NBA Live 09 (Xbox 360) Preview

Posted by Chris Lansdell on 09.30.2008

Hands-on: Is it too early to use the phrase "revolutionary game engine"? Because I think we've found one.



Every year EA Sports rewards its loyal fans with new versions of its top-selling sports franchises. The NBA version is normally released in early November, and by Christmas the roster is outdated, you feel cheated because the guy having a breakout season on your favourite team is rated FAR too low, and Ron Artest has changed his hairstyle. They tried to change this last year with the ability to edit players within the Dynasty mode, but that just meant you could make a team of 12 God-level players. Now they've not only fixed it, they may just have revolutionized sports video games.



It's called the NBA Live365 system, powered by T-Mobile, and you would not believe how ridiculously awesome it is. Even in the limited application and videos from the demo, I was awestruck. Basically, the game updates itself daily. Not just with real-time stats, but with player tendencies, streaks, roster moves, injuries and player improvements through a partnership with T-Mobile and Synergy Sports Data. Jazz on a win streak? They'll play hotter in the game. Chris Paul averaging 30 points and 12 assists this week? More of his shots will drop. The Raptors signed Carl English? He'll be on the bench. It gets better, though: each player and team have percentages assigned to plays or moves that represent how often they use them, representing the way a real-life scout would report on your opponents. This is the Dynamic DNA system, the name referring to each player's unique make-up. It's also a great help when you trade for a player with whom you might not be familiar, as you know what moves to use. The player icons have arrows pointing each way, from red to blue depending on whether the player is hot or cold in that direction from that spot on the floor. The hot and cold streaks of each player on each team, based on a period of several weeks, will also be available to you, helping you decide on a defensive plan. Smell that realism! Oh, and all the updates? Free, Jerry, FREE!



There's more to the game than just the 365 system, of course. Tied to it is the Rewind function, which lets you replay previous games, with all the tendencies and patterns from that game, to see if you can change the result. Were the Mavericks allowing point guard penetration all night, but Dirk was on fire? If you're playing their opponent, you'll have to deal with that. If you're playing them, you'll have to try and correct the weaknesses while exploiting your strengths in the game. The game will come pre-loaded with every game from last season, giving us something to do until the end of October!

While the majority of in-game commands are the same, the play calling is no longer assigned to the D-pad, and now requires holding down LB and pressing one of the 4 action buttons. It's a little faster and less taxing, but the best part of the plays is that the AI now assists you in following the play, with an icon over the head of the next person to pass to. The icon will be grayed out if they need to run off a screen first, and will light up when the player is ready to pass. Each play now tells you in the name exactly who the play is run for instead of just the position. I can see some purists HATING this, and it probably won't work in local multiplayer, but I like it since it makes the more complex plays more accessible. There's also a whole host of improvements to things like pick and roll control, improved dribble control and low post offence, and a new free throw meter. Well, it's the old one revamped, but it's different from last year's. In the demo a jump-shot meter was visible around the player icon, turning from red to green at the optimal release point, and arrows were at the players' feet that showed the tendency to go in either direction. These little graphical tweaks will make what is a very in-depth feature a lot more accessible to casual basketball fans.

New this year is the NBA Academy, which enables you to improve your players interactively and practice new plays. There are a variety of drills and challenges, all of which will improve a different attribute. The Dynasty Mode also benefits from the Academy, as it allows you to scout Rookie classes. Dynasty gets a further boost with the addition of Dynasty goals, which will give you upgrade points to use on your staff, facilities and so on. Another major upgrade comes to the Xbox Live interactions, with improved league play and 5-on-5 team play. The leagues give you the option to draft teams from scratch, and have trades for the first time.

A mode I've loved ever since playing MLB: The Show on PS2 is the ability to create a player and develop them from AA jobber to All-Star. NBA Live 09 gives you that option with the "Be A Pro" mode. Featuring feedback on your performance based on your position, this and Dynasty mode will probably be seeing the lion's share of my playtime - except when my brother is online and in need of an ass-whopping.

As always the game looks great, but this year the player faces actually look like the players, which has always been a minor beef of mine. The demo only allows for Lakers-Celtics, but Pierce, Garnett, Kobe and Ray Allen all looked like themselves. The halftime show gives you cheerleaders, the practice court contains more than one player, and the game feels a lot more like you're part of the team you're playing as and not on the outside. A minor quibble would be that the commentary seems largely the same as last year, and the soundtrack still lacks variety. Hey EA, not every basketball fan likes hip hop!

All things considered, this looks to be a must-have for any fan of basketball, if only to try the Live365 system and see if it is as good as it's hyped to be. In limited play, it has a ton of promise. We're looking at an October 7 release, which is soon but not soon enough. Bring it on!

Screenshots
All 10 NBA LIVE 09 Screenshots