OT: Live or 2K

[lilfishi22]

So I finally played the demo for Live 10 and I have to say it's pretty poor. The features are nice but the player models, player movements and pacing just doesn't cut it imo. The player models looks plastic-y and while they move fluidly by themselves, the collision physics just isn't up to scratch. The players seem to be able to go from 0 to 60 in a second with some of the moves they make and it just gives the impression that they are nothing but robots that just pass without thinking and move without thinking. The shooting mechanics looks good but the animation of the pulling up of the jumpshot doesn't look real nice. Some might kill me for this, but I prefer 09 than 10. It just looks like a nicely dress Live 07 with slightly smoother animation.

I have also played the 2K10 and it is just a superior game in almost every facet of the game. The off-court presentation which I thought Live 09 did better last year, is much better this yeah. It's much easier to navigate and it just plain looks better. The gameplay is amazing, the shooting mechanics of some of the top players have changed so it takes a little getting used to but it's still looks great. The post play is excellent and the moves the players make having a feeling of being timed, calculated and thought over.

I seriously can't wait to get my copy.

[TheMan44]

So I finally played the demo for Live 10 and I have to say it's pretty poor. The features are nice but the player models, player movements and pacing just doesn't cut it imo. The player models looks plastic-y and while they move fluidly by themselves, the collision physics just isn't up to scratch. The players seem to be able to go from 0 to 60 in a second with some of the moves they make and it just gives the impression that they are nothing but robots that just pass without thinking and move without thinking. The shooting mechanics looks good but the animation of the pulling up of the jumpshot doesn't look real nice. Some might kill me for this, but I prefer 09 than 10. It just looks like a nicely dress Live 07 with slightly smoother animation.

I have also played the 2K10 and it is just a superior game in almost every facet of the game. The off-court presentation which I thought Live 09 did better last year, is much better this yeah. It's much easier to navigate and it just plain looks better. The gameplay is amazing, the shooting mechanics of some of the top players have changed so it takes a little getting used to but it's still looks great. The post play is excellent and the moves the players make having a feeling of being timed, calculated and thought over.

I seriously can't wait to get my copy.

Good review. Waiting to get an in-depth viewpoint such as that. Thanks.

Your comments put the cherry on top of my decision. NBA 2K10 it is....

I'll get it this weekend,.

[TheMan44]

Funny how RealGM is being bombarded with LIVE 10 ads all over these pages and its background..

[lilfishi22]

Hardly a review I wrote, but more about my general thoughts on why I take 2K10 over Live 10. But yeah it is funny how there's all these Live 10 ads on realGM. Kinda annoying actually.

[dd2410]

So I finally played the demo for Live 10 and I have to say it's pretty poor. The features are nice but the player models, player movements and pacing just doesn't cut it imo. The player models looks plastic-y and while they move fluidly by themselves, the collision physics just isn't up to scratch. The players seem to be able to go from 0 to 60 in a second with some of the moves they make and it just gives the impression that they are nothing but robots that just pass without thinking and move without thinking. The shooting mechanics looks good but the animation of the pulling up of the jumpshot doesn't look real nice. Some might kill me for this, but I prefer 09 than 10. It just looks like a nicely dress Live 07 with slightly smoother animation.

I have also played the 2K10 and it is just a superior game in almost every facet of the game. The off-court presentation which I thought Live 09 did better last year, is much better this yeah. It's much easier to navigate and it just plain looks better. The gameplay is amazing, the shooting mechanics of some of the top players have changed so it takes a little getting used to but it's still looks great. The post play is excellent and the moves the players make having a feeling of being timed, calculated and thought over.

I seriously can't wait to get my copy.

Good review. Waiting to get an in-depth viewpoint such as that. Thanks.

Your comments put the cherry on top of my decision. NBA 2K10 it is....

I'll get it this weekend,.

same here. thanks lilfishi22

[The_Setz]

I bought both...and it's still pretty much a toss up to which one is better.

Graphically...2k wins without a doubt. The players just look more like themselves in it. However, at the expense of some pretty bad framerate issues when the camera moves fast or is in the paint. It doesn't happen all of the time and it doesn't happen in any arena, but it still is annoying. Live, while not looking quite as good, it's perfectly smooth at all times. The players just look more plastic-like and sometimes it's hard to tell which player is which...whereas in 2k...almost all of the players look correct.

Gameplay wise, I'm sure 2k is better overall as it's been pretty much the same for the last few years with a few tweaks here and there. I just feel like I've been there and done that. I play the crap out of NBA games and I think after playing the 2k series since 2004 (the last decent Live game), I'm just bored of the formula. I don't know...it's still in the testing phase so I'm not sure which one I'll stick with, but right now, Live seems a bit more fun. I like games that give me realistic stats (most people do), and both games seem to do that well enough.

So basically it comes down to which game has the features you like. I simply play a season so I don't care about the "be a player" mode or anythign like that. Give me a franchise, and let me run with it. Both games do that, so ultimately for me, it's all about gameplay...not features.

I don't have a verdict yet, but I'm sure I will in the next few days.

[Miklo]

2K10 IS AWESOME! Players look realistic but most importantly THEIR MOVES ARE GREAT. Very realistic moves and difficulty of moves, etc.. They did a terrible job with Alvin Gentry's face though lol

I beat the Clips in the season opener with a buzzer beater by Nash.

