Live 09 Dynasty

[UVA44]

What do you guys think of the dynasty mode for NBA live 09?

My first season:

I did a fantasy draft to start out with and ended up with LBJ, C-boozer, and J-kidd in the first three rounds. There was an instance where Kevin Durant got drafted by two different teams. What I found was that players that had at least 10 years experience in the NBA had a lower value to the other teams than, say, rookies or sophmores. In fact, Michael Finley (73 overall) did not get drafted, but DJ Strawberry (58 overall) did. I ended up with J-Kidd (85), Peja (76), LBJ (97), C-Booz (85), and Andris Biedris (77) as my starting 5.
I went through a couple drills in the Academy training camp and found that it was a huge improvement from last year, where you chose a % to work on Offense, Deffense, and Athleticism. The only problem about it though was that when I did a team practice, it never ended, even when the score was like 50-25, so I quit it and lost my progress. After my experience with the Academy t. camp, I found that you could raise every players' rating by at least 1, if you use your 10 drills correctly.
After training camp, the regular season starts. I read that you could use the academy training once per month, but I couldn't figure out how to do it (I prob could have I i had more time). The stats are a lot better this year, and after I did the fantasy draft, the highest PPG a player averaged was 27.5 (Kobe). The CPU inniciated trades are more realistic, Though I did trade A. Biedris (77) for Derrick Rose (79). No superstar (90+) was traded for a player(s) rated 85 or below. My team ended up with a 45-37 record, and I went on to win the championship.
After simulating the season and going through the 2009 NBA draft their were two players with ratings of 80 or higher, in fact one was an 88. This is a major improvement from last year and years before, because CPU rookies can actually become superstars with ratings above 90. Also, finding a player with a 68 or more rating in the second round is rare.
During the draft, I also recieved about 30 trade offers from other teams. Though CPU teams will not offer draft picks, when it is your pick, there is an option where you can trade players, and trade for rookies that are already drafted and draft picks that haven't been used yet.
The dynasty mode for NBA live 09 is the deepest one yet. It is more realistic (stats and trades) and the Academy is a big part in the mode. You also have the option of modifying CPU rosters yourself and to turn the Salary cap restriction off. All-in-all, I'd give it a 8.5/10.

[Cleveland wins]

That's a pretty good team with veterans and young players. When you did the fantasy draft did they give you enough money, because when i did a fantasy draft today i got $3.26. I have players like steve nash, dwight howard and zydrunas ilgauskas. I also have a bench with mostly young players, i wanted my starting 5 to be mostly veterans and my bench to have young players. How is your team doing? I like the fact that you have jason kidd and lebron james on the same team. Who are you training by the way?

[UVA44]

My team's doin well, it's in its second season and we are, i think, 15-5. I'm lookin to trade kid for a young shooting guard, because I already have Derrick Rose. How do you have Steve Nash and Dwight Howard on the same team? Those players were already long gone before I had my second round pick, and I picked first?

[Cleveland wins]

I think dwight howard was a 2nd or 3rd round pick and i picked ilgauskas late as well. I was first in the draft to. I think for the playstation 2 that Howard is rated in the mid 80's. I got steve nash with my first pick. By the 3rd round there were several players who were rated in the 80s and this happend twice in fantasy drafts. I was shocked.

[UVA44]

Oh, you have the PS2 version, I have the 360. Howard is a first round pick, in my game, with a rating of 89. Marcus Camby (rated 80) stayed 'till the fifth round in my fantasy draft. lol. I think some good players go late because they are old.

[airBerlin]

The 360 and ps3 versions sound quality.

[Andrew]

I haven't played the PS3 version so I can't comment on any PS3 specific issues but I wouldn't say the 360 version is the disappointment that the PS2 version is (again) this year.

[airBerlin]

It sounds like it's [360] far from a disappointment.

[Andrew]

I would say so, though I'm sure not everyone would agree and that's fair enough. If nothing else, it isn't riddled with the issues that plague the PS2 version.

[dascoot]

I haven't played Live 09 on PS 2 or any version yet. but it seems like they don't add much to PS2 version even though there are still PS2 users. i wish they would add much more to the dynasty mode in PS2 version. i also heard that there isn't much substitutions just like 07. I got sick of seeing the same 5 guys on the court and only seeing a substition when someone got into foul trouble.

[Andrew]

Well, the PS2 is outdated hardware so it's no longer going to be the focus and won't see much innovation but they have brought a few things across this year. Unfortunately, the issues with the sim engine kind of outweigh the additions if you're a stickler for realism as many (if not most) of us are.