NBA LIVE 14 - Review

NBA Live 14 sinks lower than I ever thought this once-proud series could go. Making the totally fair comparison to NBA 2K14 would be like LeBron James playing a pickup game against an arthritic giraffe. But even taken in isolation, the resurrected NBA Live is a mess of a hoops sim both in your hands and in your eyes that wouldn’t even make the D-League All-Star team. In fact, there’s only one thing about NBA Live that’s better than its competitor: the net. Yes, that one thing is the net, and it is the best net I’ve ever seen in a basketball game. There, I said something nice.

Of course, the core on-court action has to be at least somewhat appealing for for that beautiful net to matter, and, well…

For an experience built around the basketball itself and the physics that power it, the players handling said rock feel sluggish - as if these ballers only do what you want well after you tell them to. The right-thumbstick dribble mechanics feel good and are reminiscent of the old-school Live’s Freestyle Stick, but they’re often abused, with behind-the-back spins frequently leading to dunks or layups. Speaking of which, dunks from anyone and everyone are far too common -- the mid-range jump shot is mostly absent from Live 14’s repertoire, probably because jumpers have a freakish tendency to get blocked no matter who’s doing the shooting.

And if you’re looking for instructions on how to run the technically named plays you can call, you’ll just have to figure it out on your own. No HUD indicators or other graphics show you what the hell a “51 Spread Pop” is.It’s a shame, because underneath the garbage heap of problems are a couple of promising features. 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.

 

The Verdict

NBA Live’s flaccid return is made all the more disappointing because we waited three years for it. After all that time, NBA Live 14 in no way advances the basketball sim genre and, worse, leaves little to be optimistic about for next year. Here’s hoping EA figures something out, otherwise this series’ comeback is going to be short-lived.