First Set of NBA Live 09 Screens and Highlights

With XBL restored today I was able to upload the screenshots and highlight clips that I had collected yesterday to EA Sports World. Most of these come based off requests that have been made, so if you have a player or team you’d like to see feel free to let me know in the comments. The highlights especially are fun to make but those have to come more naturally through playing so grabbing screens is easier to do on an individual basis.

Continue on to see the screens and highlight videos. Included are screens of Greg Oden, Elton Brand, Kobe Bryant/Lebron James, Thaddeus Young, Deshawn Stevenson, Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh, and Michael Redd. Videos include a Jason Richardson three-pointer, an Andre Iguodala reverse dunk, the alley-oop to Michael Beasley from the Bulls vs Heat game, Randy Foye crossing over Tony Parker and driving in for the score, and a Lebron James circus shot. The Lebron highlight is probably the best play I’ve come across so far.

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NBA Live 09: Warriors @ Clippers

While I continue to hold back on most of my general impressions it is evident the more I play the more I improve and get comfortable with Live 09. The first game was rough at times but things started to click in this game especially in the third quarter. Leading into the next full game you’ll be able to see my continued progression with Pick and Roll control, calling plays, and playing defense. Gambling on defense is punished pretty severely as the CPU rarely misses an open shot.

Continue on to view the Warriors vs Clippers on All-Star difficulty yet again and broken down by quarter.

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NBA Academy: Part Two

Previously in part one I put up videos of the Fast Break and Pick and Roll Control drills from the NBA Academy in NBA Live 09. The next four to showcase are Offensive Rebounding, Defensive Rebounding, Low Post Offense, and Low Post Defense.

Just from a snap judgment I didn’t find these four to be quite as valuable as the previous four, though that could vary depending on the individual or skill level involved. I did learn some though, especially from the rebounding drills on how to box out and when best to time a jump (I had been jumping for the ball too early) or to avoid jumping completely.

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NBA Live 09: Bulls @ Heat

This is the first full game I played of NBA Live 09. As such you’ll notice how much I struggle especially on the offensive end. It isn’t until the third quarter of the second game I played that I started to get into a flow offensively. You’ll witness that in the next set of videos which will be Warriors @ Clippers and then especially in the one after that which is Thunder @ Hornets where it all started to come together for me.

I suspect that most people will find there is a curve to learning how to play this year. You can’t just run around to get open shots but you have to run plays or use features such as the Pick and Roll Control…and those take some time to get a feel for. Once you get comfortable with it though it is pretty satisfying. It feels like you really have to earn it every single possession.

With XBL down today I spent time concentrating on putting together videos to go up today and tomorrow. Once XBL returns I’ll be able to upload some screenshots and highlight clips many of which were taken from previous requests. I’m really enjoying the replay editing function for highlights. As far as impressions go I will be saving most of them for an article in the next few days.

The game is played on All-Star difficulty with everything else set at default including using the broadcast camera. Continue on to watch the game as broken down into four segments.

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NBA Live 09 Be A Pro

I’ve believed for a long time that a Superstar type mode was best suited for a basketball game. This year we have that in NBA Live 09 with the introduction of Be A Pro. The mode, which has been a huge success in games such as NHL and FIFA, is not nearly as fleshed out here. Actually it would be difficult to describe it as a mode. It is just a one game experience taking over an existing player. Really it is probably best used as practice for Online Team Play.

A few notes to pass along on Be A Pro that caught my attention. Regardless of whether or not your player is the inbounder you have to pass the ball in which seems odd. You can call for the pass with A and because of that it almost feels like the offense will always run through your player. After a rebound making an outlet pass is a dangerous proposition as it seems if you pass to anyone other than the PG that player will pass it quickly to the PG which can result in a backcourt violation. Continue on for a full quarter video of Be A Pro as I control Dwight Howard.

