nba live 95 free download pc NBA Live 95. NBA Live 95 could have chosen to be in 3D. By the mid 90s many sports games had made the jump, some of them rather ok, though not too great either. At any rate, what NBA Live 95 offers, is a watered down basketball game, not bad at all, in spite of the 2D isometric perspective, but soon to become boring and a bit too uneventful. The tactics of the play are quite well caught in the game, even the timing of the bouncing ball is actually simulated. But you're not going to be able to try too many innovative things, until the engine begins to show its limitations. Collision detection is calculated rather arbitrarily, or, rather, by following a system or a model that is just not that interesting, too well. The phases of attack and defense are still ok, for the engine and for the physics which are rater simulated as strings of events rather than realistically. Thus, there's really no mass to a collision, and it can be quite daunting how a larger player doesn't have an effect on a smaller one when running into him. Anyway, for a rather arcadey with elements of simulation title, NBA Live 95 is ok and it deserves a try, but don't expect anything too exciting. NBA Live 1995 game. Gameplay all the way. I still play this to this day. Better than mordern NBA Live and 2K games in regards to gameplay (not graphics obviously). Very easy to control players and perform moves (with a little imagination needed). Great for competing with a friend - lots of clutch buzzer beater moments. No better basketball game out there. The best basketball game ever made, either for today standards. Outstanding graphics for its times and nice sound effects, the complete players and teams database was a very good detail too. The best part was the gameplay, because it was so easy to do all the moves with only three buttons, something unthinkable nowadays. Download NBA Live 2000 (Windows) It's almost twenty years ago now, but I remember like it was yesterday. A teenager in love. Ahem. A teenager tuning in to tape-delayed (damn you, CBS!) NBA playoff broadcasts late at night, keeping the volume on the old black-and-white 14-incher in my bedroom down low so my parents couldn't hear. Seeing Kareem and my beloved Lakers take on the likes of the Elvin Hayes-led Rockets and the Julius Erving-helmed Sixers. Ah, where have you gone, Maurice Cheeks? For the past decade, however, the NBA and I have been estranged. David Stern and his "market the stars, screw the game" approach left me cold. To me, basketball is a great team sport. Everyone on the floor has a crucial role to play. Seeing this ignored, first by the marketers, then by the spoiled brat new generation of players, turned the NBA into an afterthought. Now, thanks to two very good PC games, I might have to rethink that approach. The first salvo was fired by High Voltage and Microsoft when the two teamed up to release the truly excellent NBA Inside Drive 2000 late last summer. The second came just these past two weeks, when I spent a great deal of time with EA Sports ' NBA Live 2000 . What the former did to renew the pure sport of basketball in my eyes, the latter did to revive the moribund NBA through a killer blend of fun and challenging gameplay at least rooted in the real thing and an unprecedented show of glitz that even Mr. Stern has been unable to accomplish on TV broadcasts. Taken together, it all adds up to a lot of exciting entertainment and perhaps the best NBA Live released during the series' lengthy run. Gimmie the rock. First and foremost, NBA Live 2000 is jammed with options. Like all of the Y2K versions of the EA Sports line, the game features enough glitzy frills to make Elton John's fashion consultant jealous. Exhibition, Season, Playoff, Franchise, 3 Point Shootout, 1-on-1, Practice, and internet multiplayer modes are available. Games can be played using either Arcade or Simulation settings at four difficulty settings---Rookie, Starter, All- Star, and Superstar. Virtually every aspect of gameplay can be adjusted, from basics like quarter length through more specific items like Defensive Fouls, Injuries, Backcourt Violation, and the Shot Clock. As you might expect, the latest addition to the NBA Live family is very arcade oriented no matter what options you tweak. Gamepad skills are all-important, and an eight- or ten-button pad is a requirement here. These extra buttons allow you to pass, shoot, fake, pivot, hand check, jump, crossover dribble, face up on an opponent, and call plays. A few of the menu screens, including a frightening glimpse at my new look in the Player Editor. All players in the game can be edited, and new ones can be created if you want to add either yourself or a hot rookie that the designers missed to your favorite roster. Creating a player from scratch can be a lot of fun, thanks to added bonuses such as EA 's new Face in the Game technology and the presence of really goofy options like afros and every type of facial hair known to (skateboarding) man. Take a look at the character I created above, complete with spray-painted afro, James Worthy-inspired goggles, and facial hair unseen in North America since the Mod Squad was the hottest show on TV. I wanted to create a whole roster of these freaks and send them into Franchise play courtesy of the Custom Team option, but homebrewed squads can only take part in Exhibition, Season, and