NBA Live...Whatever!
If any game has to be the worst of 2013 to kick off the 8th Generation era is this one. Exactly how bad is NBA Live 14? For starters, I'm a big fan of NBA Live for so many years and after a 3-year absence, things have changed. NBA Elite 11 was officially kicked to the curb, NBA Jam was rebooted, and I thought NBA Live 13 was supposed to be released in 2012, but my wish never came true. Now it's time for a new era that could change the future of gaming forever and it's the PS4. But there's one problem: A comeback is too little too late for a series that NBA 2K already took notice and finally crush NBA Live piece by piece.
When I first saw the trailer for NBA Live 14 at E3 last June and I thought I was the only one that is excited for. But then, I was asking "God, no. Please tell me EA Sports just didn't finished the game on time." Is it just me or is NBA Live losing its nostalgia? I mean, EA just really lost its mind on releasing a scrapped but recycable NBA garbage that no other fan should be playing.
In NBA Live 14, you have the ability to use the newest feature called the "BounceTek" dribble, which lets players allow to perform various kinds of moves like the pump fake or the Tilt-A-Whirl. But make sure you time it right because you have to tap the right analog stick so that you are controlling the basketball and then use the modifier button allows to switch another player and speed burst the player to make extra moves. But, unfortunately, some of the stuff in this game is not just horrendous, its brutal. BounceTek doesn't have new stick movements, feel a bit PS3-ish, you just well...dribble the ball. I was so pissed off. I played the demo on PS4 since I got it at Wal-Mart. Man, NBA Live is not the perfect time for Next-Gen. Rising Star mode is different then ESPN NBA 2K5 with the 24/7 mode (which is still one of my favorites on PS2), but it lets you create a player and join your favorite NBA Team. What is this, NBA TV's GameTime or SportsCenter?
I won't get to the other stuff but look how horrible '14 is. Terrible graphics, the soundtrack looks great though, a crappy ESPN broadcasting and/or license, frustrating animations, a chunky motion control system, everything is just plain suck even the commentary and the ill-fated Halftime Show that cut up to like 30 seconds. If I was Mike Woodson and the Knicks, I could keep up the pace and still continue to lose against Lebron James and Kevin Durant. The main problem is NBA Live '14 is unpolished, unfinished, and totally unnecessary. Next-Gen? What Next-gen? I thought this comes with EA Sports Ignite all over the cover.
Whatever you are buying this holiday season, I'm begging every basketball fan. Please, Please, Pleasssssse, don't buy it for $59.99, wait for a price drop. Maybe next time, if they could try to fix all the mistakes in this version, maybe at the next E3 NBA Live 15 will be better. P.S. just play NBA 2K14 because 2K is way better than EA Sports, period.