Does NBA Live 2010 on the iPhone score as much as Chris Bosh?By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
How does EA Sports' NBA Live basketball sim play on the iPhone OS? We tested it on a third generation iPod Touch and were intrigued by the touch-controls plus the prospect of playing a pocket version of one of the most seminal video game titles in history. Here's what we found out.
The iPhone and the iPod Touch are being touted as mobile gaming devices and so far they've done extremely well. When we heard that EA Sports NBA Live franchise was going to be available for $6.99 in the App Store, we took the plunge.
The game uses on-screen multi-touch controls to allow you to move players and choose between passing and shooting. Depending on the player and the proximity to the basket, you will either get a jump shot or a fancy dunk. EA has done a righteous job of showing slow-motion replays after key plays. Something we didn't expect in a "mini-version" of a basketball simulator.
We also liked how free-throws require you to tilt-back your iPod Touch and snap it forward to release the ball- great use of the accelerometers.
We play a lot of NBA Live 10 and NBA 2K10 in our console and have to say that while limited, the iPhone version is entertaining and challenging enough for any level of player. All the teams and most of the players are represented, the all-stars have more moves and higher chances of scoring. Pick Lebron or Kobe and they rarely miss a shot. Pick lesser players and results may vary.
The soundtrack copies a lot of what we are used to with the console versions. Booming Hip-hop tracks, noisy stadium sounds and repetitive in game narrative , the shouting out of "scores!" "not able to hit." get tedious after awhile. Thankfully the gameplay is not as robotic and you do get options to set some offensive and defensive strategy.
The game plays sufficiently well on an iPod Touch, there are jagged graphics from time to time and the players don't really look like the real ones which expose the limitations of a tiny screen.
The PlayStation Portable version is likely a better experience overall but that system has been out for ages and has been ported from the PS2. We can hope that upcoming versions for the iPhone will be more refined.
There are misses, however, that dampen the potential of this game. The defensive AI is nonexistent, you can't foul a player no matter what you do.
To shoot free throws tilt iPod Touch back and snap forward to release the ballTeam rosters are good but could be so much better, if you could update rosters OTA (over the air) via Wi-Fi to have the latest players and stats this would really be amazing. Maybe EA will simply push app updates after this months' trade deadline, who knows.
Multiplayer, which could be handled locally via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi would have been an awesome add on and would have likely sold more copies of the game. The iPod Touch is a connected device and could really shine in multiplayer situations specially in a game like NBA Live 2010.
Still, there's much to like and we feel EA Sports is headed in the right direction. At $6.99 its the cheapest b-ball simulator that has all the teams and players and it's great for killing time. We need to see more of the mainstream titles get ported to iPhone and iPod Touch since it is proving to be a capable gaming platform.
Raves: Good game control, great cut-scenes and replays, easy to learn and fun to play
Rants: Repetitive narrative, foul defense AI, no multiplayer option
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
