Chemistry has long been a cliché intangible effecting a team’s level of success, or lack thereof in sports games. NBA Live 09 takes the scientific elements to a new level by displaying individual player DNA strands, which evolve as you play. The constant updating of player attributes and basketball styles is a large leap forward for EA’s basketball franchise, but it still comes up a little short in the long run. Live features a new dynamic level of player attributes, called NBA Live 365. The daily service is a constant update to your roster file, reflecting the real-life happenings in the league. While changes like trades and injuries are more obvious, it is the more abstract DNA strand of each player that will truly change the game.
Each player has their own DNA strand, reflecting the type of player they are, whether a low-post monster, rebounding machine, or a finesse jump shooter. The strand is represented with a vertical graph broken into various colors for each type of play. A well-balanced player, like LeBron James, will have smaller slices for each of the styles than someone like a pure shooter, like Ben Gordon, will. The concept is that how each player performs on offense is sliced and diced to give you an idea of where they excel on the floor. Likewise, each team has their own DNA strand, reflecting their offensive style. A team that relies on fast breaks for scoring will have a much different looking DNA strand than a team whose primary focus is a strict half-court style of play. The NBA Live 365 service provides you with constant updates to these DNA strands, so teams that look terrible on paper before the regular season begins will not remain that way if they turn out to be a surprisingly solid club.
The issue is that using the service does take some of your own input out of the equation. Running a franchise with the service turned on does take both your own inputs and those of the real league play styles into account, but if you manage to turn a weak bench player into a potential sixth man of the year candidate, it can tether them to their real-life situational limitations somewhat. The feature seems to benefit the quick play games more than your franchise. With the feature turned off, you are solely in control of how your players will have their DNA strands altered, based on the way you play each game. After making a move towards the basket with the ball, or spotting up for a jumper, the game flashes a blurb and a percentage in the upper left-hand corner of the screen; indicating how often that player does that exact play. Each of these plays feeds into the player and team DNA strands, for a more effective look at how you play with each player. It is also worth noting that EA may have found a way to curtail the rampant used game market. 365 Live comes as a complimentary code found in each copy of the game, but each code is a one-time use. Those looking to purchase the game used may find that their code has already been used, and then must decide if the feature is worth the 800 MS Point price. As the year goes on, and more roster moves happen, it may be a necessity for those who constantly re-start franchises with the current rosters they used to be able to download free. Those more interested in the Live components will be glad to find that the service does update your roster automatically for online play, whether you have the subscription to the service or not. It only removing the rosters from your game when you back out of the Live portion of the game.
Charging for a service that used to be free, albeit not as flashy and consistently updated, is a tough pill for gamers to swallow, but it is far from the biggest complaints with Live 09. There are far too many easy dunks for the game’s own good, regardless of the difficulty settings. Players never seem interested in playing defense to begin with, but the floaty controls make it even more difficult to stop opponents from scoring. Player animations typically drag on long after you have pressed the button, leaving an open lane to the basket. Once you get out of position, players are too slow to respond to get back. Controls feel too loose on offense too, with too many players handling like a car driving on ice. None of the players feel as though they have any kind of weight to them, whether they are oversized centers or rail-thin guards. The combination makes for frustratingly easy jumpers and dunks for both teams. Assigning a specific dunk button to the controller does not help matters either; especially when players launch into ‘drive’ mode when you hit it from just about anywhere inside the three-point stripe. Rebounds too often bounce awkwardly in the opposite direction of what they should, leaving you waiting in vain for a loose ball. Without using the passing icons, there are too many errant passes thrown in the direction of the wrong player and intercepted by the defense. It stings a little worse when the computer's lazy passes frequently sail under your team's nose.
