The official Live 05' vs.. ESPN 05'
The good, bad, and ugly...
ESPN 2005
Good: Great graphics the players look very smooth in the movement and game play. Price for $19.00 it is much better to just buy the game instead of paying $6.00 to rent the game. Online seasons are a great plus, since ESPN football, the ESPN games have been top notch when it comes to online gaming. The AI is much improved over last years game no more of the D falling for every pump fake you give them, it still works, just not as much. The added Pro Hop button is a nice addition but can be way over used.
Bad: Only one player season mode, last years version you were able to do a season with more than one human player, this is a nice option when you have a few friends to do a fantasy draft and create your own team for a season. Although the player movement is smooth, all the players seam to run at the same speed, so don't expect to have a lot of fast break points and break away jams. The Pro Hop makes it way to easy to get point in the paint, Amare is unstoppable and unfortunately with out the button you would not be able to score at all from down low.
Ugly: The menus and user interface is just terrible, way to basic and can be confusing at time. ESPN introduce a new feature were a player visits you before a game and asks you a question, and depending on your answer the team chemistry will be effected. Although this is a nice addition for people who like to really interact with their video game, it gets annoying and since they give you the profile of the player it doesn't really add anything to the game.
NBA Live 2005
Good: User interface is top notch and easy to navigate. The All-Star weekend is the best added fetcher to a basketball game ever, sure the dunks can get out of hand but it will take time to perfect your skills, great for parties and trash talk on the weekends. Multi-player season unlike last year this year you can player more than one human players in a season and draft your own team from scratch. I like the PDA in the franchise mode this gives you a nice one stop shop place to get all the league news and updates. Wait your turn...... in season and franchise mode patience is a virtue, you have to wait a day or two to hear from another GM to see if they like your trade offer or not.
Bad: Have a separate button for dunk/lay-up drives me crazy, because you know you will always hit the wrong one. For some reason the player ratings are low, even though they are all low it still in nice seeing players in the 90's instead of the 80's. Create a player can be way to detailed, although it's nice to really make the player look like you or someone else it takes allot of time to do. I don't like how you can only use players with a 90 dunk rating or higher, it would have been nice just to see Nash though an off the backboard, 360, between the legs dunk just for fun.
Ugly: $40.00 that is what is going to take you get buy this game, maybe next year we will see a drop. No X-box live for season or games. I just don't get it you can play online but only for the dunk contest and something else. When I didn't see an option for a season or game I just turned right around. Graphics are so so, the heads of the players just look way to big for their bodies. I found the best way to play is in Press Box view and increase the zoom, This will at least make the game bearable to play and so you don't focus on the huge heads of the players.
And the Winner is...... NBA Live 2005 ..... (highlight area to see winner)
Over all game play was equal, but there is something to be said about a game that at least takes the time to make the game interface bearable. Live showed the ability to be adjusted enough to make it equal with ESPN and with the addition of the All-Star festivities makes it a much more enjoyable addition to the collection. My ultimate suggestion would be to get both, for 20 bucks more you can have the best of both worlds.
The good, bad, and ugly...
ESPN 2005
Good: Great graphics the players look very smooth in the movement and game play. Price for $19.00 it is much better to just buy the game instead of paying $6.00 to rent the game. Online seasons are a great plus, since ESPN football, the ESPN games have been top notch when it comes to online gaming. The AI is much improved over last years game no more of the D falling for every pump fake you give them, it still works, just not as much. The added Pro Hop button is a nice addition but can be way over used.
Bad: Only one player season mode, last years version you were able to do a season with more than one human player, this is a nice option when you have a few friends to do a fantasy draft and create your own team for a season. Although the player movement is smooth, all the players seam to run at the same speed, so don't expect to have a lot of fast break points and break away jams. The Pro Hop makes it way to easy to get point in the paint, Amare is unstoppable and unfortunately with out the button you would not be able to score at all from down low.
Ugly: The menus and user interface is just terrible, way to basic and can be confusing at time. ESPN introduce a new feature were a player visits you before a game and asks you a question, and depending on your answer the team chemistry will be effected. Although this is a nice addition for people who like to really interact with their video game, it gets annoying and since they give you the profile of the player it doesn't really add anything to the game.
NBA Live 2005
Good: User interface is top notch and easy to navigate. The All-Star weekend is the best added fetcher to a basketball game ever, sure the dunks can get out of hand but it will take time to perfect your skills, great for parties and trash talk on the weekends. Multi-player season unlike last year this year you can player more than one human players in a season and draft your own team from scratch. I like the PDA in the franchise mode this gives you a nice one stop shop place to get all the league news and updates. Wait your turn...... in season and franchise mode patience is a virtue, you have to wait a day or two to hear from another GM to see if they like your trade offer or not.
Bad: Have a separate button for dunk/lay-up drives me crazy, because you know you will always hit the wrong one. For some reason the player ratings are low, even though they are all low it still in nice seeing players in the 90's instead of the 80's. Create a player can be way to detailed, although it's nice to really make the player look like you or someone else it takes allot of time to do. I don't like how you can only use players with a 90 dunk rating or higher, it would have been nice just to see Nash though an off the backboard, 360, between the legs dunk just for fun.
Ugly: $40.00 that is what is going to take you get buy this game, maybe next year we will see a drop. No X-box live for season or games. I just don't get it you can play online but only for the dunk contest and something else. When I didn't see an option for a season or game I just turned right around. Graphics are so so, the heads of the players just look way to big for their bodies. I found the best way to play is in Press Box view and increase the zoom, This will at least make the game bearable to play and so you don't focus on the huge heads of the players.
And the Winner is...... NBA Live 2005 ..... (highlight area to see winner)
Over all game play was equal, but there is something to be said about a game that at least takes the time to make the game interface bearable. Live showed the ability to be adjusted enough to make it equal with ESPN and with the addition of the All-Star festivities makes it a much more enjoyable addition to the collection. My ultimate suggestion would be to get both, for 20 bucks more you can have the best of both worlds.
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