[TheMan44]

OK. Here is the deal. I finally had the chance to play both and here is what I have to say:

2K10:

-The graphics are superb and far more superior than Live. The players look real, the color schemes are simply more accurate to real life TV, and the player movement patters are lifelike.

-The game speed is a little slow. Perhaps too slow. I had to crank up the speed on the Options menu.

-There is a MAJOR glitch that many have already mentioned. The frame-rate slows for a split-second when going inside for a slam dunk or layup. The graphics are so good that the system cannot handle all this memory and thus comes to a rigid slow frame-rate when going for slam dunks. This happens 80% of the time on XBox 360. I cannot believe they did not catch this glitch.

-I am extremely upset that Earl Clark and Taylor Griffin are in the game but with no profile picture and incorrect position listing. Clark is listed as a SF and Taylor is a PF. It should be switched and the pictures should be there. Rookies like Holiday, Sam Young, Flynn, and all the others HAVE pictures - however - Earl and Taylor are simply a silhouette. WTF?????

LIVE 10

-Game speed is fast. A little too fast. Still have that "arcade" feel. Players seem to be gliding as real-life physics don't seem to apply. The graphics are above-average, but the player faces don't look all that similar. The players themselves come off as way too shiny and the color scheme of the game looks like a cartoon. Nothing looks real.

-Positions of players and profile pictures of players are all there - unlike the silhouettes used in 2K10. The rosters seem to be better portrayed and the menu is more user friendly. A lot faster.


MY DECISION:

2K10. Although I feel 2K10 has taken a step back this year, it is not enough for Live 10 to surpass just yet. I am very confident LIVE is going to take over in 2011, but 2K10 has one final year left in them. I've been very upset at the lack of accurate roster positions, depth charts, and profile player pictures. The menu is too confusing and the game-play slows during the slam dunks and layups.

That said, 2K10 is STILL the better game because it looks real, has superior graphics, and plays like a real NBA game instead of something arcade like.

[lilfishi22]

Nice work Sunsman. I think you feel 2K has taken a step back because they didn't improve a whole lot on the game play. It is very much the same as 2k9 but 2k9 was already a very good game. 2K did well in that they didn't try to fix a product that wasn't broken. They tweaked a lot of things but they didn't overhaul anything other than the off-court presentation.

Live on the other hand had a lot to improve on from 09, so you get the feeling of real progress. I still find it hard to play Live because of the way players move and it's arcadey feel. The game is just too quick and too unrealistic. The player models look great in screen shots when they aren't moving, but in the game they just look fake.

Hopefully the 2K team puts faces on EC and TGriff when the season beings and they start doing that daily update thing. I'm sure they'll realize the 14th pick of the draft is missing a face lol.

[raff]

For some reason, I've just been a Live guy. If the players in Live 10 handle like they did in 09, and if the animations do the same stupid things, I might have to reconsider my choice...

[Miklo]

^Good breakdown Sunsman. I only got 2K10 but I have a couple quick comments - first of all, having the players' positions wrong is no biggie IMO. You can edit player and change that easily - plus, if you have Nash playing 32 minutes and Dragic playing 10, even if Barbs isn't set up as a PG he is gonna fill in there if he has overflow minutes at the SG.

Now the ratings, on the other hand, I have some issues with. Frye for example is rated 36 on 3 pointers - I upped him to 80, which puts him still below Barbs/JRich/Nash but allows him to realistically be a perimeter threat. Who here downloads rosters from 2KShare usually, and who always sticks with the programmers' ratings? I may download a roster.

[Orange_Blooded]

I played both demos last night at a friends house. We both thought Live was a better game. We only played each demo once though.

Sounds like I need to give 2K another shot after reading all of your reviews.

[The_Setz]

Both games have their flaws...and in fact, after playing more and more Live, I'm convinced that both are fantastic sims. The main issue in both games is that it's WAY too easy to get in the lane, which in turn, makes it both games rely heavily on points in the paint. You'll get a lot more dunks and shots with contact in Live and you'll get a lot more post moves with 2k...so its pick your poison really. Both games are flawed in that department.

There are three things that set Live apart for me. Out of the box stats (waaaaay better than 2k without going to slider hell), the freestyle control and the jump shots. The lack of slider tweaking, that's obvious, and so is the WAY better freestyle control but the jump shots I'm speaking of are not.

There is just something so sweet about the shooting in Live. It's the first game to just NAIL the momentum, the step backs, the euro steps, etc. There are so many options to how you get the shot off it's insane. In 2k, you really have your pull up jumpers, and driving the lane for a layup whatever. In Live, there are multiple ways to get your shot off...manual bank shots to get the ball up high in case of a big man trying to block it, step backs when you're facing someone up, step backs when you're on the move right or left, floaters, tear drops, shots while jumping side ways like when your'e running across the lane, etc.

Sure, 2k has a lot of those things but they are all done automatically in the context of your surroundings...Live, you pick the shot and you control it. I can't explain how satisfying it is to pick the right shot when you're breaking your guy down off the dribble or trying to hit that game winner. It's really what puts Live on the map this year.

[Kerrsed]

nice! 36 minutes left till i can install 2K10 (downloading for PC). I cant wait as i just un-installed Live09 and 2K09.

It shall keep me entertained till the season starts.

[lilfishi22]

I'm 'obtaining" a PC copy of 2K10 as well. I'll get the PS3 version when the season begins.