NBA Live 15: Review, Elite Player Ratings, Tips, Achievements and Roster Updates
Year 2 of the NBA Live reformation project is underway. Most anyone who played last year's version would agree that NBA Live 14 had a lot of room for improvement. With a less than stellar history heading into last year's release, the franchise needs to show improvement soon to close the gap between its product and its primary competition.
Based on the achievements of other sports games, and the NBA Live development team having a full year to improve last year's title, expectations are high for NBA Live 15.
The report is both good and bad.
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Graphics and Animation
The visuals were the weakest part of NBA Live 14. There were other issues, but the primitive player models made the game difficult to play. We can pretend that graphics aren't everything, but as long as eyeballs are the primary organ needed to enjoy a video game, the visuals matter.
There is definite improvement in the players' faces for the most part, but there are still a number of guys that aren't rendered accurately. I'm not referring to the rookie class who are largely off base, this is more a reference to veterans like the Boston Celtics' Evan Turner.
While there are players like Turner who aren't exactly photorealistic recreations, there are some like the Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard and the Celtics' Rajon Rondo who look spot-on.
From the neck down, the results are hit and miss.
The game does a good job differentiating between various body types. However, some of the choices of body types are inaccurate and disproportionate. Guys like Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers have upper bodies that are too muscular with lower bodies that are very thin.
Even with some of these misses, still shots of the game are a marked improvement over last year. The major issues come in when the game is in motion. The animations are still hitchy in spots, and the flight of the ball is still odd. Case in point, almost every shot inside the paint seems to have a rainbow arc.
Very few shots that go in catch any rim. It's a noticeable and slightly unrealistic characteristic. The animations aren't all bad. Size-up moves, crossovers and other dribble maneuvers look very smooth.
Dunks used to be an eyesore in the series, but those are improved as well. Dunking on an opponent has that "ooh" factor that gamers look for. The players are obviously the stars of the show, but the supporting cast are elements like arenas, sneakers and the crowd.
NBA Live 15's shoe game is tighter than Joe Johnson's. Every shoe represented is rendered with excellent detail.
The arenas are also very solid. You'll notice how accurate your favorite NBA building looks. The fans are proportionately in line with the player models. We all know that the crowd is never rendered with the detail that the players and coaches, but it's good to see the fans have some life.
While there have clearly been strides made in this category, the positives only slightly overshadow the negatives.
Gameplay and Realism
Visuals were at the top of the list when it comes to areas of opportunity for the series, but gameplay wasn't too far behind.
The action last year didn't flow very well, and the A.I. was questionable on offense. If nothing else can be said about NBA Live 15, we can at least say the game is more fun to play.
*Tip: The proper release point for jump shots comes quickly. Mastering that will help your long-distance shooting accuracy.
Improvements in transition, awesome collision detection and animations in the paint make for a fun virtual hoops experience. Play is more wide-open, but ultra-simulation fans may take issue with the free-flowing style. Still, it takes only minutes before you recognize how far the game has come on the gameplay side in a year.
Of all the basketball games I've ever played, NBA Live 15 may have the best animations for collisions in the paint. The spills and bumps look very realistic. The dribble drives look authentic and the finishes seem to be dynamic and appropriately varied.
There is, however, a negative as it relates to this part of the gameplay. The dunks are far too overpowered. Every player seems to be capable of throwing down thunderous slams. On one play, I took the Chicago Bulls' Doug McDermott to the rack as if he were Terrence Ross.
That shouldn't be.
*Check out player ratings here.
I wouldn't identify that as a major issue, but it does bring the realism down a notch, and in these games, authenticity is part of the appeal. The A.I. on offense is still a bit odd, especially when it comes to passing.
CPU players make perplexing decisions that can result in easy steals. If you're playing against the CPU, you might appreciate the charity, but it's not exactly the most authentic gameplay trait.
The late-game A.I. is also off base. The CPU doesn't play with enough urgency when down, and it takes shots too quickly when up on the scoreboard. This is an element that can be patched post-release, but on day one, this is a missing piece.
