next-gen review @ EA forums

[gooch_sic]

http://forums.ea.com/mboards/thread.jsp ... &start=285

[bkprince23]

Here it is for all the lazy ppl (j/p)

I’m going to address a few key points before I get to the Next Gen stuff. As you all probably know by now there will be no game cube version. There will be no Wii version this year either. I asked the development team flat out why no GC version and the answer was pretty much what I expected. It’s all about the bottom line and looking to the future. The GC version just wasn’t pulling in enough sales to warrant making another version. It’s out sold by the more popular PS2 and X Box versions. Last year was the last live for the GC. As to why it’s not being developed this year for the Wii? Well that I honestly don’t know because I didn’t really ask. Also the Next Gen version I played was a fairly early build. It had some bugs and glitches in it but these problems were obvious and won’t show up in the game and the problems didn’t make the game unplayable and you could see where they were going with game play and I came away impressed on every level.

So before we can look forward we have to look back. Last years Next Gen version looked great on the outside but it lacked so many things on the inside. Talking with the producers gave me an insight as to why some of the features went AWOL from next gen. One thing you guys have to keep in mind is that 06 was the team’s first effort on a brand new system. When you have to develop new software on a new system that can pose some unique challenges.

You can either A) Do what 2K sports did and not redo your engine and make a complete port to keep your fans happy and pretty much set limits for your brand or you could B) Build your engine from scratch setting up a foundation to build on at the sake of having some fans pissed at you for a year because you didn't include some game modes.

All of you know what route EA took but believe it or not it was for the better. They had to make a choice that was not going to be popular among live fans and that takes guts. If they would have made a direct port that would have caused some serious limitations in the future so a rebuild had to be done. Being on the outside looking in. I was pretty heated that some features were left out but after being able to sit down face to face with these guys I was able to understand the method to what us gamers considered madness. What I can say about all of those guys is that they are constantly looking to the future and they are looking to improve year in and year out and with the way the Next Gen is looking right now that won’t be a problem.

ESPN
I have to jump right into this because this is one of the most innovative features to ever be put in a game. The addition of ESPN in the game hits you as soon as you get the game fired up. Your 360 signs you into your live account and as soon as the “ Temple” appears with T- Mac ready to practice with you’ll get your first update from ESPN radio. You can go to the ESPN content and view pretty much all NBA Related news.
You can see clips of your favorite shows like PTI. And get this, you can even watch actual NBA game highlights during the course of a season. Missed Lebron James making another great play the night before? No problem because you can watch the highlight right on your 360. You can read news articles which are updated on a daily basis. The fact that you won’t ever have to get up and change your TV channel to get your sports news is reason enough to get all us sports junkies excited. Also the development team for both systems used the ESPN name in a more shall we say functional way. Instead of having everything in the game draw on what an ESPN presentation may look like, EA stayed true to its own brand of presentation. Although I don’t think it would have hurt to try and add a little of ESPN’s telecast flair to the way the game is presented. Without it the presentation is still great and it remains true to its roots.

Graphics/Game play/AI
I want you guys to visualize this. Imagine you’re the Phoenix Suns and you’re playing the Miami Heat. The Heat just scored on you and now it’s time to inbound the ball with Boris Diaw. You throw it into Steve Nash’s hands and he’s bringing the ball up the center of the court. Once you’re past the half court line Jason Williams comes and gets in his defensive stance to try and guard you. You try and dribble right but he beats you to the spot you were trying to go to so you pull your dribble back and try and go left but here comes James Posey to come with help over the top. Posey gets there a step late and you hit him with a hesitation move that freezes him in his tracks. You see the space created by the move so you’re able to split in between the double team. You’re about to start your drive in the paint and here comes Shaq to try and stop you. You see you have 2 defenders out of place so you go for the behind the back no look pass to Shawn Marion who’s cutting to the whole from the left wing. With his team mate out of position, Antoine Walker leaves his man to try and stop Marion from getting an easy basket but it’s too late because by the time walker gets to Marion he‘s already been turned into a top 10 play of the week by a thunderous 1 hand jam . Sounds good doesn’t it?

Plays like this can happen and will happen in the game thanks to the new system the development team has put into place. The AI has been completely re-written to have players react to in game situations. The CPU will now have the smarts to throw different defensive looks at you based on what you’re doing to them in the game. The CPU will throw everything but the kitchen sink at you on both ends of the floor. Thanks to the AI upgrade you’re going to have to rely more on actual strategy to score. No more spin move spin move dunk. The D will shut you down. You can call inbound plays and some new offensive and defensive sets have been added to the playbooks as well. All of that also ties into the new procedural awareness. Players will track movements and respond with emotion to different situations and the spacing has improved a ton as well.

Also the player models have been overhauled too. The players look like they have actual skin. The texture is phenomenal and really gives the players a life like look to them. The players now start the game off dry and build up sweat over time instead of sweating right away. The Jersey detail is pretty good too.

