EA Sports continues its annual tradition of quality sports games with NBA Live 99. NBA Live 99 contains many small improvements but also adds one major new feature, multiple seasons. Multiple seasons allow you to take your team through up to ten seasons. Season lengths can be changed but if you choose to play 82-game seasons then getting through ten seasons will certainly take some time. Over the course of multiple seasons players can become more skilled, lose potential, or not change at all. The effects that incur a player will depend on their age, injuries suffered, amount of time they play each game, and their already existing skill level.
One feature that the game uses too much are the player celebrations that are sometimes used after a basket is scored. While this is a common occurance in the actual NBA, it can hinder the gameplay quite a bit. After a dunk a player may stand still while the camera provides a close-up of that player clapping and pointing. While this is taking place the other players are moving around the court. A team can easily set up its defense preventing you from a fast break.
Outside of the player celebrations which tend to slow the game down, NBA Live 99 plays great. So many moves can be made that a controller with ten buttons is your best choice, though you can get by with four buttons. Players are all extremely detailed and look very much like their real-life counterparts. During play the color commentary is actually worth listening to.
Artificial intelligence is another area that is improved with each NBA Live version. Twelve minute quarters will still amount to excessively high scores but the computer can put up a challenge. Computer-controlled teams will also initiate trades in order to improve themselves.
NBA Live 99 delievers a full basketball experience. Multiple seasons could literally keep a player busy for years which makes one wonder if anyone will really need the next version.
Graphics: Player details and the number of camera angles steal the show.
Sound: Play-by-play and color commentary complement the action nicely.
Enjoyment: Basketball videogames don't get much more complete than this.
Replay Value: With a NBA draft, player creation, multiple seasons, 3-point shootouts, and much more, this is one game that won't collect dust.
EA Sports returns with their proverbial "new" edition of pro basketball in NBA Live '99. This title comes out in impressive and timely fashion and should garner a lot of attention due to the 1998-99 NBA lockout--after all, this is the most basketball we'll see this season!
Features:
The multitude of features that accessorize this game can only be compared to a hundred-dollar shoeshine for a ten-dollar pair of loafers. The ten-year season mode offers top-notch depth of play with individual players appreciating or depreciating in their various qualities every year. While this mode would have been more effective and enjoyable with the addition of an amateur draft, this doesn't amount to a hill of beans because seasonal play is ultimately reduced to a mere formality. As long as you play in All-Star difficulty or lower, you will not lose, and the string of eighty-two plus games will only delay your inevitable championship wine throwing party.
Gameplay:
There are two sides to every sports game these days--the statistical/simulation and just plain fun (arcade) side. One of NBA Live '99's strongest aspects is that it provides both styles of gameplay with good balance. If you wish to play an all-out arcade style game, NBA Live 99 provides all the glitz with monster dunks and big steals, with complete replay and close-up player celebrations afterwards. You can configure the rules to include things like defensive fouls or going out of bounds. More realistic games can be had with the simulation mode, which behaves a little more like real basketball without a drive and dunk on every play. Statistics become more realistic and important in this mode as well. The three-point shootout mode essentially remains unchanged, but my favorite addition is the practice mode, which whisks you away to the beach for a little streetball. This feature is useful since you can pick your player of choice and get used to the controls on an empty court with just a few bystanders. You get none of the pressures and all of the fun. I'm usually irked by games that force you learn the controls as you play, usually causing you to get drilled in the process, which just isn't fun. Looks like EA took a hint from Sega's NBA Action '98 in this area.
Graphics:
I couldn't fathom much more than the word 'wow' when I first saw the new graphics for this game. This is clearly the biggest improvement in this release, and I seriously doubt anyone else will come close. Certain changes have been made to the graphics engine that will certainly separate NBA Live '99 from the competition. The gameplay is smooth and the player animations are smooth and fluid like real life players. The first change to the graphics engine I noticed was the ability of players to change facial expressions. More polygons have been dedicated to player faces also making them look frighteningly realistic. The engine then manipulates certain polygons the player's faces, stretching and shifting certain parts of the face to express player emotions. This is best showcased in the Auto Replay feature where quite often players will look straight into the camera and wink or point and will also put on mean, happy, and laid-back faces. The second significant improvement is the refining of the player's body types. The players look much more realistic and have are sized to humanoid proportions. The shoes look like real shoes instead of poor remakes of Mafia style concrete blocks on the feet. The players also look better with some muscle detail in close up shots. Players also strut a variety of hairstyles, armbands, kneepads, headbands, eyewear, and sock lengths as Rodman even sports his tattoo collection on his arm. Other graphic improvements include a bench and coach on the sideline, improved arena detail, better looking crowd and crowd animations, reflections of the courts on the glass backboards, and 3-D player portraits instead of action shots. EA has combined these improvements with the extravagant lighting effects that the game already impressed to rack up high score in this category.
Sound FX:
On the sound side, NBA Live '99 doesn't disappoint. They got rid of the drab play-by-play man of last year and brought in someone better. This guy sounds a lot like Dick Vitale of NCAA fame with catchy phrases such as "boom baby!" after a great shot. His enthusiasm is a welcome addition to the game. The crowd sounds pretty much the same as it always has - nothing groundbreaking, but solid nonetheless. Players and coaches now supposedly chat with each other during the game too, but it hasn't been too noticeable to me through about 30 games. The usual hip-hop tunes lead you through the interface and the same PA announcer of years past chimes in every now and then. Overall, there isn't much to complain about. The music in this series has been outstanding and NBA Live 99 is no exception. CD audio hip-hop fills all screens and some moments during the game after a spectacular steal or dunk. I'm happy to see that EA Sports opted to not use a MIDI track since the quality is not up to CD audio and the more aurally tuned of us can immediately hear the difference.
Overall:
Gameplay will be the dominant factor in this title's success and seeing that the game is more difficult and realistic, it should be satisfying. Some adjustments to ratings could make the game play even better. If you're into arcade basketball, NBA Live 99 might just be for you.
People who downloaded NBA Live 99 have also downloaded:
NBA Live 98, NBA Live 2000, NBA Live 2001, NBA Live 97, NBA Live 2003, NBA Live 96, NBA Live 95, NBA Live 07
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