NBA Live 07

Last year, NBA Live 06 on 360 was one of those questionable video game releases -- when the world looks back and thinks, "Maybe we could have done without that one." It was so many steps behind even the current-gen Live 06 that it was a mere speck in the horizon of progression, albeit a pretty speck. This year, EA does right by the series by getting the 360 version up to speed with all the standard-issue modes and features. Where it fails is in making the game's gameplay resemble anything remotely "next-gen."

The good news is Dynasty mode is here. That means players have a deep franchise mode with which to nurture their teams of choice. Freestyle superstar control makes its Xbox 360 debut as well: With it, you can make the NBA's elite do all the cool moves that help them own the court in real life. To be honest, the 360 version's freestyle superstar is missing a few things from its current-gen siblings, but at least the feature is here. Additionally, all the All-Star festivities are included -- even the rookie game. And of course, last year's refreshing playable load screen is once again a highlight, enabling you to shoot around with T-Mac while the game loads.

Graphically, Live 07 does some nice things. When they're not moving, players look quite impressive -- though picking between their jacked-up, comic-like bodies and NBA 2K7's more realistic frames is a matter of taste. Arenas look amazing, and are matched by the best crowd noise in the business. This year, we finally get replays -- both manual and automatic. The soundtrack is also packed with hits, to raise a relatively high bar on audio. Both graphics and sound have their failings, however: The animation is extremely jerky and lacks fluidity, good camera angles are few, the presentation aspects are unimpressive (no half-time show?), and commentary is sorely missing game-relevant banter.

Where NBA Live offends most is sadly in its gameplay. A reviewer could literally fill an entire page of notes with criticisms of this nature. For example, adding a third button to the shoot/layup combo -- for dunking -- is just a bad idea. Two buttons was enough of a hassle as it was. Defense is no fun to play in Live, primarily because computer players seem to ignore defensive pressure on shots, and score at will. This is likely to compensate for the AI's own lackadaisical defense in the paint -- where you'll no doubt score the bulk of your points. EA hasn't advanced its hoops much past the old days of Lakers vs. Celtics on Genesis.

Where you won't score is off freethrows, with a convoluted system that makes it near impossible to get the hang of. Passing and going for steals -- two important elements -- are both spotty in execution. Bad ball collision means you'll often see the rock go through a defender as if he's a ghost. Things like that may fly on PS2 or Xbox, but gamers expect more for their next-gen dollar. Since Live has a button solely for taking the charge, it'd be nice if it actually worked -- especially when there's no button to call for a pick from your teammate. They're good to have when you want to put up a late-game three.

Just to toss one more complaint in this review in hopes it keeps gamers from buying Live 07, the achievements are some of the most asinine, rudimentary yet. There's actually one for being online while 1,000 other people are, as well as one for playing a full game with four human players on your console. Meanwhile, 2K7's achievements are fun and balanced to try to complete.

Bottom line, NBA Live 07 does not play like a next-gen basketball game should. Maybe it's not fair to compare it to the stellar NBA 2K7, but the fact is they're both basketball ball titles coming out at the same time on the same platform. One is a thoughtful, realistic triumph of digital sports, and the other is sporting 20 pounds of bling but can't sink a shot if its life depended on it. We're assuming you can guess which is which. Buy NBA 2K7, and be happy for the rest of the season.