NBA Live 10: Make or Break

Stop me if you've heard this one before: The folks bringing you NBA Live 10 say this is going to be the strongest entry in the series yet.

Now, I hardly need to remind basketball videogame fans that the Live series has been lagging behind its direct competitor for the better part of a decade now. What should be pointed out, however, is that the NBA Live series has yet to achieve the same level of quality as some of the other big-name games coming from EA Sports, which is surprising considering both its fierce competition and the overwhelming popularity of the NBA here in the States and around the world.

So it's with a measure of skepticism that I sat down to watch a presentation on NBA Live 10 while visiting EA Canada for the company's summer press event. Hands-on time with the game wasn't offered, but producers gave a pretty decent rundown of what's planned for Live this year. As you might expect, this year's Live will be building off the feature set of last year's game, with improvements to the Dynamic DNA system as well as new features, which I'll outline in a bit. More important are the producer's plans for improving the gameplay.

When speaking about the Live's gameplay improvements, series producer Mike Wang had a surprising comment: When picking apart the code in last year's NBA Live 09, he found that the underlying logic that ran the AI was surprisingly strong--yet that sound logic was being let down by the animation system that wasn't properly executing the player's moves and team's sets. As Wang put it, bringing the strengths of the AI in NBA Live 10 to the forefront will be a partially function of improving the animations used by players and teams alike. What that boils down to is more animations in the game (150 or so new animations, according to producers), as well as smoother transitions between moves and better on-floor context for those moves. For example, compared to last year's relatively static CPU players, expect to see AI-controlled players much more active on offense, curling to the baseline, making cuts to the basket, and generally trying to make things happen on the floor.

Producers are also making game controls a focus this time around--with the sluggish feel of previous Live games replaced by controls that will be more "poppy" (their word, not mine) and responsive than ever before. Between improved Dynamic DNA feeding into the game's AI--resulting in Cleveland running authentic Cavalier sets or Golden State playing the Warriors' "shoot 3s now, ask questions later" style of play--and peppier controls, it sounds as if NBA Live 10's gameplay tweaks are on the right track.

One of the most interesting new features, at least from a presentation standpoint, is game storylines. After all, it's not just the athletes that make a basketball game; the personality of the players, and the inevitable conflicts and rivalries that develop as a result, are a huge draw for dedicated NBA fans. Everyone remembers Shaq's return to Los Angeles in 2004 after being traded to the Miami Heat, and the expectant friction between Shaq and former Lakers' teammate Kobe Bryant. As your season progresses in NBA Live 10, you can expect storylines to develop based on players who are playing well or struggling, or between rival teams playing pivotal games. Producers said the game will include more than 100 possible storylines as the season goes on, and each will be outlined by Live announcers Marv Albert and Steve Kerr during the pregame warm-ups.

There's more that's new on the presentation front in the form of rebuilt arena atmospheres. A regular season game between the Bucks and the Pacers might have a relatively hum-drum audience, but a game seven playoff game between the Spurs and the Lakers will feature a raucous crowd doing their best to tear the roof of the joint. You'll know the stories heading into a game in Live 10; so too will the virtual crowd: Raptors fans will boo Vince Carter every time he touches the ball when the Magic are in town, and it won't take long for Lakers fans to get going with the "MVP!" chants when Kobe is dominating on the court. Add to this smaller details--like the arena-specific lighting for all of the environments in the game, tons of throwback jerseys (including Latino heritage-specific jerseys for certain teams), and more than 500 pairs of shoes in the game, and it's clear that the NBA Live 10 team is about more than getting King James' pre-game chalk toss just right.

Last year's gymnasium practice space, which served as the game's interactive front end, has been replaced with a court set inside what looks like an airplane hangar. The idea is the same however--you can load up a few of your favorite players and mess around shooting and dunking the ball before launching into a proper game. Video screens on the wall will display highlights from the game--I'm personally hoping you'll be able to record and display your best posterizing dunks here.

While new presentation changes are welcome, no amount of gloss will make up for sub-par gameplay, a fact that doesn't seem to be lost on the Live development team. And while NBA Live has improved of late, I can't help but think that this year's game--which will be the fifth game on this generation of consoles--is a make or break for the series. Nearly everyone other title under the EA Sports umbrella has upped its game of late--it's time for NBA Live to follow suit.