NBA Live 19 Review

Intro:

Change can be scary, but this time it paid off big time. In the past NBA live would not be a game I'd talk highly of. The slow pace of the players and the too realistic play style and the shooting mech was just all messed up. If you stood in front of another player and tried to shoot the ball, even if it was an easy shot, there would be no way you'd make the basket because of the simple fact someone was in front of you. It would require you to juke, run or somehow shake the player off you so that you had a wide-open path. For me, that was too much and too realistic. Yes, I love realism and the fact that games have player motion to make it look absolute, but the past Live games were out of hand. Luckily that has changed. Let's get into all the detail.

The One:

Like a basket full of all the best pastries, the character customization in this game is very similar. I love character customization, and shoes, I absolutely love those too. So, when I can throw some good looking tattoo styles on my character, put some nice kicks on and not half bad looking clothes, I was stoked. For me, what it takes to make a great game that features customization would be the ability of freedom to express your character. Good story lines are also a must, and in The One mode you can absolutely feel good about your character and the way they look on the court. Having a lot of various options to choose from what you can wear and if you are able to customize some of your attire. Loads of different game modes are also available to play. So, when you make you character you don't just play through a string of games or beat the campaign quick and get bored of the game, you have loads to do. Here you can play for some weeks and while playing you will level up your character gaining stats and winnings. Winnings meaning new clothes, shoes, shirts and headbands. Your team is your strength, and, in this mode, you can edit your crew. Four other characters and you make up a team of five. You five are a street team. The street competitions are fun as well as something different. I don't want to see the same exact stuff every year, so this is a fresh breath of air. While playing through the mode you will get texts from people and you are able to interact and make decisions through those texts. Interactions are great! Feels like you have more of a choice through out the game. After you beat the first string of matches you will be able to make your very own basketball court. You have some options when it comes to creating your court. Change the pad colors, the backboard, the rim itself. Logos are available to put down, so I put a couple of skulls and the words ChaoS Xtreme on the floors. Speaking of floors, you can choose a bunch of different style hardwoods to have. Really awesome and they went all out. Street part of the campaign aside there is the League part that allows you to take on the NBA. The biggest part of The One is the players that you also unlock. With the new NBA players gained you will create another team this time in the league. Court battles take on other players and compete to rule regions and defend your home court that others can challenge and possibly take over if you are not careful and lose. With so many ways to play and modes to choose from I'm sure this will make you feel that NBA Live has come a long way from their other games and have finally found what fits them.

Ultimate Team:

Fantasy Challenges are special missions to collect new players or LUT, in game currency. A challenge for instance may require you to hold the lead over the other team with only one-minute left on the clock. You will usually have a set amount of challenges in one special challenge, which will be 5. Beat one go down the line to the other 4. Complete all 5 and collect the reward, all the challenges have a different set amount of LUT you can win. Through doing this you will get a bunch of loot and will be able to stack up on players. Like every other sport game out there you have a recruiter and can pay them to find you players that you want to look for. You can also go to the auction section and procure a certain player there. Some will cost a lot of money, especially if the player is good in stats and is sought after. Be willing to pay big bucks if you are looking for top members to add to your Ultimate Team.

Drills:

Drills consist of playing little drills that will teach you how to better play NBA Live 19 and how to learn little tricks that will eventually lead you to your own play style. Earn trophies and points each time you complete a drill. All kinds of prizes can be obtained through doing drills. Live 19 is a lot easier to play these days and if you have experience playing basketball games you may not need to do the drills but can guarantee that it will help you get better if you do go through them. These games offer rewards through practice, or drills because they want you to see all the new content that they offer this year.

Graphics:

Amazing, you can see every detail and I must say that even Madden 19 did not look as good as Live 19. No glitches or shortages on the smoothness of the graphics. The lively Graphics bring this game to life and offer you realistic images that are very often seen in video games these days but get better and better with time. You can literally see every groove in the basketball and the hair on your head. From the High-top shoes to the low tops, they all look great. I mentioned earlier that I love shoes, I have many pairs of Nike shoes and while I was looking through the selection of shoes that were available or can be if you have enough rank and money, I just kept noticing the detail and how beautiful they looked. EA put a lot of time into this game and finally I can say Live is good all the way around.

Maneuverability:

The characters move with ease. No fighting to get the defending player away from you just to shoot the ball into the basket. Too much realism can hurt a game and that is the track record that Live has in the past. They had to make it different from NBA 2k. So, they went with making the game as if you were on the court. So, with changing it up so that it isn't so real is a good thing in this instance in the game. They needed something to change or they were just going to be another dead franchise. This year is great! When shooting you have a bar that shows you if your making a great shot or a bad one, on the top of the bar there is a circle that means if you get the dot in there you make a perfect shot. I like that a lot. It's like a guide to your shooting and will make you better over time the more you aim for a perfect shot. Stealing a ball is a little easier this year too. Swipe it out of your opponents' hands and run for the goal. I have gotten the ball many times already and can say that the stealing mechanism is so much easier. The running, jumping, layups and dunks are just on point. I was not disappointed with this game at all. I like getting back into a game when they make changes everyone can appreciate, that means they take time to listen to their fans and take feedback seriously.

Conclusion:

Changes are grand, and everything feels as if it was meant to be. People are so discouraged about a game that has been bad for years and will always say another competing game is better, well I have not played NBA 2k 19, but I will put my bottom dollar on saying that it is a close competition now. More studios can learn from EA this time around and put as much customization and creativity in a game along with a good story line, you can end up with a great game.