NBA Live 10 Review [360]

Wow, what a difference a year can make.  After years in the shadow of the NBA 2K series it seems that EA has decided enough is enough and has given NBA Live 10 the makeover the franchise has sorely needed.  The jump made from last year is massive, with noticeable improvements in almost every area – from the gameplay to the presentation, the team at EA Canada has seemingly left no stone unturned in their bid to return to the top of the NBA videogame tree.It all starts with the on-court action, or more specifically with the players themselves.  In comparison to last year, each member of your team reacts much more realistically both on offence and defence.  Gone is the one-dimensional feel of last year’s game – in which most players were only effective in very specific situations – and it’s replaced by a model that allows each individual to stamp their mark on the game in a variety of ways.  For example, the Hornets’ Chris Paul is now as effective distributing the ball around the outside as he is at driving to the basket and executing a quick pass to the open man to tuck away.  It gives the game a much more realistic flow, giving you license to experiment with different player combinations and preventing the need to rely on the same plays over and over again depending on your on-court line-up.This extra freedom is largely a result of significant improvement in two major areas – collision detection and the quality of the AI.  Whereas Live 09 consistently allowed you to simply dribble past players, with no discernable effort to slow you down made by your opposition, the collision detection mechanic employed this time around means that – even if the defender doesn’t make an attempt to block – the fact that you’re running straight at them invariably slows you down.  This results in a slighter slower and more deliberate pace to the game, forcing you take stock of what the defence is doing so that you can plan your next move accordingly.There are still a few dodgy moments in which collisions cause you to raise your eyebrows in disbelief. Brandon Roy, for example, managing to launch off from around the free-throw line and dunk on both Shaq and Lebron James without so much as flinching upon contact.  Still, those moments are few and far between and don’t have too much of an impact on gameplay.Due to the very nature of team sports it’s essential that their gaming counterparts get the AI spot-on if they harbour any hope of creating an authentic, engaging experience.  Generally, the AI for Live 10 is fine, for both your own teammates and the opposition.  Your own team move around in an attempt to get open much more realistically than in years past, and are able to spot free space and react quickly to get there before a defender blocks the passing lane.  The opposition is no slouch either, consistently running the pick and roll to devastating effect and regularly showing new looks on offence that keep you on your toes and prevents the whole experience from getting stale.As we all know however, perfection is never quite achievable, and there are a number of holes in the AI. On occasion players will step out of bounds before receiving a pass, resulting in a turnover, or they simply stand still, frozen in time as though the entire set of animations has completely broken down.  During these moments you can use your ability to manually position players without the ball to an area of your choosing but, it’s not an altogether smooth process, all too often culminating in the ball carrier losing possession as he stands still waiting for the intended receiver to get open.  It’s a shame that these moments of idiocy show up fairly regularly (at least once or twice a game), because they stick out like a spotlight in the dead of night, tarnishing an otherwise pleasurable experience.{PAGE TITLE=NBA Live 10 Review Page 2}Despite the improvements to gameplay, the biggest leaps forward have been made in the on-court presentation department.  Everything looks and sounds as if you’re watching a game on TV, complete with team introductions, highlight reels during stoppages in play and signature pre-game showboating (Lebron James’ chalk dust trick, for example).The real gem of the package however is the quality of the crowd.  While a bugbear for most sports games (here’s looking at you, Madden!), the spectators on display here get involved in the game as much as they possibly can; jeering when the home team falls behind, cheering when they retake the lead and looking on in stunned silence as their heroes lose by a point due to a last second miracle shot.  It’s also rather pleasing to be able to look across the hordes of fans and not see the exact same character model every other seat.  There are, of course, a set number of different types of fan but whatever the number may be, it’s high enough that it prevents you from cringing every time you glance towards the stands.Unfortunately, the same praise cannot be levelled at the commentary, which, just as in previous Live titles, is average at best.  While the actual lines of dialogue are generally interesting and add a bit of extra spice to the action, the frequency at which they repeat themselves is ridiculous.  If you continually experiment with new teams the problem isn’t so bad, but after a few games playing as the same club you’ll have heard certain, player-specific dialogue enough to be able to recite it word for word.While Live 10 has an abundance of game modes to get stuck into (Dynasty Mode, online leagues, playoffs et al), there are only two new ones to test out – ‘Dynamic Season’ and ‘Adidas Live Run’.  Dynamic Season allows you to play along with the 2009-2010 NBA season, complete with the Dynamic DNA feature first seen last year that updates each player’s stats on a daily basis in line with their recent performances.  Interestingly, rather than selecting a single team to play as, you can play any number of games that are scheduled for that day.  The results of those games are then merged with the real-life results of the games you didn’t play to create a league that is unique to you, based partly on fantasy and partly on reality in varying degrees depending on how many games you want to play yourself.  It’s an interesting idea that, due to the NBA season not starting until the 28th of October, we weren’t able to put to the test but the feature is interesting enough in itself to warrant an honourable mention.Adidas Live Run is much the same as FIFA and NHL’s ‘Be A Pro’ online modes, in that you join a club with your friends and take control of a single player throughout the game.  Your club is ranked against others in a simple league system, allowing you to compare your skills against the rest of the world.  If you can form a club of decent, selfless players then there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had from Live Run, but join a squad made up of ball-hogs and personal stat builders and the whole thing becomes just too frustrating to stick with.In comparison to recent years, NBA Live 10 is a much-improved product.  For a genre in which you often struggle to pick out the differences from year to the next, the team have done a wonderful job in overhauling the whole thing and delivering a much more enjoyable and authentic basketball experience.  It’s still not quite all there, and it’ll be interesting to see how it compares to the latest addition in the all-powerful NBA 2K series, but Live is finally back on the right track and readying itself for a shot at the title.