Sound and Presentation
Again, this area of the game has its ups and downs. The arena sounds—crowd noise, sound effects, PA announcer, etc—are all very solid. It sounds like a mixture between being there live and watching a broadcast on television.
There are two different types of presentations during games. The playoff and regular-season presentations have distinct audio and visual differences. In the postseason atmosphere, crowds are noticeably more spirited and wear monochromatic outfits, as has become customary in the NBA playoffs.
Loud cries of "defense" as well as team and arena-specific chants do a lot to immerse the gamer in the experience.
On the downside, the commentary from Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy is still lackluster. There are long pauses without speech and clearly a shortage of recorded lines to keep the commentary fresh.
Obviously, if you play the game enough, there's only so much fresh audio to hear, but Van Gundy and Breen's talk got repetitive rather quickly.
Perhaps the biggest issue with presentation—if we can categorize this as such—is the inaccurate representation of many of the NBA rookies. Players like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart, Dante Exum and Julius Randle look on point.
However, many of the other first-year players' renders aren't even a good effort using a traditional create-a-player tool. The Orlando Magic's Elfrid Payton's complexion, facial features and hair are completely off.
McDermott and others look equally off base. This could also be patched after the game releases. Hopefully it will be.
A returning highlight of the presentation is the halftime and postgame show. No sports video game—besides maybe FIFA 15—has as cool of an intermission presentation. It's not that much different from NBA Live 14, as it actually omitted the real-life voices of head coaches—but the halftime and postgame presentation still delivers in a major way.
Modes and Options
While NBA Live 15 does offer Rising Stars, Dynasty, online components such as Big Moments and Live Season and Ultimate Team, this is still a feature set that lacks depth.
Gamers cannot create players outside of the Rising Stars mode, and there's no ability to edit existing rosters or players. The creation tool within Rising Stars is pretty limited in itself. Altering facial features in an effort to customize the physical appearance of your player's face isn't possible.
It makes for a purely template-based process that lacks personality.
In Dynasty mode, gamers can only control one team. That may be sufficient for some gamers, but many others are sure to find that confining. Thankfully, Ultimate Team includes some creative challenges and an auction house. These new elements definitely add substance to the proven concept.
Big Moments and Live Season keep you in tune with the recent past and present NBA action, but completing the challenges doesn't go over with much fanfare. For example, gamers get an opportunity to recreate Lillard's dramatic game-winner over the Houston Rockets in last season's playoffs, only there's no celebration when the goal is accomplished.
Click here to see a list of the game's achievements.
For modes that are supposed to capture a major moment in sports history, the visual and audio presentation should match the weight of the accomplishment. Here, there's not much payoff.
One notable positive in the game is its inclusion of advanced stats from Synergy Sports. The firm that provides data to almost every major sports organization feeds information to NBA Live 15 on a daily basis. Ideally, this will provide the most accurate and consistent player ratings updates in the sports gaming world. It's a nice touch, but it doesn't mask most of the issues here.
*Tip: Spend some time in the practice gym to gain a good handle on the offensive controls.
Though we try not to, it's hard not to compare the feature sets of games from the same genre. Aside from NHL 15, NBA Live 15's options are the most limited of any sports video game on the next-generation consoles. That can't be ignored.
Overall
If your question about NBA Live 15 is, "Is it better than NBA Live 14?," the answer is yes.
If you want to know if it has significantly closed the gap between it and other sports video games, the answer would be no. With this being the second year the franchise has appeared on next-gen systems, my bar was set a bit higher than it was with NBA Live 14 when the franchise was trying to claw back into the world of virtual hoops.
Last year's game was cut more slack because it was debuting on next-gen consoles and we didn't have as many games that set the bar so high. Based on the sports games we've seen from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, we know more is possible.
Strides have been made in NBA Live, but the game still lags behind from the standpoint of visuals and options. We can only hope future versions make more substantial improvements in the key areas.
Graphics and Animation: 6.50
Gameplay and Realism: 7
Sound and Presentation: 7
Modes and Options: 6
Overall: 6.6
Follow Brian Mazique aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