Playoff modes. Well, perhaps the world is better off. And I can insinuate my weirdoes into various league teams as free agents. One of the coolest new touches is the addition of all-star teams from the NBA's five decades to the standard roster of all the current NBA teams and players. Take the likes of Julius Erving, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and, yes, even Michael Jordan into today's NBA, play a little one-on-one, or simply stage a "decade vs. decade" match to see which really featured the finest roundballers. The clubs are fairly complete, with one big exception: no Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. To a huge Laker fan, this is a major problem. Hopefully EA 's crack legal team will keep working to get his participation in next year's game. In the paint. On lower difficulty settings, gameplay is still rather simplistic. Rookie and Starter modes offer little challenge to even the most dexterity-challenged. Centers and star players dominate every match-up, and you can pretty much dunk at will with just a few minutes practice. Crank things up to All- Star or Superstar, however, and the situation changes considerably. At these levels, the game turns into real, competitive basketball. The difference between the latter two and the former is huge, sort of like that between the NBA All-Star Game and the final minutes of a playoff game. Defense is a main priority of the computer, and you have to work the ball around to have any chance of scoring, let alone actually winning a game. Using the tried and true Live strategy of simply driving the paint with a big man will typically result in a brick, blocked shot, or quickie turnover. Simplicity doesn't work. The down side to this is that you need to be particularly skilled with your gamepad to properly compete. Remember those crossover, fake, hand check, and face up buttons I mentioned earlier? Well, you need to master tham all now. Another big improvement is in fatigue ratings. While this function was essentially broken in last year's game, allowing the player to keep his starting five on the court for the full 48 if he so desired, such isn't the case any longer. Players get tired now, and substitutes have to be sent in. Bench strength means a lot here. Not having good sixth and seventh men can kill you if you're taking on a deep opponent. To me, this made the overall experience---particularly in Franchise play---much more realistic, as it related a good impression of the strengths and weaknesses of the real NBA rosters. Getting to see first-hand why the Lakers still aren't going anywhere without some serious dealing is a nice plus that shouldn't be underestimated. Speaking of Franchise mode, it's been completely overhauled this time out. Which is a good thing, because what passed for it in NBA Live 99 was ill-conceived and practically useless. You can now take the helm of your favorite team for 25 consecutive seasons, guiding your boys to either glory or a lottery pick. Bulls or Clippers, it's up to you. Well, it's not totally up to you. The PC is pretty astute in rating talent, so don't expect to be ripping off any rival clubs. Drafting is also a bit of a crapshoot, as can't miss top ten prospects sometimes do. All in all, everything is well done here, from the draft scouting reports of rookies through retirements. Yeah, jaw-dropping is an overdone phrase I'd rather not use, but my thesaurus can't come up with anything more appropriate here. Of course, there are a few flies in the ointment. The pace of the game is too fast. The PC always works the ball quickly, running up the court and generally going on eight cylinders at all times. I'd prefer this to the often glacial pace of the real NBA these days, too, but this is still a little much. Players can get vertical in a hurry, and in a big way, resulting in far too many blocked shots. This can lead to a lot of frustration when first playing on All-Star difficulty, as it seems like most of your shots are smacked back in your face. It also results in a fair number of goaltending calls. Running still feels rather uncomfortably like gliding. As happens every fall when I get back into an NBA Live title, I spent the first couple of games just trying to stay in-bounds. Fouls aren't as numerous as they should be, even when the Defensive Fouls slider bar is cranked all the way to the right. Worst of all, I've experienced a number of hard crashes in the later stages of games. There's no warning, just a sudden sound loop and everything freezes. Defragging my drive and upgrading to SB LiveWare 3.0 hasn't helped, so I still go into the closing minutes of each contest with my fingers crossed. Overall, while the gameplay succeeds in almost every way, it never approaches the sim-like atmosphere of Inside Drive . The fun is there, but the serious nature of Live 's main competition isn't. I'm sort of at a loss to explain why this is. Perhaps the excessive, TV-inspired glitz gets in the way somehow. Perhaps the accelerated pace and rather simple-minded offense hamper the illusion. As only a fairly casual basketball fan these days, I don't know. But Inside Drive seems grittier and more authentic to me, a depiction of basketball, where NBA Live 2000 is a depiction of the NBA. This doesn't seem like much, but it makes a huge difference in how each game plays out. The chocolate Milky Way. In