine79 @ 09/11/09 01:46 PM

Really got to get used to playing d. Keeping up with my man is a pain sometimes. Although I like the controls on Live, the game just seems to be moving to fast to me. Gives it kind of a floaty feel.

# 222 aholbert32 @ 09/11/09 01:54 PM

Likes:

Love the playcalling. Still the best play calling system around.
Love the Arenas and the Graphics.
Love the player movement and spacing.

Hate:

First play of the game on Superstar difficulty. Dwight Howard gets a pass at the top of the key, proceeds to take 20 foot jumper and makes it. He takes the same jumper 8 plays later.

Too much dribbling at the three point line by the CPU controlled PG while waiting to run a play.

# 223 Stumbleweed @ 09/11/09 02:04 PM

Even though my impressions contained more negative bullet points than positive, I really like the game... just wanted to clear that up. Most of my issues are probably the result of unfamiliarity (I was randomly using RB for icon passing for the first 5 games ha) more than anything. My single biggest issue is the defensive switching and being able to signal that manually.

Completely in love with the level of control, and that was always my biggest gripe about b-ball games in general, but especially last year. Knowing that I can essentially do whatever I want to once I get the controls under my belt is a good feeling. I had some beautiful sequences with VC and Kobe in isolation and on broken plays where I'd see a little space in the defense and head right to it for the quick off-balance jumper.

I love that you have to play smart on defense and try to force them into jumpers instead of playing them all tight (since 90% of NBA wings can take tight coverage off the dribble). I also like the other side where you basically have to have space to execute the more complex dribble moves... can't just drive into your man, go behind the back and expect to be able to finish (normally the help comes over and blocks it, you get stripped, or you can't actually pull off the move).

I love seeing AI Kobe isolate way deep on the wing when the clock is running down then size up and drive for the pull-up three to finish the quarter. I have a feeling that the full game will have a lot more of these moments as we see different players taking control late in games, players getting the ball in their favorite spots when they need a score, etc. Very excited about being able to play with other teams and players because they all feel so different based on the hangar.

And yeah, 'Melo is so very smooth. I'm gonna have a field day with that dude this year -- release is quick and buttery and his handles and weird 'Melo finishes with the 2-step and adjusted layups will be nuts.

# 224 bizcanos @ 09/11/09 02:06 PM

Played some more and this Is definitley the best Live in a long time but one thing that I have noticed that has not been talked about is the lack of moves off of a post position by anyone other than the PF & C. I mean Artest and Kobe both play w/their back to the basket alot and all I see them do is take jumpers or drive and make contested shots or layups. I mean where is Kobe's fadeaway off the post position. I love the movement and the playcalling and the feel of the game. The contextual/auto post up is not working for me and I just don't like it and for me its a game killer. I mean making a move off a post position is a big part of the NBA and maybe I'm doing something wrong but I just don't see it.

I mean I want to be able to decide when I post someone up not the cpu decide for me.

# 225 Pared @ 09/11/09 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerseySuave4


	i'm back to 60-40 Live. Sounds like my concerns about defense are valed

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melman


	It was hard to play good D. I Ball hogged with Kobe for the most part, some of the shots he made were hmmm...some of the arc trajectory on his shots that would go in didnt seem realistic. but its not that big a deal for me. I do wish some of the buttons on D were more responsice as far as going for a steal or block. Rebounds were ok on some possesions and on some others they seemed to be kinda ackward.

Yes. I got attacked for my concerns about the defense here and now look. Help D is there though. Very well done!

Defense is difficult to stay in front of you man. You almost feel like you're "skating" trying to stay in front of him. There are a few things that go with this.

-The CPU isn't ridiculous and over the top so it's not noticeable at first.
-I can't find any way to disrupt the shooter when they are attacking the basket. Foul, knock the ball loose... can't do anything.
-There's a nice mechanic where you tap the shoot button and your player will contest the shot. Someone was peeking over at the 2k boards the last two years.

Glad it's in... but when you're defending someone without the ball, you go back to jumping randomly.
-I'm happy they got rid of that hitch on defense as it made last year's control feel clunky at times. But now there is nothing in its place.

I just don't like how you're trying to basically stay in the vicinity of your man, hoping for some contact, at least enough to defend him. I feel... as others are saying, "floaty" when I'm moving around on D. This is how I felt last year after some time with the game... same thing.

