Does the game seem PREDICTABLE to anyone else? Scoring wise.

[Lrd_Mince]

Like the 'momentum of the teams seem VERY predictable. For instance, I can be on a 12-0 run(mostly due to my men becoming ultra-speedy in fastbreaks), then all of a sudden the CPU will start putting up HEAVY defense. Added to that, I start missing WIDE open shots, not to mention the occasional layup . At this point, the CPU does not miss a single shot. I'm talking 5-for-5 with three's, fadeaway shots. They also get very aggressive on offensive rebounds.

It really hasn't effected my record (23-1 on All-Star with the Knicks). That one game I lost was BS. It was against Boston, and I was so mad that I replayed the match 3 times trying to beat them and keep my record untarnished. The way they beat me each time happened exactly the way I pointed out above. Incredible scoring streaks at the ends of games. The last time I lost, I missed a wide open layup at the buzzer with Clarence Weatherspoon that would've tied the game. I almost broke my controller.

Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone else is experiencing this 'momentum' effect?

[marco]

yes it happens, but not always. anyway, isn't that like the real nba?
moments without defense, streaks of intensity. How many times you can see players missing wide open shoots? I think this aspect reflects the real game, only sometimes it's a little bit much

[HomieGee]

but to be honest...would it really be fun if you were 24-0????? no challenge

[Lrd_Mince]

Yea, I can understand that. Just seems the game is always on a script. I get on a run, then the CPU gets on a run, then I get on a run, dry-rinse-repeat. No inbetween. A bit annoying but I can handle it. I dread even playing one game at Superstar.

[KnickNut3]

About the last 6 games I've played (5 minute quarters) have worked out exactly the same.

I jump out to a 6-0 or 8-2 lead, then they go on a 10-0 run. We stay about even until I'm up about 24-20, then they go nuts on me. 7 or 8 threes IN A ROW, and I miss everything. Pretty soon I'm down 52-30 and I don't know what hit me.

I wish they designed the game well enough so that they don't have to just make every shot they take unrealistically to make it "superstar mode." I win every game in all-star and get beat like this in superstar... heh.

[eddienghs]

Yes, I tried the superstar too. It is quite difficult but I managed to handle most (e.g. pass more carefully, alert block shot by CPU etc...).

What I am not able to deal with and not agree with EA is:
1. CPU 3's are incredible and cannot be stopped
2. FT is extremely difficult to made

[Raptor]

I find its ok

[roychoco]

jermaine o'neal once missed 3 dunk shots, after the third miss, i just did not give him the ball

[©hamp]

i've had NBA Live 96, 99, 2000, 2001. I have played every single game on superstar. i find that over an 82 game season u eventually master it each time. u may go 5-25 to start with, but then u find u can't lose by the end of the season and cruise to a championship. It makes the season so much more interesting to have to cum back after a long losing streak.

[Bredrin]

The cpu decides whether or not u should win the game even before u play it on superstar. You will miss lay ups and dunks and the cpu will rain threes wit three players in the face, you wont block these threes from "conveniently" missing the ball or u block it but get called for the foul. In this case u know the cpu will score all three freethrows. While playing with player lock, if u dont gaurd everyone on the opposing team by running around the perimeter, by being that extra guy on the left in the zone(cuz the zone defense sucks without u). If u don do these things your guys will get call for 7 goal tends in the game, atleast 3 fouls beyond the arc, or they will just simply stand and watch a 6ft gaurd make a jump shot over them. Alright theres so much more but i'm done

[Boyk]

To the guy who started the topic about the cpu and stuff and boston did it to him??
damn the game must be realistic, coz i dont know wot game of basketball yu watch but nearly every game ive seen of boston they have made big runs to win a game!!
i mean they can jack up 6 threes and hit em all, it seems like the ygot bostons game tempo right in the game
paul pierce,antoine walker and all the other 3pnt threats on the celtics seem to do that in real-life

[cocobee]

Isn't the NBA, a game of runs anyway?

[Lrd_Mince]

To the guy who started the topic about the cpu and stuff and boston did it to him??
damn the game must be realistic, coz i dont know wot game of basketball yu watch but nearly every game ive seen of boston they have made big runs to win a game!!
i mean they can jack up 6 threes and hit em all, it seems like the ygot bostons game tempo right in the game
paul pierce,antoine walker and all the other 3pnt threats on the celtics seem to do that in real-life

They're not the only team that has these incredibly hot streaks then incredibly cold streaks. Every game I play is the same thing. They either have streaks where they hit everything along with numerous steals by their team, or streaks where they miss everything along with numerous steals for my team.