terms of visual presentation, NBA Live 2000 is unmatched. Animations are excellent, with everything from vicious jams to simply walking the ball up-court coming off as authentic as a TNT broadcast. Players also simply look the part, with faces and expressions taken from real life. Instead of that spooky old eterna-grin that everyone used to wear, they now grimace, trash talk, and celebrate. Close-ups interspersed with the action help accentuate just how good this game looks. A great play might be rewarded with a TV-style zoom in on the scorer as he heads back down the court to concentrate on defense. Going to the line always features an up-tight shot of the shooter, complete with his stats for the day. Unfortunately, as impressive as these little touches undoubtedly are, they also slow the game down. Shooting a pair from the line takes an eternity, with the camera focusing in on the player before each shot. The extended pause before the PC shoots, or before the player is allowed to shoot, is also interminable. On higher difficulty settings with fouls cranked up to a realistic level, this problem falls just short of maddening. It really interrupts the flow of the game. Hopefully a patch will be issued to speed up or at least allow us to click through these frill animations. In-game audio doesn't keep up with the graphics. Play-by-play, provided by St. Louis, err, Vancouver Grizzlies broadcaster Don Poier, consists of nothing but bland monosyllables raving about what just took place on the court. Color man Reggie Theus says practically nothing at all, usually confining his similarly brief commentary to introducing the stats between quarters. He's so rarely heard during on-court action that I at first suspected that a bug was shutting him up. Considering he's promoted on the back of the box, it's hard to believe that he's supposed to be this quiet. At any rate, it's a long way from the fantastic commentary heard from Kevin Calabro and Marques Johnson in Inside Drive . As disappointing as this is, it's almost mitigated by the incredible soundtrack of tunes featured in the front end. While the most recognizable track is Naughty by Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray," there are a number of other real gems. The original "Shake'n the Floor" performed by Rahzel and the NBA Live Orchestra serves as a great warm-up during the opening video, and the addition of George Clinton's "Mothership Starship Connection (The Second Coming)," a great early 80s sequel to "Mothership Connection (Star Child)." As one of two white guys in Ontario addicted to Parliament, thank you. Hard to think of better people to contribute to a game's musical score than Clinton and Bootsy Collins. Swish. As much as I hate to admit it, I installed NBA Live 2000 with a lot of preconceptions weighing on my mind. After enduring the boring jam-fests of Live s 98 and 99, and having seen what could really be accomplished in a basketball game in Inside Drive this past summer, I didn't have my hopes up. After two weeks spent playing the actual game, though, I'm more than happy to admit that I was wrong. This is a very entertaining look at NBA basketball that provides accurate play both on and off the court. It's still tilted toward the arcade side of the table, but this is balanced with a sensibility that seems based in the real world for a change. While hardcore basketball nuts might still be left unimpressed by some of the concessions to excitement over simulation, most of us will be having too much fun too care about finer details. | | Download NBA Live 95. EA Sports is looking to clinch the Championship of basketball games, which is not that hard to do given the lack of decent hoops games for the PC. Only a few are currently available, some of the best actually being text based games as the various graphic attempts at the game have fallen short on almost every try. Now NBA Live '95 hits the scene, and it looks like the runaway favorite for the title of best basketball game on the PC. It promises true 5 on 5 play, an NBA license, authentic rules, SVGA graphics, digital sound, full motion video and tons more. So lets see how it delivers. Installation. The game comes on one CD-Rom, and requires at least 3 meg of hard drive space, and 15 meg for the recommended installation, which makes for smoother game play. The install program is very slick, with crisp SVGA screens giving a taste of things to come. It had no problems at all finding my sound card and identifying my type of video card, and it conveniently lets you test the sound and video before it saves the information. The whole thing took only minutes to install, and it works fine with my compressed hard disk, so no problems here. One thing though, you MUST have 8 meg of ram, and use a clean boot to get the needed amount of XMS memory (7,104k). If you have 8 meg and know how to manage your memory, as most gamers have had to learn, you'll have no problems. The Pre-Game Show. The game begins with a very nice full motion video of some nice plays made by real live NBA players, as well as all the NBA teams logos flashing by. The music here is first rate, as it is right through the entire game, more on this later. After the introduction (which is skipable) you'll find yourself at the main menu, where you can set-up what type of game to play, either an exhibition match, play games during a season