NBA Live 14 Gameplay Trailer Released, Looks 360 Good

I think it was Thadeus H. Umper (Thumper, for short) that said,”If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say nothing at all.” I’m tempted to just end the post right here after embedding the NBA Live 14 gameplay trailer above, but for critical thinking purposes I will elaborate.

This NBA Live 14 trailer did nothing to alleviate my fears that it graphically can’t hold a candle to NBA 2K14.

After hearing last year that NBA Live 13 was cancelled in the final days heading up to its release so that the development team can, “Stay focused on making next year’s game great,”I thought it would be a smart move; come back with a vengeance. Then, hearing that, “There is an enormous financial commitment to the development of [NBA Live 14] on Xbox One and PlayStation 4,” it sounded like the game would compete with the basketball gaming behemoth from 2K Sports.

What we got in the trailer above honestly looked like Xbox 360/PS3-level graphics, with a bit more of an AI enhancement. NBA Live 14 uses the EA Sports Ignite engine, which truthfully improves the physics of bouncing the basketball. Players like Steve Nash, Damian Lillard and Derrick Rose dribble with effectiveness, and look as skilled as their real life counterpart. However, the defense is another story.

As a hometown fan of the Toronto Raptors, I am more than used to bad paint defense from the likes of Kyle Lowry among others, but this is ridiculous. Additionally, when the players drain a basket, the ball stops spinning and drops to the floor, as if defying the laws of physics.

While it was nice to see the likes of Terrence Ross, Kemba Walker and Paul George among the superstars like Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, none of them looked as real to life as cover athlete Kyrie Irving. Along with floating jerseys, jumpy fidgeting in establishing shots and odd lighting, NBA Live 14 just didn’t impress as much as it should have if they really wanted to take NBA 2K14 down.

NBA Live 14 will launch on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 on November 19.