How I Fell Out Of Love With NBA Live

When it comes to basketball games, it really boils to just two titles: EA Sports' NBA Live series, and 2K Sports' NBA 2K series. Back on the PlayStation One, I was a Live guy. Granted, it was essentially the only basketball game around (Sony's ShootOut SUCKED), so it was really no contest. But still, back then it was a very good game. It was the first game to allow mid-air passing, a season mode, full stat tracking and even feature a "defensive stance" button. My love for Live continued into the PS2. Although the 2001 edition sucked big-time (worst rebounding physics ever), they made up for it the next year and actually offered a playable game. Then, a few years later, they would introduce the use of the right analog stick. This made the game feel more natural, as the right analog stick basically acted as the player's "arms". Want to steal left? Flick it to the left side. Want to pull off a crossover going to the right? Done. I remember reading the ads and previews for that game, and it only increased my hunger. Back then, I had no idea of the official release date, so I would call the game store everyday just to know if they had it on stock. This addiction continued up until NBA Live 2005 (pictured above), which I consider to be the greatest Live ever. Just like Chris Paul and the Hornets, everything clicked in that title. By this time, I feel that EA had perfected the balance between offense and defense. You had strong offensive groups (Sac-town, what up!) that could shoot the lights out every game. But in addition to that, defense wasn't just an afterthought. Yeah, you had strong shooters, but you were allowed to play great defense, too. Defense that actually prevented the opposition from scoring, mind you. Back in a time when paying Ben Wallace $ 10+ mill per year seemed like a pretty great idea, Live was the king. Just remembering the Saturdays when we would play until 4:00 am comforts my soul. But then, by 2006, Live started regressing. In Dwyane Wade's cover year, I started my "fallout" with Live. The game had transformed into a shootfest, one that negated any defense at all. Yeah, you could go "steal-crazy" (like I did with King James and Laura Hughes), but it felt more like a bug. Activate you damn superstar power, and simply press the steal button and voila! You're suddenly running the break. B*llshit. (Read the rest on the site. Thanks!)