The foot planting technology is what excites me the most. The players actually have to plant their feet with every move they make. They also gain momentum which gives the players kind of a solid feel. So gone are the days of sliding all over the place and gone are the days of pushing the shot button from any angle and having your player fire up a shot with ease. The players actually gather themselves and “square up” to shoot a jumper. The same thing goes before they can go up for a dunk. The feet get planted the knees bend some and they spring up for the jam. They move laterally, diagonally, vertically and the feet plant with every movement. This will allow your player too really key in on match ups.
If you have D-wade and you’ve got a slow guy such as Matt Harpring guarding you, you’re going to be able to get by him a little easier than you would Ron Artest because Artest has a greater range of motion than Harpring. That’s not to say Harpring is going to be easier to get by because players can step out and beat you to a spot and force you another way. The foot planting also directly factors into your players ratings. Of course you ask how can that be? If you have a quick player who can move from side to side he’s going to have an advantage while playing D. If you have a slower player he’s going to be at a disadvantage because he’s not laterally quick enough. Lateral quickness is one of the many ratings that are included in this year’s game. 07 boast’s the most comprehensive player rating sets to ever be put in a basketball game. I’m talking up to 70 Categories. There are your 5 or 6 Basic rating categories such as offense and athleticism and each of those have sub categories. You can change anything from how good your player is at finishing a shot after being fouled to the likely hood your player will get calls in his favor. That’s right folks there is star treatment in the game.
Adam Morrison will not get the same calls Kobe Bryant would. The ratings will allow the players to play like their real life counter parts more than ever. Along with those touches being added there has been a ton of animations that have also been added. There are signature free throw routines. From Rip Hamilton’s thing he does to Jamal Tinsley blowing in his hands before he gets the ball. The cheeks actually fill up as he blows air into his hands!
Of course signature jump shots have been added too. You’ ve got Shawn Marion’s funky shot, Iverson’s quick throw up and pull back, Dirk’s lean with his jump shot, and many more.

Getting an upgrade this year is the player intros and the arenas. You’ll notice the difference right away. When you’re dropped into the arena you’ll see everything looks much better than last year. There are Spotlights of the home teams logo being shined all over the arena. The crowd looks great and they are roaring and ready to go. Then a nice touch has been added to the player intros. Your player’s name is called by the announcer, you see him get up and he gets kind of pumped then you see the game player slow down some and the screen changes color into like a blue hue. Then you see the players name and number come up in big white lettering along with there FSSS icon and man the effect is pretty cool.

Also being upgraded this year is the sound logic and commentary. Marv Alberts and Steve Kerr are back and better then ever with all new commentary. More player specific audio has been added. I was playing with the Lakers and Marv and Steve started talking about how Kobe switched his number. Marv and Steve along with the crowd also react to in game situations. If you’re the home team and your down 3 points with 2 seconds to go you can literally feel the electricity in the air. The commentary and tone of the commentary match what’ s going on in the game and the end result will leave you satisfied because the audio team did a great job of really capturing the atmosphere of a real NBA game. Also this year they will also say your sur-name as well. The team put together a list of over 500 last names that are commonly used. After being able to sit and talk with the sound crew about all the work they put in I have a new found respect for in game audio because it’s something that is to often overlooked and those guys bust there butts to make it happen.

Dynasty
The dynasty modes are pretty much the same for both versions so I’ll just touch on the Team chemistry aspect. This is something new being introduced into the live series. Basically your job as the GM is to find a balance for your players. Each player has a slider showing how he feels about certain things such as Talent level, Roster Stability, The Market he’s playing in and there are a few more. Then on the side of that you’ll see some comments about how the player may feel about some things. He may not like playing in a small market and may bolt to another team with a bigger market. He may like the way the team is setup. He might not. There are so many things that factor into your teams success. One thing that you’re able to do now is set your rotation of players and set the % they will play in games. It’ s not wise to have your superstar playing 99% of the time. That would wear him down and cause his performance to take a hit and that would also make the players who play behind him upset because they aren’t getting enough playing time thus causing your team chemistry to take a hit. You really have to find a balance. One thing I wish that was changed in the dynasty mode is the ability to hire and fire head coaches and the ability to make staff changes at any time during the season. As of now you can only change staff in the off season. I’d also like to see the training of the players be more interactive instead of setting sliders to do it. All in all the dynasty mode is still loads of fun.

All star weekend
Last but not least all star weekend is back. The dunk contest has been added with all new dunks and gathers. It has a “Vegas” look to it and its really fun to play complete with fireworks. The 3 point contest is back as well. The All star game this year will feature actual all star versions of some of the players shoes. While I was playing the all star game, Iverson had on shoes that would only be worn during the all star game. All the shoe models were not on the version I played. But when the game comes out there will be a ton of the latest shoes from every brand. Adidas, Nike, Jordan, and Reebok.


Conclusion
For everybody that thought live was no longer a player in the game. This will be the year that all the doubters eat their words. This game is poised for a comeback in a Major way and I’m glad I can say I was able to come along for the ride.

[tempo]

thanks.

the new rating system sounds very very good.

[cashless__]

Sounds great! Can't wait for some gamplay footage.

[bigh0rt]

I wonder if that in-depth rating boost is a next gen. exclusive. I haven't read anything about it for current gen.

[tempo]

^^ yep thats true.

[bigh0rt]

That's true what? What I haven't read anything, or that it's a next gen. exclusive?

[tempo]

yep thats true in the sence that you havent heard anything that states if it also applies to the current gen......because nothing has been said. [/quote]

[HtownBallaADL]

Posey gets there a step late and you hit him with a hesitation move that freezes him in his tracks.

i was wondering if they would have an hesistation dribble and the cpu falls for it and they do..........i am so happy with live, but i would like to see a gameplay video and see how the hesitation dribble works

[-Young Buck-]

Yeah i dont really want to see 2 retards battle it out one on one. I want to see REALLY how good the gameplay is. Make it a CPU vs CPU match, and see what they do.

[Dairy.]

well that sounded pretty awesome if only Create a team was in and i would call this the best NBA game ever on paper. Hell it sounds the best NBA game on paper. Until real game pros or CPU match is played i'm not getting my hopes up just yet. Shame i'll only be abl;e to afford a PS3 when NBA Live 2010 come out.