Defense in the post is similar to last year as well. You can't do much but body up and attempt a block.

I really wish the post game got the same thorough look and revamp the control obviously did. It's just so... limiting. Drop step, lean, fadeaways, shots... and one up and under. There's more you can do with the post. I don't feel like I can control what type of shot I do as well, aside from a regular shot (hook) and a fadeaway.

P.S. The single greatest addition is freestyle passing. It's very fluid, and it's pretty up there with the shot stick.

P.P.S. LOVE the presentation. Garreth, was that you? Knocked it out of the park!

# 226 BULLS-eye @ 09/11/09 02:07 PM

Sigh.. I found the demo boring (after 4 plays + abusing the hanger)

Lebron's shot looks incredibly generic and has about two specific dunks in his arsenal (One hand, two handed tomahawk).

Kobe's jumpshot looks to be set at 30 frame rate per second.

Too many steals/losing the ball.

No specific button for post up, have to walk into the animation.

Players jump higher than the ball itself on rebounds.

No player specific celebration animation when making a basket and/or running down the court ( All I saw was prancing [which is supposed to be out after a patch update] and showing of the teeth).

Player's face models look great, but overall models look cartoonish as oppose to life like.

When they showed the Staples center from outside, I expected a 3D model, but instead was given a pic of the actual center (at night).

Players jersey's seem inorganic, only the shorts move when running.

I don't like this graphic/physics engine they continue to use for live. This demo feels like Live 09 with more polygon count and animations.

# 227 EvanRG @ 09/11/09 02:10 PM

Few disclaimers:
I haven't played a next-gen NBA Live Game
I owned 2k9 last year (first next-gen basketball game)

Coming into this game with a 2k9 background it is definitely different. I will be as neutral as I can but maybe I'm just a 2k guy after all...

First off, the game's graphics are awesome in a sense of the depth of field and lighting. The crowd and benches really bring the game to life and I like how the scoreboard is a simple yet effective overlay -- almost like I'm watching a game on NBA TV.

Now, personally speaking, I am just a 'shot stick' kind of guy. I'm also a guy who would rather give up TOTAL control of my player to see more smooth animations so right there is a big difference between me and some of the others on here.

The game just runs smoother when you have less control -- it's a fact of life unfortunately.

Shooting in NBA Live seems to offer a lot of possibilities -- especially going to the rim, but I found myself having trouble initiating a simple lay up and accidentally would pull up for a jumper instead.

On the defensive side, I feel like I lack all the tools to stop the CPU from driving inside. There were a few instances that I was Dwight Howard and Gasol would catch an pass from Kobe and then SPEED UP for a dunk. To continue with that, every time a player went to the rim or there was a loose ball, the game seemed to speed up for those few moments and it seems to throw off the ebb and flow of the game.

I don't know -- NBA LIVE is a nice game but if you are used to 2k9 -- it's personally, for me, not an easy transition from using shot stick and lockdown D to NBA LIVE's offensive and defensive options.

Player models are pretty nice but why are they so "PLASTIC" looking? It bugs me and I'm not sure why... the live cut scenes are nice but I always seem to notice how shiny the players are.

So I guess in closing -- LIVE is a very decent game and should do well, it's just not my cup of tea right now.

I'll keep trying the demo out and see if anything changes.
Major props to EA though for making such a big turn around in one year. I'm glad we have two options this year so everyone can be happy. There's not need to pick sides, just choose whatever game suits your needs as a basketball fan.

# 228 Pared @ 09/11/09 02:11 PM

In case you haven't realized, if you take a big man and put him against a mismatched guard in the post, the guard will look to commit a hard foul instead of letting the big man shoot. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes they aren't.

Brilliant.

# 229 DaveDQ @ 09/11/09 02:18 PM

One thing this game does very well is that it captures the NBA. Everything is very seamless, from the crowd's reaction, to the commentary. And the audio levels are there. That's so important. Then come the overlays and the "Finals" graphics. You just feel like it's the NBA. There's no confusion about it. In many games, even outside of NBA games, you go back and forth with no consistency, but this game does a great job of giving you that feel and not dropping the experience.

