GameCube

NBA Live 2004

This is the only game in town for GameCube owners, so what’s the damage? NBA Live 2004 ramps up the defense and piles on the features for an impressive all-around game, but some game-balance issues remain.

As you play the game, you're given a list of both individual and team goals that, when accomplished, you're rewarded with points that you can later spend in the NBA Store. There you can purchase all of your favorite Nike shoes like Air Jordans, a pair of matching socks, new headbands, or even a fancy throwback from your favorite team's heyday. You can then go in and equip these accessories on your favorite players, although not all accessories can be used in all modes.

Pas beaucoup de nouveaux choux à déguster, mais une pièce montée toujours aussi bonne. L'ajout d'un mode online pour la prochaine édition serait quand même le bienvenu.

There are several modes of play, the main ones being Play Now, a quick-game mode, Dynasty, a simulated season with reward points earned for certain met goals, Sport Bio, a reward system tied to owning multiple EA Sports games, and 1-on-1, where players can play a game of one-on-one against current or past basketball greats.

NBA Live 2004 features the typical gameplay modes of Exhibition, Season, Practice and Playoffs, but also goes bigger than before with its Dynasty Mode. You play the GM and handle responsibilities like salaries and rosters as well as new Training events for your team. You acquire points for accomplishing tasks in-game (triple-double, score 100 points, etc.), which you can then spend on team or player Training sessions to improve stats. It’s not really user-controlled, but the ability to change your team’s rating mid-season is a good one. Unfortunately, you’re not rewarded extra for playing at higher difficulty settings, so it takes a strong moral backbone not to just switch it to Rookie when you want to rout the opponent and rack up tons of points.

NBA Live 2004 requires patience on offence and moderation on defence. The game's implementation of this balance is outstanding and this year's version is the best basketball title for this reason alone.

Like all of this year's EA games, Live 2004 has made a serious turn to the sim-side of things. While 2003 was a truer-to-life hoops game than previous years had been, the game was far too offense-friendly. You could almost drive the lane in your sleep. Of course, a lot of that might have been development's desire to show off the coolness and versatility of the game's new right-stick freestyling ability. 2004 brings the defense back onto the court. You won't be jamming it down your opponent's throat every trip down the floor, but having to read the defense and look a bit harder for the open man makes those occasional monster dunks that much more enjoyable.

NBA Live 2004 delivers a great basketball experience, if you can overlook the control issues. Hardcore players will appreciate the added control brought by the new features, like off-the-ball control and the jump stop. The separation of the dunk and shoot buttons is an especially great move that, we think, will be copied by many other games in time. Those who found last year's version to be too much of a track meet will appreciate the toned-down pace of Live 2004. They'll also appreciate the tweaks made to the defensive side of the ball, which add a lot more depth to the game. While it will mostly appeal to those who want a game with an arcade slant, NBA Live 2004 makes a worthy addition to any basketball fan's collection.

Also welcome is the ten-point motion capture that makes the player animations silky-smooth and fun to watch, if you have slightly blurred vision. Yes kids, it's that time again where we shake our heads at the pre-generational graphics from EA. The player models themselves are so terrible. EA can get away with it in Madden as per the helmets. But in the NBA, the lack of detail really dates the look of Live 2004.

På grund av handkontrollernas olika knappuppsättningar är kontrollen annorlunda, men i övrigt känns både upplägget och spelmotorn bekant. Tvingas jag välja föredrar jag det sistnämnda, men som Gamecube-spelare behöver man absolut inte känna sig missnöjd. Plus också för de duktiga kommentatorerna, som faktiskt bidrar en hel del till inlevelsen.