or start up a new playoff series. The exhibition games are good for practice, or just a quick game, as they don't count towards league standings. The season play option lets you take over total control of a NBA team for a season, with all the excitement of the race for a playoff spot and the run to the finals. You have the option to play a full 82 game schedule or play shorter seasons of either 52 or 26 games, this will let you play every other team either two times or only once, respectively. Then there are the playoffs, this is the full 16 team playoff format used by the NBA, except that you can choose between playing a full 5-7-7-7 game format, or a quicker series like a 1-3-3-3 game option. While the default match-ups are the same as the real 93-94 playoffs, you can choose to play any team in the league, regardless of their 93/94 standings, and you can swap any team with any other team to create the same match-ups as the current '95 playoffs, or create any combination you can think up. You can even play the all-star game, as they have included last years all-star rosters, or make up your own dream teams using the four custom teams included, which you can fill with any of the players from any of the teams for your ultimate hoops fantasy match-up. There is the option to play in either simulation mode, where the players will get tired, the coaches have to make substitutions, the refs' will call penalties normally, and all the normal rules apply. Or there is the arcade mode, where the players can play all game without rest, and you can never foul out. You are also given the option of playing a custom game where you can pick only the rules you want, and turn the rest off, it even lets you adjust the frequency of fouls called. Then you pick your level of play, rookie, starter or all-star, starter level is a good challenge with the all-star level putting up the toughest fight, and the rookie mode being best suited for young children, as it is quite easy. There is also an options menu, here you can mix the sound, speech, music and crowd volumes to your liking, and also set the graphic options, like crowd animation's, normal or high-res mode, and turn on/off the slow motion dunks, which should be left on so you can fully appreciate the many spectacular jams and dunks. The Starting Line-up. The Team Office screen is where you get to be both the general manager and coach of your team. Here is where you can set your starting lineups for the game, make all the trades you want, and more. You can also view the team information page, which is a brief history of your respective team, with interesting information like its first year, scoring highlights, playoff history, and more. You can view and compare all the players in the league, and you can sort the players by one of 16 different stats kept for every player. Stats are kept for any current season you might be playing as well as the real 93-94 season, and you can switch between either of them any time you want to see how you are doing in comparison with the real player's statistics. Click on the name of a player and you'll get a digitized picture of him, with all his stats available for your browsing. The pictures are great, virtually a set of electronic basketball cards which are excellent in detail and information, and I find that this really puts a face to the players, not just a number. Making trades is as simple as selecting a player to trade from your team, picking the player you want, and pressing a button. There are no restrictions on the players you can trade, and the computer will never reject a trade, no matter how unfair it is. Taking Control. Setting up your controls is painless, as the game accepts input from joysticks, gamepads, keyboard and mouse control options. I prefer to play using a gamepad, but the mouse controls work well with a little practice, and any two button joystick will do nicely. The game can be played by up to four players at once, with each player picking which team he will play on. So everyone can play for one team and gang up on the computer, or you can mix it up any way you want, 2 on 2, 3 on 1, 2 on 1 and so on. The game only accepts two gamepads/joysticks though, with the mouse and keyboard being used by the third and fourth players. The game even keeps permanent records for each player in a user log, showing stats like shooting percent and free-throw attempts, so you can see how you have done over your playing career. The game uses two buttons for joysticks and gamepads, one for passing or switching players, and one for shooting or jumping, the mouse uses the left and right buttons and the keyboard is completely player configurable. Controlling the players is easy to get the hang of, as is shooting free-throws, with the game using a "T" shaped meter system, much like most football games use to make field goals. Simply press the shoot button when the ball is in the middle and you'll get nothing but net, hit it a little bit off and it might roll round the rim and out, or miss completely. All in all the feel of the controls is quite comfortable and easy to grasp. The Tip-Off. Next you'll hear the announcer telling you in what city the game will be played while a postcard-like picture of the home teams city is shown, then the starting players are shown for each team, with the whole effect being very much like a T.V. broadcast. As the