Unlike the NFL license, the NBA
isn’t exclusive to one publisher. 2K Sports has NBA 2K10, Sony released
NBA 2010: The Inside and Electronic Arts shipped out NBA Live 10.
It’s a difficult job for a gamer to figure out which basketball title is worth
their time, especially if there are three of them on the market competing for
their attention. Well, today, we take a closer look at NBA Live 10 and if
it receives a passing grade on the PlayStation Portable.
Reworking the gameplay, NBA Live
10 has turned out to be the best PSP basketball title released in 2009 – but
then again, that’s not saying much. The controls aren’t to perfection due too
many hindrances with defense and passing. On defense, many times the computer
opponents will fly by the gamer’s teammates without any difficulty for an easy
lay-up or dunk. On the offensive side of things, icon passing is poor with a lot
of over thrown and tipped passes. These two control aspects need to be
fine-tuned for the future to keep the series progressing towards improvements.
Beyond that, the gameplay was fine.
The shining feature of NBA Live
10 is The Crown. The Crown, a feature that has been around for the past few
years, provides a profile that tracks the Be A Pro mode, mini-games, franchise
games and much more. Stat-tracking and setting goals for the gamer to achieve,
The Crown invites the gamers to put as much as time into their handheld as one
possibly could. As players progress, they’ll unlock an assortment of items such
as throwback jerseys. Although it’s not overly exotic, it gets the job done.
The Be A Pro mode permits gamers the
ability to create a player, shell out attributes in certain categories, and work
their way to being a professional basketball player. In the console versions, Be
A Pro mode only allowed gamers to control one player, as opposed to the entire
team. In the PSP iteration, gamers are allowed to tell their teammates when they
need to shoot, along with their controlled player. Even if it’s not as in-depth
as its console cousins, Be A Pro mode ultimately contains the longevity to give
NBA Live 10 its weight in gold. As a first in the series on the PSP, this
is bound to impress basketball fans that are looking for a little more than
standard gameplay modes in their handheld video games.
Dynasty, Season modes and three
mini-games are also included. Dynasty Mode is actually somewhat in-depth and was
a good surprise in comparison to expectations. Putting together a formidable
Detroit Pistons team that consisted of Rodney Stuckey at the point, Brandon Roy
at shooting guard, Josh Smith at the small forward, Al Jefferson at power
forward and Ben Wallace at center, I was able to make repeat runs as a champion
two years in a row. In addition, the FIBA World Championships are included – an
asset that no other basketball game in 2009 has.
Unfortunately, with all the game
modes included, the loading times are painful to sit through. But, this
shouldn’t hold gamers back from having a great time with NBA Live 10 as
the gameplay does a decent job at keeping the player intrigued.
Also, NBA Live 10 isn’t the
best looking basketball title on the PSP, but then again, it didn’t have to be.
The visuals are adequate enough to pass as a 2009 title for the PSP. The player
models aren’t half bad, the animations are somewhat unrealistic but not to the
point of an arcade title, and the crowds are at least noticeable – if that
counts for anything.
All things considered, NBA Live
10 turned out to be a worthy basketball title that offered enough replay
value. The loading times may be a bore to sit through and the graphics may not
be “next-gen”, but at least the gameplay doesn’t inspire gamers to throw their
PSP against the ground.
Gameplay: 6.9
The control issues don’t plague the title to a state of fire and brimstone,
but they’ll need to be worked on the next time around to create a more
user-friendly environment.
Graphics: 6.6
Subtracting away the loading times, the end result for the visuals turned
out to be mediocre at best.
Sound: 6.0
The commentary wasn’t pleasing on the ears.
Difficulty: Easy
Concept: 6.0
There’s nothing innovative about a sports title being ported to the
handheld.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Ad-hoc multiplayer is included for competitive matches against a friend or
family member.
Overall: 6.9
NBA Live 10 is a title that EA Sports can use as a building block
towards the future. Not everything is fine and dandy with this year’s iteration,
but the product presented at least is able to keep the attention of the gamer
for more than 15 minutes.