# 230 DubTrey1 @ 09/11/09 02:24 PM

Basically I like the demo - However the biggest negative I have is on the Defensive side of the ball. It is near impossible it seems to stop anyone or stay in front of any defender much less Kobe. It may be tweaked in the final, but as it stands, playing D is not nearly any fun compared to how playing O is a blast with the plethora of moves and shots at our disposal. I will surely give this a rent at best.

# 231 XxX syntax XxX @ 09/11/09 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da_Czar


	Honestly I don't like the demo as much as the final i played. If memory serves correct and its been over a week. But the control was much tighter. They feel a bit too loose to me right now on offense and defense.... So its fun to play again but not the same experience I remember. also not a big fan of the auto post ups both games went to.

I kinda figured that...

# 232 Stumbleweed @ 09/11/09 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubTrey1


	Basically I like the demo - However the biggest negative I have is on the Defensive side of the ball. It is near impossible it seems to stop anyone or stay in front of any defender much less Kobe. It may be tweaked in the final, but as it stands, playing D is not nearly any fun compared to how playing O is a blast with the plethora of moves and shots at our disposal. I will surely give this a rent at best.

I actually like the individual defense... I made Kobe pass off more often than not when he was looking to be aggressive or forced him into the help and a miss. He was 2/8 or something in one of the game I played and Marv even mentioned it to start the 2nd. My problem was more with keeping the bigs out of the paint, both on offensive rebounds (especially the damn Lakers) and in the post, where it seemed tough to reliably get a good contest. I did get a few blocks or very tough shots down there though, but not as many as it seemed like I should have.

Like Czar said, just concentrate on keeping your defender in between your man and the basket, use the diagonals and watch for the quick cross back, force them into help... basically just don't crowd them and you won't get burned all that often.

I'm on All-Star, btw.

# 233 sambowie @ 09/11/09 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoop 24


	just use this and Queue it up from here. than startup your system it will automatically start downloading. http://marketplace.xbox.com/zh-SG/ga...-d802454108c1/

TYTYTYTYTYTY

# 234 The 24th Letter @ 09/11/09 02:28 PM

demo is decent....the Live team really put in work this year....

a few likes a dislikes..

atmosphere....best in the biz...I love the way the crowd erupts in this game...

control is cool, you have alot of well...control....I just wish you could get past someone w\ your speed rather then having to do a cross or dribble move every time...

still not feeling the lack of animations....looks like there are only a couple collision animations when driving toward the basket, which can make things stl imo...

I definitely like the passing controls...great new feature I cant wait to explore more...

dunking, layups still look clunky to me in some spots...Its not super fast like prior Lives, but sometimes it still looks awkward

some player faces and models on some players are laugh out loud funny to me man lol like Kevin Durant in the other game funny....

I actually like the commentary..probably b\c im sucha fan of Marv

overall, pretty good...still not getting that feeling of individuality that I craved from last years game...but hey,you can only play w\ two teams...ill have to wait and see.

# 235 TheKasmar @ 09/11/09 02:29 PM

It's finally playable for me.

Positives:

steals are varied and unpreditcable
Freestyle passing on the right stick feels great
Atmosphere and sound is excellent
Signature shots look spot on
Dribble to shot animations feel fluid
Announcing is good(Nice job Marv)
Off ball fouls done well
Feels great not to be sucked in to a double team

Negatives:

The prancing back downcourt animation is horrible
saw alot of forced shots from the cpu that led to same forced shot animation
When I substitute a player during play, that player doesn't come off the bench(maybe it's a demo thing)

# 236 BamaBoy88 @ 09/11/09 02:31 PM

Definitely a buy for me, I love how you finally have to play real basketball to be successful in the game. It's not perfect but it's definitely moving in the right direction and will definitely be challenging 2k10 this year.

# 237 lakers4life @ 09/11/09 02:36 PM

Can someone tell me if the lakers organ is in the game? The "let's go lakers" one

# 238 XxX syntax XxX @ 09/11/09 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cool2fool


	whats that for?

The game has a learning curve and we all can get use to it. Like fight night with the analog everyone hated it at first but it grew on them..Live is back tho 100 percent

# 239 MagillaGorilla @ 09/11/09 02:39 PM

Ok so I've had the demo for a couple of hours. Here are my initial impressions which may change in the next week or so as I get more time with the game. *** I played the first three games on Allstar, then the rest (maybe another 8-10 games on Superstar). I figured I would break this down into sections so you guys can read the parts that are important to you. Here we go....

