NBA Live '98

I have always been a big fan of the NBA Live series by EA Sports, but 
could never really get into the game enough to play for very long.  
That has all changed with the newest incarnation.  Despite a few flaws, 
including one major bug, this game is NBA action at it's best.  On to 
the review.

Graphics

As everyone has heard, the Live '98 contains 3D polygon graphics with 
cybermodeled heads on the players. Although they are supposed to 
resemble their real life counterparts, I find that only a few of the 
players actually fit the bill.  Still an impressive sight when a close-
up instant replay is shown.  The in-game animation is smooth for the 
most part, but does slow down when using the new cross-over and between 
the legs dribbles.  These are nothing to brag about anyway, so I just 
don't so them very often. The new fadeaway and leaner shots are a nice 
addition and I find myself using them quite often, especially the 
leaners, since they tend to increase your chances of scoring in close.  
The uniforms are done nicely.  I haven't looked for third jerseys, but 
I hear that they are available.  The stadium graphics in this game are 
incredible.  No longer are the crowds just flat representations.  They 
move now and really enhance the atmosphere.  The courts themselves are 
highly realistic with a glossy look to them, including logos. Overall, 
the graphics are extremely well done.

Score: 9

Sound

The sound in Live '98, like it's predecessors, is well done.  You can 
choose to hear play by play from Verne Lundquist, or you can choose to 
hear only the arena announcer.  I don't think that the play by play 
detracts from the game, but if I hear "Kidd hits the short pop" one 
more time I think I'll scream. Seriously, Verne has a tendency to 
repeat himself quite a bit.  The arena announcer keeps the talking to a 
minimum, and some people will like this better.  The sounds on the 
court are also well done.  Once again, they don't detract from the 
game, and that's what's important.  I don't get into the music too 
much, but there are the usual NBA Live riffs.

Score: 8

Interface

The menu interface on Live '98 is somewhat different than earlier 
versions, and to me that's not really a good thing.  It used to be easy 
to move between screens and menus, whereas now, it's somewhat of a 
chore.  In season mode, this is especially true.  There are different 
menus for Season stats and Season news (i.e. slumps, injuries, etc.)  
This isn't a problem except that it take a while to remember where the 
different features are.  When I finish a game, I like to look at league 
leaders and daily news.  I find myself having to go back and forth 
between screens all the time.  There are a lot of new features such as 
Slumps/Hot streaks where it tells who is hot and not.  I saw that Kevin 
Johnson was warm before my last game, so I shot with him more and he 
did indeed seem to hit a lot of shots.  I guess it's just random, but 
Dennis Scott has been warm for about 6 or 7 games, so I'm not sure.  A 
really nice feature is the ability to see how Teams rank in different 
categories such as Points per game, rebounds, etc.  You can, as usual, 
see league leaders in most categories.  The Daily news section shows 
injuries, winning and losing streaks, etc.  As usual, you can create 
and trade players, free agents, etc.

Score: 8

Gameplay

Despite a couple of pretty severe bugs, the gameplay in Live '98 is 
very good and in Superstar mode (the only mode I've used so far) is 
quite realistic.  As usual, you can compete in an exhibition game, 
season, or playoffs, and this year a 3 point shootout has been added.  
How well you do in the shootout depends on the point at which you tap 
your shoot button.  It's fun for that occasional diversion.  As far as 
actual play, the previous Live incarnations were very easy to beat, 
even on the toughest level.  This year they have added a Superstar 
level, and I like it a lot.  Now, I find myself losing almost as much 
as I win (which is realistic since I'm using the Suns).  It may be my 
imagination, but it seems like there actually is a home court advantage 
in this game.  I was tearing it up after the first four games at home, 
but when I had my first road game, my shooting went south and I got 
beat.  I don't like games that are invincible or too easy, and this one 
is neither.  One thing that bothers me is that if you are ahead by a 
wide margin, even with the "keep scores close" option off, the computer 
seems to start making more three pointers and stealing the ball much 
more, as if it won't let you blow out the computer team.  Still, the 
realism is definitely there.  No longer do Centers totally dominate 
games.  In fact, shooting guards seem to have taken up that task, which 
is more realistic anyway.  Now, on to the bug that has everybody up in 
arms.  This game calls little to no fouls on the computer.  If one of 
the computer players is about to go out of bounds, you can bet that you 
will get called for a foul, but you can have one of your players thrown 
about 10 feet down the court, have the ball stolen, and have no foul 
called whatsoever. On average, at the end of the game, I have about 15 
fouls called on me and maybe 1 or 2 on the computer, if I'm lucky.  I 
go to the free throw line an average of once a game.  This is 
inexcusable, and how this got by testers, I have no idea.  That one bug 
ruins what could be an awesome experience.  Still, I seem to keep 
playing even with the bug.  That alone tells me that something about 
the gameplay is different.

Score: 9 (Would be a 10+ without the foul bug)

Overall Score: 8+

Despite a serious foul bug and somewhat clunky interface, this game 
delivers on EA's saying that "If it's in the game, it's in the game".