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The three-way brawl

By Reyan Ali

Much like the close-call hardwood wars they do their best to simulate, the niche of basketball video games has become a home for some particularly intense competition by rival companies all competing for the same consumer. Far removed from an era when comparatively cartoony and arcade-like titles like “Arch Rivals” and “NBA Jam” did brisk business, the basketball games of today are all about using the latest technology to make every inch of the experience feel more like the real thing. The only problem is that there are few ideas that can be utilized in this crowded market place that have not already been tried or incorporated elsewhere. With that in mind, it’s time to analyze the stats of the three new licensed games (“NBA Live 09,” “NBA 2K9,” and “NBA ‘09: The Inside”) all being released this week to coincide with the new season and find out what separates the field.

EA Sports, the company responsible for “NBA Live 09,” undoubtedly already has an edge on the competition, thanks to its established monopoly on sports games. The athletics arm of Electronic Arts crafts best-selling titles for licensees ranging from NASCAR to Tiger Woods, and have an exclusive contract to product NFL games for the next few years with the popular “Madden” series. The intimidation factor is enough for the competition to question their decision to challenge the EA throne. However, there’s quite the solid architecture beneath the fancy hood of the much-anticipated title, as evidenced by the game’s new feature, in which players can download the stats of the latest real-life games off the Internet and incorporate those facets into the game play, meaning if an actual player has started missing three-pointers, it will have an effect on their virtual selves. These frequent updates in the AI department mean that the games can come a few inches closer to best replicating the real thing. Other tidbits include the additions of authentic play calling, lockdown defense, and 24 international FIBA teams.

The Sony-developed entry “NBA ‘09: The Inside” for PS2, PS3, and PSP first diverts from the old basketball pack with its interesting set of cover stars. While “Live” has Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs and “NBA 2K9” boasts Kevin Garnett of last season’s championship caliber Boston Celtics, “NBA ‘09” has the tandem of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, and Dwyane Wade pictured on the art. The other stand-out feature to the game is the addition of the fresh “The Life,” mode wherein gamers can guide the lives of three characters as they ascend from the development league into the big-time, affecting their progress through challenges and story twists along the way. The game also has a more thorough Franchise mode to maintain a whole professional team. Smaller additions include updated animations, textures, and cameras for better presentation, giving the title the flavor of a legitimate TV broadcast.

“NBA 2K9,” the last baller of the bunch, has a little bit of everything. A new “Shot Stick” control pattern allows the players to alter their shots in mid-air according to the situation. There’s also updated adaptive AI which will allow a computer opponent to adjust to your decisions and strategies. This game also has a facet called “The Association 2.0” which will offer a robust Franchise mode for the title in which things like player personalities, roles and ambitions all come into the game. This mode will also apparently offer a connection to NBA.com so you can access the latest news from your console. There are also the expected cosmetic updates, such as “2K-HD” (meaning improved graphics and reactions) and the updated broadcast team of Kevin Harlan, Clark Kellogg, and Cheryl Miller to call the shots. Finally, “2K Share” debuts the Player DNA feature which allows the player to craft his or her own digital video highlight packages that can be shared on 2KSports.com and anywhere else on the Internet.

As usual, this fight between the titles will be benefited by brand loyalty of previous customers as much as the fresh features will attract the new ones. Games are the peak of their costs, so the right decision for your dollar will ultimately come from which game offers the most replay-ability until the inevitable 2010 versions arrive next year.

Originally Published: October 8, 2008

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