NBA Live 14: BIG Moments Brings Interesting Game Mode to Old Franchise

As the NBA Live franchise attempts to break into the market for next-generation consoles, NBA Live 14 brings a very interesting game mode in BIG Moments that will keep players engaged throughout the NBA season.

BIG Moments is a new game mode that the game is bringing to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.  The EA Sports official website gives this description of the game mode:

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BIG Moments consist of short challenges meant to help fans relive the performances that will be making headlines the next day, ranging from nailing a buzzer-beater to keeping pace with a player who had an incredible quarter.

Every day will bring an influx of new BIG Moments, all of which will be based on the players and performances that made you sit up and take notice the night before.

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This is certainly an exciting new way to relive some of the most exciting moments from the NBA season.  For example, if LeBron James goes off for an incredible fourth quarter that includes the game-winning shot, players could relive that in BIG Moments that next day, trying to make their own big shots and experience the satisfaction of making big plays in a clutch situation.

While NBA 2K14 has done very well since its release and offers a number of game modes, it does not possess something like this on NBA Live 14.  By adding a game mode like this, NBA Live is able to differentiate itself and appeal to a different market of players that want to experience real-life moments just after they happen.

Overall, the game mode has been a received very well.  Ryan McCaffrey from IGN.com had this to say about BIG Moments:

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Big Moments mode includes compelling challenges that recreate rare real-life achievements or big shots. We’ve seen this in other sports games, but Live’s clever hook is that fresh ones are supposed to be added as they happen in the actual NBA season. For instance, I was able to play Jeff Green’s buzzer-beating game-winning three against the Heat just days after it went down in Miami.

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There are a number of exciting BIG Moments that have already been released.  There is one called "Ruined Reunion", where you must plays as Steve Blake to sink the game-winning three-point shot against the Houston Rockets to take down Dwight Howard in his first game back from against his old team.

In this one below, called "A Rosey Homecoming," you attempt to hit the game-winner with Derrick Rose.

While NBA 2K14 has the current hold on the next-gen market, game modes like BIG Moments are what will help NBA Live get back into it.  If they can keep adding exciting and innovative game modes like this one, we will start to see the balance of power between these two NBA video games shift back to the former powerhouse in the next few years.