With the sports wars heating up between Sega’s ESPN franchises and EA Sports on consoles, each side is putting on their A game in an effort to get the upper hand.  The 2005 model of EA’s NBA Live series features some nice touches, including great new gameplay modes that showcase an arcade-style approach to basketball, with slam dunk and three-point contests highlighting the new modes.  Now the PC version is hitting stores offering the usual PC graphical tweaks and the same gameplay as the console versions.  While the actual game is pretty similar to last year’s version of Live, the new modes add a cool new level to the gameplay.

NBA Live 2005 offers the same kind of fast paced arcade-style gameplay that the series is becoming known for.  The game, of course, features updated rosters for each NBA team for the 2004-2005 season, which is a given.  However, the players don’t really have stats according to their real life abilities (Shaq’s better overall than Tim Duncan? I don’t buy it.) and feel a bit randomized in terms of their overall statistics.

NBA Live 2005 also features the smooth Freestyle ball handling controls found in a good share of EA Sports titles this year.  In Live 2005, by pushing a direction on the right thumbstick on your gamepad (assuming you have a good dual analog stick gamepad, which you’re going to need for this game) your player will perform a spin move to get past the defense to get to the basket.  This is very handy, and in a realistic touch, your player will only be able to perform these tricks if they are good at ball handling, otherwise they will lose the ball or get it stolen by the other team.

Another great element in the control department is EA’s new Off-the-ball controls, which allow you to position and control another player other than the one with the ball, in order to get them into scoring position near the basket while the computer AI takes over dribbling duties.
 

However, the most noticeable additions to the gameplay stem from the new All-Star Weekend modes.  In All-Star Weekend, you can partake in three-point shootouts and slam dunk contests.  While there isn’t a whole lot to the three-point shootouts (simply reach over and grab a ball and then shoot it, no real skill required), the slam-dunk contests are really deep and complex.  You must hone your take-off, the actual trick that you perform and the finish.  At the end of your dunk, you get scored on your level of skill and creativity.  There are a ton of different ways to tweak your dunk in the air and all kinds of ways to get high marks.  The All-Star Weekend also has a Rookie Showcase, where you can team up the rookie stars from this year against last year’s, and of course the All-Star Game.

The graphics engine looks fantastic on the PC.  The player models are chock-full of detail and look a lot like who they’re supposed to be.  There are all kinds of nice on court details, like player reflections, and the animations look great.  The fans in the stands still look like 2D cardboard cutouts blowing in the wind however.

The sound effects are also quite good. The commentary is spot on, especially in the slam-dunk contest, and the music courtesy of EA Trax is a good mix of new and old school rap, featuring cuts from Will.I.Am and MC Lyte to name two.

Much like last year’s game, NBA Live 2005 delivers a solid game of arcade-style hoops. While the game is lighter in simulation than many people would hope, it still stands as the best basketball entry on the PC this year.

Gameplay: 8.5
The gameplay is pretty much the same as last year’s Live, featuring fast paced arcade-style gameplay and Freestyle control.  The coolest new features are the freestyle dunks and the NBA All-Star Weekend, which gives you the ability to play through a variety of different gameplay modes, like a dunking contest and a three-point shootout.

Graphics: 9.0 
The PC version has a layer of polish that gives it a much cleaner look than the console versions. The character models look and move very realistically, and the courts look great.

Sound: 9.0
NBA Live 2005 features some great dynamic commentary provided by Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.  The soundtrack is pretty good, containing tracks by The D.O.C., MC Lyte and many others.

Difficulty: Medium  

Concept: 8.5 
Live 2005 main game doesn’t deviate from Live 2004 a whole lot, but the All-Star Weekend modes are a great touch.

Multiplayer: 8.5
NBA Live 2005 features the same kind of multiplayer as last year’s entry, with two-player modes on one PC and online play.

Overall: 8.7

NBA Live 2005 adds the necessary graphical and control tweaks to make it recommendable over last year’s game, and even goes the extra mile with the All-Star Weekend game modes.  Especially considering that ESPN NBA 2k5 is a console exclusive, NBA Live 2005 is the game to get if you are a basketball fan with a PC.