Graphics
Huge step up from 09, lets get that out the way. The player models look very good. There are plenty of different body types, but the skin textures could use a little work. The players often look too "shiny", and certain players (while playing in the "hangar") have the completely wrong skin tone. Lebron James is not that light skinned. But thats why I said in the hangar, because the lighting in there and on the court are very different. Another thing that caught my attention are the faces. While VASTLY improved over last year, they are hit or miss, and they are still a step below 2k9's faces(not overall graphics, just the faces). Lets talk about the court. The lighting in the crowd is great, very comparable to the real life Staples Center. There are cheerleaders, but I have not noticed them even stand up or do anything(not important I know, but if they're there, do something). The bench shows support through out the game, but sometimes they just stay standing up for a while. I decided to tone down the brightness of the game, and the saturation. Ok back to the players. You can definitely tell there are tons of new animations the Devs have captured to prevent the warping that happened in previous years. My only gripe was that a lot of moves still looked unnatural and robotic, but the ones that flowed smoothly, look SICK! Luckily the dribbling animations are spot on.

Presentation
I love the Hangar. I love how Lebron walks in and pretty much gives everybody an "AYO" (im in the building). Being able to play in the Hangar while the game loads is great so your not just there waiting for it to load. Once it does load, it shows you a pic of the staples center (which could be a little more detailed, and crisp) and off to the arena. There are no (at least in the demo) introductions, rather yet your team stands together and it shows all of their names and position. This area could have done so much more. It shows pregame routines which look great and you see players laughin and goofin off. Overall its pretty much on point, and I'm sure(I hope, lol) that there are other elements or cut scenes the full game will have.

Audio
Sneaker squeaks, players talking, and the commentary crew all sound great. The commentary kept it pretty varied. I played alot of games, and it was kind of rare to hear the same thing twice. Thats reassuring considering this only a demo. What I didnt like was the sound of the net, bouncing of the ball, and the ridiculous sounding blocks. LOL, I used Jameer Nelson and barely blocked Fisher and it sounded like I punched the ball to the other side of the court. Nothing serious there, and I'll probably just turn the sound effects slider down when playing the full version.

Gameplay
This is what you guys want to know about. Well lets get right into it. The right stick is the

. I played in the hangar for almost a half hour before even playing a game. I love the hesitation moves, the step backs, the double cross, the spin move. It took alot to get used to using the right stick. It's very responsive and theres different combinations. You can use the RT + the stick, or you can go without the RT. Your momentum, angles, and player all affect what you can and can not pull off(which is great). Each player has a sense of weight to him. First thing I noticed is when I switched from Wade to Dwight. WOW what a difference. Wade can pretty much cross, spin and drive to the hoop for the slam. Meanwhile, Dwight can do standard cross overs(that will get stripped when playing a real game) and a slow drive to the hoop. I noticed that Kobe, Wade, Lebron and pretty much everyone in the hangar had their own dunks. I didnt see Wade doing any Lebron tomahawks, or Dwight doing a Kobe dunk, etc. The dunks no longer suck you in, and look pretty fluid. The passing game is serious. I love the LT+ Right stick combo. After I felt comfortable I hardly used Icon passing, or regular ol' A button. Keep in mind though, that overusing the LT+ RS will likely lead to some unfortunate turnovers. Especially if there are two players in the area you want to pass it to. Thanks to this system Fastbreaks are beautiful to run. Look at one instance I had. Nelson on the break, crosses Kobe, goes semi baseline, Kobe cuts him off, Nelson fires a behind the back(using the RS) pass to Howard who then proceeds to two hand SLAM, and I mean SLAM right on top of Kobe. Kobe then drops to the ground, and looks at the ref like "Thats not an offensive foul? (No Kobe it's not, it was a top ten play on Sports Center, thats what that was).

Like I stated earlier, you can dribble how you want to, or how the player your using will allow you to. I tried a simple cross on Bynum with Dwight multiple times, but the help defense would come over and strip me. yes help defense exists in this game. More on this in a minute. Sometimes the defense is unforgiving. I understand Pietrus is not a GREAT ball handler, but he's decent and he's a SF/SG. Anways, I used Pietrus various times and anytime I put it on the floor, RON RON would steal it. I know Ron Artest is a beast on D, but not to the degree he was showing me. Dont tell me I need to work on my dribble cuz I know I do, but this happened ANY and EVERY time Pietrus tried to go from right hand to left on a hesitation move. Lets talk about rebounding. I noticed boxing out, but I didnt feel like I was in control of it, like I should. So I would pretty much just be in the vicinity of the hoop and try to time my jump. All is not bad though, because when I timed it correctly, I snatched the ball out of the air. It felt good. I even started tipping it to myself, or to a teammate.