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NBA Academy: Part One

One of the most intriguing additions to NBA Live 09 is the NBA Academy. While this hasn’t gotten much fanfare after going through some of it at the community event I believed many people would find it to be extremely valuable. One thing that hasn’t been done is producing a full list of drills and showing how they are run so that is what I plan to do over the next few days.

The following drills are available in the NBA Academy: Fast Break Offense, Fast Break Defense, Pick and Roll Control Offense, Pick and Roll Control Defense, Offensive Rebounding, Defensive Rebounding, Low Post Offense, Low Post Defense, Quickstrike Offense, Quickstrike Defense, Offensive Lockdown, Defensive Lockdown, 5 on 5 Full Court Team Practice, 5 on 5 Half Court Team Practice, and 5 on 0 Half Court Team Practice.

An issue that remains from back at the event is that the players defaulted to for the start of each drill are random. Even though I was using the Blazers in the practice gym each time I loaded up a drill it was different players from different teams. In some cases the players involved don’t make much sense for the type of drill being run. This is something I was told would be fixed but apparently wasn’t.

In this first set of videos I’m showing the Fast Break Offense, Fast Break Defense, Pick and Roll Control Offense, and Pick and Roll Control Defense drills.

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Now the NBA Leaks The Thunder Uniforms

Yesterday videos from NBA 2K9 showed off the Oklahoma City Thunder’s home white uniforms that aren’t scheduled to be revealed until tomorrow. While those videos have been removed from the website which put them out they did make their way to Youtube with the first quarter here and second quarter here.

Now the NBA has actually done the same thing only with NBA Live 09. NBA.com has a screenshot preview of the season featuring images from Live 09, one of which is a Kevin Durant dunk as seen above.

While the official jerseys are shipping with 2K9 they are not in Live. The jerseys will be added for Live on release day through a patch or free downloadable content (it is unclear which way it will be delivered).

First Chance To See OKC Uniforms

Vetzballin has posted up a couple videos from NBA 2K9 featuring the Bulls against the Oklahoma City Thunder. While the court is generic it does include the official logo, colors, and apparently their uniforms which were not to be revealed until Monday. Check the videos out soon if you’d like to get a look at the home white unis because they may not be up for much longer (as expected they’ve now been removed).

Update: The videos did make their way to Youtube. 1st Quarter – 2nd Quarter

NBA Live 09 Coverage Approaching

NBA Live 09 should be in hand either tomorrow or Monday, I will update this posting once I know for sure one way or the other. Regardless I figured I could begin laying out some of what I had planned as well as taking requests on what you all would like to see. Some have already been lined up in the forums since yesterday. Unfortunately I will not be able to answer any questions relating to player ratings as another media outlet has an exclusive on this coming up.

There are a few things I am looking forward to concentrating on early on. Obviously some of that will entail the recording of a few full games as well as putting up screenshots and highlight clips. However I am really looking forward to spotlighting many of the NBA Academy drills as well. From there I’ll go by feel and if possible try and get some time in with the online play. Eventually I’ll also be doing a write-up going through my thoughts on the game from back at the community event and how much impact it may have had on the final product.

Post any requests in the comments for specific players you would like to see in screenshots or highlight videos as well as teams for full game videos. Understand that it won’t be possible for me to meet all the requests but I will try to get to a good portion of them. The screenshots and highlight clips will come from via the use of EA Sports World.

Update: Not looking very promising right now for it arriving today. In that case it’ll be Monday night before any coverage can begin.

Madden 09 Roster Update #5 Details

The fifth roster update for Madden 09 is planned to be out as early as tomorrow, but as we’ve learned from previous update delays it would probably be a good idea not to count on it until Monday. Some changes include the Falcons offensive line benefiting from Michael Turner’s exceptional play this year, ratings hits to Pacman Jones and Devin Hester, and several adjustments to quarterbacks based on their performances or early season benchings.

Continue on to view all the transactions, ratings changes, and IR placements.

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