Just got the game and have played a couple of hours. As you might 
expect, the game is another mixed bag from EA.
 
  The presentation is nice; sound is great (dolby stereo), the graphics
 above average. All of the arenas are included and look very nice. Stat
 tracking is included for teams and players. Roster management is very
 well done and easy. After you make roster changes you can go into each
 teams' roster and determine who starts. Very nice. You can trade any
 player on your roster for any other player in the league. Season play
 is included and is well implemented. There is also a playoff mode and
 (of course) exhibition play.
  There are tons of options and ways you can configure the game. Anyone
 who played the earlier NBA Live games will know what to expect. You can
 adjust the foul calling frquency (offensive and defensive), turn on or
 off the shot clock, out-of-bounds rules, backcourt violations, etc. Like
 NBA Jam, there is an option you can turn on to keep the score from
 getting out of hand; the computer makes it easier to play catch-up ball.
 EA score big here.
 
  Gameplay is about like the PC version; players feel as though they are
 sliding across the floor a bit, but it is not too bad. There are the
 requisite spectacular dunks, along with "deke" moves while dribbling and
 tip-ins (very nice). There are also give-and-go's, and you can even let
 the computer control the player with ball, with you having the option of
 telling him to pass or shoot. So far, so good.
 
  So what is the problem? As in most of the new EA Sports games (for the
 PC especially), it is this "Virtual Stadium" crap. The camera moves
 around a bit too much, though not nearly as radically as the PC version.
 No, the biggest problem are the camera angles themselves. There are MANY
 different views to choose from, and as far as I can tell, they all suck
 (some more than others, of course). The problem is a very simple one;
 you are always too far away from the action. The players are too small,
 everything gets way too hard to see as the players gather around the
 basket. For this reason alone, I may be returning this game. I've tried
 all of the different angles and none suffice. Maybe I will get used to
 them, but right now I doubt it. It's a shame; this is otherwise a very
 nice game and would be a definite keeper (even with NBA Shootout due
 out soon. I had planned on getting both. Now it's just a matter of do I
 keep NBA Live '96 or not).
 
  One other note; I've seen lots of questions about players (Jordan,
 Barkley, etc) being in the game or not and whether or not their is a
 "create player" option like in the PC version. Well, I don't know.
 There is nothing in the manual about it, and I have nt been able to
 figure out any way to do it. BUT, there is an empty free-agent team
 roster, just like in the PC version. In that game, you created players
 and they went on to the free agent roster. Then you could trade for them
 or, if you had a roster opening, trade them for the open slot. So if
 there is no "create player" feature, why the hell is there a free agent
 roster? Beats me. And there is nothing in the manual that I saw about
 the free agent roster and what it is for. Strange. If anyone figures 
 this out, PLEASE drop me an e-mail note.

After a few more hours of play, I have some more tidbits:
 
1.It seems the best camera angle is Press Cam II. While far from 
perfect,it's not bad, especially given lots of practice. The other camera 
angles still disappoint.
 
2.I forgot to mention that there are tons of set plays (like "motion" or 
"high post") and quick plays (like "pick and roll" and "backdoor"). These
add tremendously to the gameplay. There are also set and quick plays for
defense (full-court press, quarter-court, etc).

3.Best of all, you can intentionally foul. YES!!! If you are down and
need to stop the clock, you can foul an opponent and make him go to the
free throw line. This is a fantastic feature, at least in theory; I have
yet to try it.  :)
 
4.You can also set defensive pressure to be high, medium or low. High
creates turnovers but risks more fouls.
 
5.You can have your team "crash the boards." This makes your players
more agressive on the glass, but again risks more fouls.
 
6.You can set your substitutions to auto, so you don't have to keep going
in and subbing your fatigued players. Be warned, however; the computer
subs sparingly and your guards wear out long before they are subbed.

7.One bad thing; season stats are accumulated BUT you don't get to see
your players points-per-game! Instead you get total points scored for the
season. What the hell was EA thinking here? You DO get points-per-game in
the league-leaders stats, but only the top-ten players are shown.
Bizarre.
 
After playing the game some longer, I will probably keep it!

-- 

 Jim S.