game starts with the first tip-off of the ball, you can see the detail the artists have put into the graphics of both the players and the court. The player animation is excellent, with very smooth looking dribbling and shooting, players who get knocked down sometimes get up shaking their heads, they will wave their arms when open for a pass and much more. But the highlights of the player animation is in the variety of the shots the players try, from finger roll lay-ups, whirlwind jams and fade away jumpers to three point bombs, ally-oops and 360-reverse power slams to name just a few, complete with the occasional in- your-face taunting. The courts are also exceptionally well done, with each one almost an exact replica of the real building with the different types of flooring and background colors. The home team's logos are accurately placed and they even have people sitting by the baseline. When you play in Boston with its bright green paint scheme, you'll know you're in Boston! There is even the shadow of the basket and it's support on the floor, which helps you too see if you are in behind the net or not, as it can be hard to tell sometimes in the heat of the action. The crowds in the stands are also digitized and look very real, a nice touch. The players are fairly easy to identify, as they all have their appropriate hair and skin color, Horace Grant wears his goggles, and even Dennis Rodman has his own unique hair colors which change from game to game. Every player has his number on his jersey, and you can usually see it fairly clear, letting you get the ball to the right player when you need to. Adding to the T.V. broadcast feel of the game is the way the score and other interesting stats are displayed, with the score being flashed after a basket with the EA Sports logo in the corner. The overall look and feel of the game is excellent, with all ten of the players on the screen moving intelligently, trying to get open, blocking other players, moving to the double team when needed and basically playing a pretty good basketball game. The scrolling is very smooth in the regular view mode, but on my system it was a little jerky in the Hi-res full court view, but I believe that with a faster system this would be no problem, even as it is it's not that bad. I prefer the normal view though, as the full court mode makes the players a bit too small to see what they are doing clearly on a 14" monitor, although it is very crisp and clear and useful for seeing the whole court and for watching replays. Crank it Up! The sound effects are first rate all the way, turning the game into a true NBA game style experience, with the best crowd effects I have ever heard in any sports game. The crowd reacts to every play just like they should, with a monster slam by the home team being rewarded with thunderous applause, while a good play by the visitors brings on a series of oohs and ahhs, with the odd boo thrown in for good measure. The other sound effects are also given the same treatment, with the sound of the ball hitting the glass or rolling on the rim being standouts. You can hear the constant squeak of the players shoes on the court, the ball really sounds like a ball while bouncing, the ref's whistle is lifelike, and the players make the right sounds when they get hammered to the floor. The music is also of excellent quality with three different playback rates available, and it sounds great even at a medium setting on an 8 bit Sound Blaster Pro, 16 bit sound cards and the Gravis Ultrasound are also supported, which should sound even better. The music even kicks in during some pauses in the action just like a real NBA game, playing one of it's many different energetic and jazzy tracks to keep the you and the simulated crowd entertained. Late in the Game. The computer coach does a good job of calling the right plays and making the right substitutions when a player gets tired, and plays a pretty sound game. But you can take over the coach's job if you want to, and take control of almost every part of your team's game strategy. During the game you can use the pause screen to set the play style you want to use, there are seven offensive play sets, with between three and eight variations of each set for a total of 46 different plays, and four defensive play sets. You can also change the level of defensive pressure from low, medium and high, to try to create more steals, and also set how hard your players crash the boards in search of rebounds, or if they should get back on defense. You can even set up the match-ups for each player, and pick which of the other teams players you should double team. This gives you plenty of opportunity to try out different coaching strategies in any game situation. The computer controlled team does have some flaws though, the worst one being that when it gets down in the game by about 16-20 points, it will start launching nothing but three point attempts, even when there is a clear shot from in close it will pass out and try a three. This can be fixed by going to the pause screen and setting the computer team's strategy to something other than automatic, then, if and when it gets the score a little closer, you can set it back to automatic and it will continue normally. There is also a setting in the options menu to turn the computer assist on, which temporarily increases the skills of the team that is