Isn't the NBA, a game of runs anyway?

True, but not every... single... game... It's just frustrating gaining a big lead, having it dwindle, gaining a big lead, having it dwindle in. But I'm handling it, not so sure about my nerves though

[breezeone2002]

teams do have runs sometimes , but i find that if a team has a good point guard if u let the cpu screen u the pg is going to be firing some 3s , but if their pg sucks i have better success , i am having fun playing defence now i stay close to the pg and take away the 3 so i let him drive into the lane where there is a good chance to get a block . the cpu teams dont alays have runs thow, it all depends on if it has good players i won by 22 against seattle they tryed their little run but i slowed the pace of the game down to minimize turn overs and break aways .

[KG21]

I like the challenge of Live now. In NBA Live 99 I went underfeated in the playoffs with Minnesota on All Star level...

[Malignant]

Yeah this game is damnw weird. I played on super star against boston and was up like 14 damn points in the 4th and what you're talkin about happened to me. My team made dumbass passes, missed lots of easy shots, i missed dunks (i play locked center) and the cpu never missed a damn shot and kept stealing the ball easy. They tied it up and won it in overtime, pissed me off. I restarted the game and beat the crap out of them like 80 to 53, they shot 36% fg and missed a lot of shots and didn't really make a run at all. I don't get it, i can beat them easy sometimes and other times they seem to be 'lucky'.

[bulls96]

i llike the game that way.

i like it when you really have to sweat your palms out to win.

are other games as challenging as live's superstar?

[nels]

I've noticed this sort of stuff with many of the previous lives. You deal to learn what they do and how to stop them. Anyway it's pretty much how the NBA is. We all love big comebacks.. but it just sucks when its not us so we break the controller (like me)

[Lrd_Mince]

I think I've corrected what I was doing wrong. I used to sometimes take ALL of my starters out of the game when it wasn't even the last quarter. Like I would replace all 5 starters with my 12th string in the second. NOT a good idea. Now I make sure that I have atleast 2 starters in at all times; usually both Spree and Houston with 3 benchers, or Ward, McDeyss and Thomas with 2 benchers.

WIth that setup, I creamed the Spurs (after they had already dominated me once using the same tactics that I shut down this time)

[GForce11]

I hope those of you having these problems are playing the game with cpu assist off. That feature is pretty nice for arcade style games, but when you're playing on franchise mode, its irritating to lose to the Grizz in the last minute of regulation.
My biggest issues with the game is blocking, steals and high FG%. Lets face it, the CPU won't miss shots unless you block them. And they have a tendency to cheat in the 4th quarter when they are down. The refs do not call many fouls towards the end of the game even when I have the foul set to the max. When I'm up by 20 with 2 minutes left to play, the computer manages to steal the ball from me on almost every possession by hammering my guys the ground and either end up edging me by a few points or lose by less than 2 buckets. That is not what I would consider a "simulation". Another bug, got called for a charging foul because I was IN FRONT of my defender? Also notice that screens aren't very useful because the defender seems to hold me back. If i use the turbo button to squeek by, I get called for a offensive foul.
So many issues...I don't have a problem with momentum...but I do feel that 5/5 shooting is a bit too extreme. I would much rather have the cpu miss a few more shots and get offensive rebounds than for them to hit their shots from every part of the floor. Oh and when I scramble for loose balls, it seems that I still run slower than my opponets, even with my turbo button pressed. Postup moves are useless...keep getting the ball poked away.
On another note. I do enjoy the graphics and the fluid animations. The dunks are very nice and the commentary is improved. But not perfect.
I do feel that Live still fails to capture the heart and soul of NBA basketball. Its a shame...

[martspooky]

Well, actually _I_ was playing Boston and 18 out of 20 times (I couldn't stand longer) there was the same situation - approx. at the end of each quarter there's some black hole - no 3 pointers, no wide opens, no dunks, no matter what. There's one team in my country (I'm from Lithuania) - that really had once played similary. I didn't know Boston is in the same situation. I'll try another team before I break my computer.

[yaoming]

all cpu teams shoot mad 3-balls in the 4th if they are down. there's only one way to stop them and that you have to block them each time. but if they start doing faders from the 3pt line then that is hard to guard. Its unrealistic (but not impossible) to have such a long streak of 3s. There's ea's lazy "AI" for you. I doubt they are going to release a patch or anything to upgrade AI.

I've noticed that if you don't set a play your cpu teammates will run around like chickens passing the ball through the key and eventually getting picked off by the opposition. Funny to see but it gets frustrating when you have to babysit each play.