nba live 09 vs. nba 2k9

[Andrew]

I still feel NBA Live 09 plays a pretty good game of basketball this year, though from what little I've played of 2K9 I like it a lot more than previous 2K games though I still prefer the Freestyle approach to Isomotion.

[MrT]

I see that 2k9 came out with pc. And it is at a good price to! Is 2k9 the next best thing? Or should I wait?

[Patr1ck]

Freethrows aren't har at all in 2k9. Turn on freethrow help if you suck, it will tell you if your late or early on your release, etc. If you are talking about it being dificult due to the lag during the first freethrow, try installing the game on your hard drive if possible.

I completely agree on the control scheme. Live is much more simple, while 2K's is more complex. 2K9 gives you more options with all those controls, though. After playing it a while, holding turbo and pressing the left stick in a half circle to perform a spin move isn't all that complicated, especially with the amount of moves you can string together.

Live 09's floor spacing and playcalling and play execution are better than 2k9's, imo. In Live you can actually get good midrange jumpers and your teammates seem to be aware of what you are doing and where they should be on the floor in relation to you. In 2k9 you might drive to the hole only to have a teammate run in front of you, and they don't recognize when they are open by finding the open passing lane. The player-specific playcalling, along with the variations of each play in Live 09 is far superior thatn 2k9's. These playcalls are geared specifically towards a teams scoring options, and they are automatically adjusted when players are substituted. In 2k9, the same plays get called all the time, players get stuck on their route, forcing them to walk to there next assigned position, killing the play. Also, some plays die quickly if you are too far from the initiation point or route.

2K9 seems to have an AI that is more about team basketball, rather than the individual players on the court. They really look for the best opportunity to score, which is an open shot. Coaching sliders, tendency sliders, and modified playbooks can get the superstars their touches.

[Andrew]

I see that 2k9 came out with pc. And it is at a good price to! Is 2k9 the next best thing? Or should I wait?

You can always give the NBA 2K9 PC demo a try first. NBA Live looks like it will be returning to the PC next year and should be an Xbox 360 port so if you want to give Live another go next year, we should have the opportunity to do so on the PC as well as the consoles.

[ThaLiveKing]

Honestly. . I haven't played 2k9 in a long time. . . NBA Live has really won me over. The game ain't as cheat as 2k9.