behind, allowing them to get back in it and make for a close game almost every time. Post Game Report. After every quarter you are shown a breakdown of the games stats, like shooting percentage, blocks, steals and more, with a comparison of hot players from each team at half-time and a player of the game award and the end of the game. At the end of the game if you are in the playoffs, you go to a playoff screen showing a playoff tree where you can track the teams all the way to the finals. In league play you can check out your division, conference or overall standings, and compare your players to the league leaders in one of 16 stats. League games that you don't want to play can be simulated instantly, with reasonable stats generated. The only problem I have with the stats is that if you play shorter games than the regular 12 minute quarters, your stats will be considerably less than the rest of the league because the computer simulates all it's games as full 48 minute games, instead of the same time you use. Other than that, the stats it generates are fairly realistic compared to the real league, with the different teams playing like they should in real life. Another nice feature is the instant replay playback, with easy to use VCR-like buttons with pause, slow motion and the ability to focus on any player or the ball, allowing you to see a great play over and over again. EA has done a good job of getting the license from the NBA to use the real team logos and almost all of the players for each team, with a few notable exceptions, such as Charles Barkley, David Robinson, and Jordan. But Jordan came back too late to make the roster, and I suspect that these very few other players not included are because of their own contractual reasons and not an oversight of EA. NBA Live 95 - Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. NBA Live 95 is the first of the NBA Live video games series. The cover featured an action shot of the 1994 NBA Finals. The game was published by EA Sports and released in October 1994. It introduced many elements of that would become standard in the series, including the isometric on-court perspective, the 'T-meter' for shooting free throws and the turbo button used to give players a temporary burst of speed. The game was re-released with NBA Live 06 as part of the EA Retro Series. Game Players gave the Super NES version of this video game its 'best sports game award' in their Super NES division on the January 1995 issue of their magazine. NBA Live 95 is followed by NBA Live 96. The SNES version of the game features the 1993-94 rosters while the Genesis version of the game feature 1994-95 rosters minus most of the year's rookie class. Each feature limited roster management functions. Only players in the starting lineup can be traded, and the lineup cannot be altered. Additionally, there is no Create-a-Player function or a Free Agent pool. The PC release featured updated rosters accurate as of the 1994-95 season's trade deadline and the rookie class of 1994. More details about this game can be found on Wikipedia.org . You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, you can buy one of these controllers: Download NBA Live 97. In reality, there are very few basketball games available which actually attempt to simulate the workings of the NBA. Sure, the action arcade style of games such as NBA Jam and NBA Hangtime capture the hype and excitement, but they lack the detail to be called a true simulation. For starters, 5 on 5 gameplay, coaching and playcalling options, and full NBA teams and rosters. Setup and Options. I found installation for Live '97 quick and painless in both DOS and Windows 95 versions included in the package. The game tips off in typical EA Sports fashion, with a high speed compilation of full motion video from recent NBA footage. All of the setting and configuration options are available from the main front end, game setup screen. There are a huge number of options and choices. While this is a simulation at heart, those looking for an arcade experience can adjust the settings accordingly. Similarly, 3 difficulty levels allow plenty of variety, the hardest of which is quite some challenge. One of the most interesting new additions is the inclusion of modem and network play. Multiplayer action has been supported in previous EA Sports titles through the use of multiple controllers, such as the Gravis GrIP system, but these expanded options are certainly welcome. 2 computers can be connected by either modem or network, with up to 4 players on each machine. It is a little disappointing that only 2 systems can be connected via network, but at least it's an improvement. The game is officially licensed by the NBA, and therefore contains all 29 current NBA franchises and over 300 players. Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley are predictably absent, although they can be easily drafted using the extensive player creation feature. Shaq, who was missing from Full Court Press , is included, which EA are very quick to point out (he is splashed all over the packaging). The amount of statistical information for teams and players is amazing. Live '97 is almost a basketball encyclopedia. Fans could spend hours simply scrolling through facts and figures, if the in game wasn't so good that is. In Game. EA Sports ' Virtual Stadium technology made it's first appearance in Live '96 , and was perhaps the greatest source of criticism for the game. While creating a true 3d stadium environment, the majority of the "revolutionary" new shifting camera views were completely unplayable. Most gamers settled on Classic Cam, which was the angle closest to the 45 degree side court perspective used in the 95 installment. Well, Virtual Stadium technology makes a predictable return in Live '97 , although it is to a certain extent refined. All of the camera views feel much more solid, and scrolling is both slower and smoother. There are still a number of unplayable angles, but on the positive side they can be used to great effect in the instant replay feature (and also to create some pretty pictures for packaging boxes too). All 29 franchise arenas are featured complete with authentic court surfaces and logos. No matter how good the stadium improvements, the greatest visual enhancement of Live '97 is the new polygon based player animations. EA have utilised the motion capture technology used in NHL '97 to create something truly spectacular. From running to passing, jumping and slamming, these things look frighteningly realistic. (And they should, considering Sacremento Kings stars Mitch Richmond and Tyus Edney were two of the motion capture subjects). The actual polygon surface texturing is very smooth and sharp, and movement is fluid and utterly believable. Hey, you can finally switch off those player identification tags, you'll be able to pick out your favourite players straight away. Aside from the obvious visual advantages, polygon animations in a basketball sim actually improve gameplay. Setting screens and running the pick n' roll are much easier with true 3d players.Now, I'm not sure that I need to say it, but yes, this game is strictly for those with high end machines. For a smooth frame rate at the highest resolution level treat the recommended configuration very seriously. Sound effects throughout are up to the usual NBA Live standard, which is realism. An interesting addition, however, is the inclusion of in game commentary, provided by basketball personality Ernie Johnson Jr. While the speech quality is very good, with few noticable breaks or pauses, it is in no way intrusive upon gameplay. Ernie is basically restricted to calling names, whether that be for baskets, assists, fouls or substitutions. Overall, a solid addition. Generally, gameplay in Live '97 is very similar to previous NBA Live titles. Some might consider it a disappointment that EA have opted to maintain their "2 button" control approach (one for pass/change and the other jump/shoot). Personally, I prefer simple controls in fast paced games. Perhaps a steal button could have been added. A few other complaints from previous versions are also still here. While players are rated for speed and jumping, they all seem to run and jump the same. 6 foot guards can and will leap up and block 7 foot 2 centers, which just ain't right. These are minor quibbles really. Live '97 does feature more extensive coaching and playcalling options with over 60 offensive plays and 10 defensive sets. Up to 4 plays can be preset and called during the game, using the function keys F1-F8. Unfortunately, 4 is not very many, and to make changes necessitates heading back to the pause menu screen (which is also required to make substitutions). This becomes irritating after a while, and ends up a deterrent in using the strategy options. For the main part the computer players do follow the patterns though, and the plays can be run quite effectively. That is providing you play your part of course. For the many gamers familiar with EA Sports titles who have skipped all previous sections of this review and jumped straight to this AI section, yes, your suspicions are correct. The AI in Live '97 , as in NHL '97 , fails to match the high presentation standards. To be fair, there are some nice new touches and enhancements. Teams do not substitute their top players at the end of a quarter, and if the ball is heading out of bounds off the opposition, your teammates will let it go. The major AI problem is the overuse and general dominance of players in the center position. After playing the game for some time, a clear pattern emerges in the computer run offense. The point guard feeds the ball into the center, standing close to the basket (known as "posting up"), who either puts up a shot himself, or moves around to draw in the defence before passing out to a teammate with a clear shot. I realise that there doesn't sound too much wrong with this, but the pattern repeats itself on almost every play. The result is some very unbalanced statistics. The better centers, perhaps in particular David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon, regularly score up to and over 50 points a game, and prove almost impossible to control, even with double or triple teaming. Point guards can also profit with up to 20 assists. The NBA Champion? Live '97 is clearly the best basketball sim currrently available. Stunning new graphics, sound and the usual solid gameplay make this one a winner. The only weakness I can see is in the form of a questionable AI, but the new expanded multiplayer options provide the opportunity to bypass this. As far a Live '96 is concerned, there are enough new features and enhancements here to warrant the upgrade. You won't be disappointed.