Now for defense, and this is the area that needs the most improvement in my opinion. I am WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to used to using the LT button to get into a defensive stance. I kept accidentally switching players, but with time this will be corrected. By the way, can someone please tell me what the hell the RB (defensive assist button) does? It did not in anyway seem to help me. It maybe locked on, but it keeps you very far from the ball handler, and the minute you try to move closer, the lock on would break. I think every game needs a defensive stance button, so I dont know how this is going to work. It seems like EA just wants you to try to stay in front of your man and rely on help defense. Which is cool, but it if the AI blows by you(and it will on SUPERSTAR), it makes your defense OVER-REACT and you get left with a wide open lane. The result is alot of and 1's for the AI. The whole adjusting their shot thing is WAY too effective. They practically dont miss when that animation plays(<-- this felt like a canned animation). The steal button felt a little unresponsive to me as well, especially going for a steal on a passing lane. The block button worked, but I got called for a lot of fouls. So I made sure to let go of turbo when I hit Y to block, and I still got called for a lot of fouls. If this is the case, your Post players in live will foul out of a game a lot.

The AI in this game is great. Kobe did what he does and destroyed me in a couple of games. Fisher let it rain when I left him open. Ron Artest cause havock on defense like in real life. Luke Walton cheered from the bench like he does in real life(lol). When I played as LA, Orlando fed the ball inside to Dwight, who proceeded to embarass Bynum. Rashard let it rain from 3. Nelson got penetration and kicked it out to a wide open Carter, who pump faked the three and drove the lane and totally tea-bagged Gasol. This synergy stuff is great. The players do what their supposed to.

I'm almost wrapping this review up. My biggest problem was still the way the game moves. Theres still a little bit of jerkiness moving around, and the players move like their on crack. My solution was this. I went into settings and toned down the speed by a few notches. The game moved and looked more believable after this. I hope the Developers tone down the default speed to about where I had it. NBA live has stepped it up in just about every way possible. The total control they give you is fantastic, and I think it will be 100% working by next years Live.

To sum up my review. NBA LIVE 10 is actually going to contend this year, but there are still minor problems that may or may not be ironed out in time for OCT. 6. I am not ready to give Live the title until I see what 2k has up their sleeve. But based on the games I have played so far I'm going to make this statement.

If you took Live's presentation, visual quality, and total control sytem, and added 2k's(2k9) animations, player faces, and defense, we would have the best video game representation of basketball EVER!

Thanks for reading guys. Give me opinions, debate on what I said, or ask me questions. See you guys later.

# 240 Bornindamecca @ 09/11/09 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renewill27


	Smoothest player in the hanger,by far carmelo.

Agreed. They did a stellar job on him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tha_Kid


	I can confidently say that getting rid of a backdown button was a bad mistake by both EA & 2K. Why invite all the ambiguity that comes with making it contextual?

Jury is still out on this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da_Czar


	Honestly I don't like the demo as much as the final i played. If memory serves correct and its been over a week. But the control was much tighter. They feel a bit too loose to me right now on offense and defense.... So its fun to play again but not the same experience I remember. also not a big fan of the auto post ups both games went to.

There are a lot of demotastic moments that make me refrain from giving an impression, because I know certain things won't be in the final product.

I'm not going to give an impression for a multitude of reasons, but I will urge everyone to remember this: We've been dealing with basically the same control scheme since 2k7. There are certain muscle memory functions that you have to unlearn before you can even have real "fun". Also, there are a lot of nuances in this system. There are subtleties. In a certain sense, you have to treat this as the first basketball game you've ever played to be able to experience the system on its own terms.

Even though some people may be reticent to do so, I think the average 2k gamer needs 4-10 hours of unlearning before they are truly giving this game a fair chance.

I'm seeing a lot of complaints and issues here that have a lot to do with people not understanding the controls, or treating this game according to the standards and habits of the other game.

Also: Freestyle passing might be the best b-ball gaming innovation in at least 3 years.

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