NBA Live 97

"Does EA Sports first Saturn basketball effort ring a trey or miss a dunk?"

With NBA Live 96 not released on Saturn, Sega’s own NBA Action held the monopoly with basketball on that system until EA Sports’ ported the 97 version of the game to the Saturn. But, does it ring a trey from 90 feet or dunk into the wrong net with no defense?

Graphics – 4/10

This is not the game to show that the Saturn could compete graphics-wise with Sony’s Playstation. The game is full of aliasing (jagged lines on the edge of polygons) and the details are all extremely blurry. The players, although texture-mapped, move with a very choppy framerate well below thirty per second. On the other hand, the players do have a few noticeable details put in to them.

Play-by-Play – 3/10

The game touts to have TBS’s Ernie Johnson Jr. as the main play-by-play man. However, he has very few lines and comments very sparingly. Although his halftime commentary is good, he barely makes a peep during regular play. Even then, the comments aren’t that enthusiastic and no humor is involved. There is also no color commentator or on-court reporter.

Other Sound – 8/10

EA Sports got it right here. The music isn’t offensive or delightful either way, and can be turned off so you can listen to your own. The in-play sound effects are good from the squeaks of the shoes to the swish of the net.

Gameplay – 6/10

The gameplay is actually quite solid for a basic basketball game. The players pass on a dime. Shooting is also handled quite well. The free throw engine is basically the same that it was on Genesis incarnations of the series, but slightly faster and more precise. Sometimes, however, actual player movement is hampered by the stuttering framerate. The several camera views included are all playable and include side and over-the-top views. One feature that the Saturn version has over the Playstation version is the support of ten players using two 6-player adapters.

Customization – 6/10

You can create several players, and these players can be custom-tailored in many ways. You can also trade players and customize any NBA rules and several options for season, playoff and exhibition play. A custom team feature is sorely missed here. Also, the game could use more custom season and custom playoff features and the ability to create a larger number of players.

Miscellaneous –

NBA Live 97 was developed by Realtime Associates and published by EA Sports. The game is also available for Sony Playstation and Personal Computers through Windows 95+. It supports between 1 and 10 players. It also supports lithium and cartridge memory backup, taking up 85 blocks.

Overall – 5.4/10 = 5/10

The graphics are below mediocre, the play-by-play is woefully anorexic and it has limited customization features. On the other hand, the gameplay is solid—if basic—and the game features some good customization features. But, the good points, in this case, do not outweigh the bad. Only recommended for bargain hunters, basketball fanatics and EA Sports aficionados.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/21/01, Updated 10/21/01