NBA Live 2005

"EA gives us the lastest to the LIVE series, and it aint too bad"

Introduction

This is the latest NBA LIVE that EA sports has released. If you have played NBA LIVE 2004, you should expect most of the things you saw in NBA LIVE 2004, with a couple of changes to the graphics, controls and more. The NBA player on the cover is Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony.

Gameplay

Let me start out by saying you will either be happy or frustrated with the gameplay at different times. The C Stick lets you do some really sweet spin moves and crossovers, but you can only do them successfully with players that have a quickness rating right around 55. These moves help you shake your defender and when you go to the rim, and either your happiness or frustration will soon follow. When the game obviously fouls you, most of the time the ref's wont call a foul. This will leave u frustrated as only a few times do these shots go in. Also they will make lots of blocks. Other times, you will get a lay-up or dunk with no defender even touching you. On defense, you can steal the ball, intercept a poorly thrown pass, block a shot, or take a charge. Speaking of blocking...THE BLOCKING IS HORRIBLE. If you have a player with a block rating of 75 or more, most of the time a defender shoots the ball will be blocked if that player is guarding them. They can block lay-ups and dunks at will. One time, i had 30 blocks in a game with 1 player! The blocking makes this game way too easy. I could win games by 60 playing on the hardest level. I even blew out the Western All-stars(rated 99) with the Bobcats(worst team in the game, rated at a 58)
Score: 8/10

Controls

These are some of the best controls ever. I never had to think of what button to press
Score: 10/10

Graphics

The graphics in this game are the best EA sports ever made in a NBA LIVE game. That doesn't mean they will blow you away. The player models are great, but when you look at the crowd, you will notice the crowd is cardboard. One thing that really amazes me is that the players don't sweat.
Score: 9/10

Sound

EA sports games have incredibly good music. They have many many songs that are pretty good to listen to. Sometimes I've hummed the song's beat. In the game, you will hear real sneaker sounds, basketball dribbles, the net, and the rim. Marv Albert"The Czar" and Mike Fratello have commentary, but the thing thats keeping this from getting a perfect score is because they will say the same things over and over in the same game.
Score: 9.75/10

Replayability

Sports games have incredible replayabiltiy. This game is no different. You will end up playing this game for months, and sometimes you will stop playing it only when the next version comes out.
Score: 10/10

Final Score: 9

Rent, Buy, or don't bother?

If you have never played a NBA LIVE game before, i suggest you rent it. If you liked the other LIVE games, buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/21/05