Here's my take:
I'm a vet of NBA Live (since Live 98 ), and I'm quite good at the game. However, this game is a challenge. I played one game on superstar and I was slaughtered. The computer utilized the fast break after every shot, and after 5 minutes (12 min quarters), I was down 40 to 10. This was against the Spurs, mind you.
Because of that, I moved the difficulty down to All-Star and changed the minutes to 8. I tried running and gunning, and I was beaten yet again. The next game, I tried controlling the pace, not shooting till 10 or less on the shot clock, posting up, running off screens, running plays...and I found the game to be highly enjoyable. I went into double overtime and lost - and I was HAPPY. The game played so beautifully I didn't care that I lost. I didn't lose because the game cheated, I lost because they played BETTER than I.
The stats of that game? I don't recall, off the top of my head anyway, but it was realistic as hell, save for the field goal percentage - both teams shot around 60%. The one thing that bothered me were the stretches where I could not make a layup and the computer made about everything, but that happens in real life, so it's not that big of a deal.
The blocks, however, were an annoying - yet nice (explain shortly) - part of the game. They were nice because they brought down the computers field goal percentage to 60%...otherwise it would have been even higher. The number of blocks was absurd....as were the steals. I was losing the game that went into OT, but I came back from 20 down to win in double OT (thank God for Jamison's clutch threes). How did I come back? By execution. I posted Jamison and A. Davis up, ISO'd with Carter, and dribble-drove with my point (me - lol). Mo Pete had a couple transition hoops and big threes (I'm playing w/Raptors, obviously), and the game was a blast. I came back by being precise, and I didn't turn the ball over until a minute left in the fourth. I finished the game with 12 TOs, quite realistic for an NBA game.
That being said, the field goal percenatage and ass-raping fast breaks, the blocks, and the sometimes questionable steals can be fixed with roster tweaks. If you turn the ball over a lot, it's because you're careless. The turnovers don't piss me off...they make me mad at myself, but not at the game.
Think of it this way...at least there is a fast break, accurate O-rebounds, and the steals make sense. If you turn the fouls all the way up - Off. and Def - you'll have a great game. Once tweaked rosters come out, this game will be even more of a blast than it already is.
Shane
