Just picked it up on my lunch break. Now I have to sit at work for the next 5 hours thinking about it.
That espngamer thing is total bull, it always ends up ranking the EA game higher no matter what the sport. Example: Madden and ESPN this year were neck and neck, many reputable sites, like Gamespot, felt that ESPN was slightly superior, but on Espngamer, they ranked ESPN below freaking NFL Gameday only the worst franchise made by the worst developers -989 sports- in the universe. That just doesn't make any sense. Now, look at their basketball rankings, they have NBA live as the top sports game of the year, giving it a 48/50, superior even to the holy grail of Madden? Huh? Most other reviewers give it only in the 80-85% range, not near perfect, which is what they decided to give it. Shoot, even EA would tell you that Live hasn't exactly been their banner franchise over the last few years by any means. It looks like they had the same reviewer who gave high marks to Gameday review live, so that should tell you something.
I honestly dont like it. I gave it a chance, its ok, its not horribly bad. But I think ESPN will be better. I always knows for EA to make the best sports games, but as far as basketball i think ESPN might be better
I have played live series since they were on SNES... and I have always liked it, and always wish I had a better computer when the PC version was the only choice, b4 there are ps2 or xbox. Then, I finally got faster computer, and live starts to suck.. I think 99 was the last good live game. After I got the Xbox, I had both live 2002 and 2k2... after extensive gameply on both, I have totally given up on the live series.. 2k2 is much more depth and much more fun imo. I don't know about this year, but I will go with 2k series until live proves me otherwise. the only problem I have with 2k is that legends can't be used on franchise mode.. and like someone else said, the fast break people are stupid sometimes.. I wish there is the through run button like in FIFA... in which you can call your teammate to make a run toward the basket. that'll be great.
Man...I want a copy of it so bad....but I am too cheap. Going to have to wait till I go over seas this winter.
I think I read somewhere that the new one will be much better in this situation. I believe someone was actually complaining after playing a demo BECAUSE they ran to much, but I think that was because he had picked the Nets and they run a lot. You may know this, but I mentioned it in case others didn't. As for the legends in franchise, I never really considered it a problem. Realism is a big factor to me in a game, and I don't plan on Wilt Chamberlain rising from the grave to start for the Rockets and going against Bill Russel who's on the Suns. Plus, it would really screw up the retirements and contract issues. If worse comes to worse, I would just create a player with the same ratings as the legend and put the same name on him. But that's just how I like my games. Speaking of franchises, how is the Live franchise? Can you hire assistant coaches and scouts, plus what's the rookie draft or any other thing you'd like to mention? If it is pretty cool, I may think about giving it a shot.
Which one is better? both will be good depending on your preferences! I like live this year and I think it's moving in the right direction. But people flat out saying something sucks, just doesn't make sense to me. I personally do't like playing espn, but I don't htink it sux....cuz it doesn't. I just Prefer the gameplay and style of NBA live. So people that just bash games.........
Well one thing I have noticed...some of the Rockets' ratings are very, very off. I think Yao Ming's passing rating is like 28, for example.
I went to (Super) Target and didn't see it (only had 2003 still for $50) so it was a choice between NCAA or Rugby. I still don't know how the hell Rugby works. I can't wait until FIFA comes out; the Career Mode looks AWESOME. And can someone answer me this: Are you able to play PC people online if you play on PS2? Or is it only PS2-PS2 and PC-PC?
I saw it at EB in the galleria for 49.99. I totally forgot it was out. Now I'm just waiting on your guys reviews on whether or not I should pick it up. I probably will but just need a few more insights on the game .
A lot of people say that Winning Eleven by Konami is much better than FIFA from a pure soccer standpoint, its the most popular soccer game in europe and asia. I haven't played it though but maybe you should give it a look. As for your question, no, you can't play PC people from your xbox or PS2 and vice versa, though I suppose it would be possible if you had the right kind of emulators and were very technicaly adept.
I'm a big sim freak when it comes to sports games. I know EA is always unrealistic. I actually believed they moved in the right direction with nbalive 2k1, where defense is really good and scoring isn't as easy as drive and dunk for both me and the computer. The scores for a 12 min game will be around 80 - 90 instead of 140 - 150. It was still to easy to get blocked and to block someone but it was the only major unrealistic feature. The Live 2k1 actually got me interested enough to buy Live 2k3 but man, I was sooooo disappointed. It seem instead of taking a step foward they took 10 backwards. For example, not only is it even easier to block some one now, the block goes half of the court, even the franchise mode got worsen where superstars like duncan would go unsigned during the offseason because the computers don't give a crap about the salary cap and cap themselves out. The only plus I would give it is that the rebounding is a little more realistic than Live 2k1 (not as many offensive rebounds) To me, a basketball game needs to have 2 things. 1. A realistic gameplay where teams take time to set up offense and that for a 12 min game you played, the scores and stats for players would be similar to what they would get in real life. 2. A great franchising system to allow replay value, really like the one in sega series and definitely madden 2k4. Scout, hire coaches, set ticket prices, have game plan (imagine choosing plays based on a running team or half court team, defensive minded or offensive minded system). So the question is, did NBA live 2k4 took enough steps in that direction to warrant a purchase from me or did they just take steps backwards and continue to piss off us PC gamers? P.S. why don't they make the systme more responsive like madden, where you can actually change the level of QB accuracy, receiver catching ability, blocker's block ability etc etc. You can do it for live series, change the gauge of shot blocking, jump shooting, stealing and such to either make it more realistic or arcade like depending on player's preference. I mean what's the difference between arcade and simulation mode for live right now if you just turn off the fouls?
I still dont understand how some people are trying to compare live2004 to espn2k4.Espn hasnt made it to stores yet. Ive bought EALIVE for years, and i stopped buying it when i first played Nba2k3 last year. I picked up Live04 3 days ago and i really havent stopped playing it. Its alright, but it lacks in alot of things. I dont have time pointing out every single thing. but if your like me, and you like serious sim gameplay, detailed graphics, and overall find more time playing the game..ill have to go with the ESPN. Im sure ESPN will be better than nba2k3, and i would rather play 2k3 than live04. Live is got a cartoonish feeling to it, and its doestn go so deep like nba2k. Ive seen alot of screen shots for espn, and all their stuff is so much more detailed. If you definatlely want good details and comparison, pick up the latest Game informer magazine. Their ratings for graphics are like this. NBA LIVE 04 GRAPHICS-85 GAMEPLAY-85 ONLINE-90 ESPNBASKETBALLNBA2K4 GRAPHICS-95 GAMEPLAY-95 ONLINE-90 im trading my live for espn next week. if anyone wants to buy off of me, email me. Ill sell it for 35 bucks. its still brand new with no scratches. ive played it the past couple of days. PERFECT CONDITION. likemike2380@yahoo.com
