NBA Live 10 for iPhone / iPod Touch: Video Game Review

Everyone has heard of the NBA. More than likely, many people like the sport. Even more still, many people probably own the games. Usually, NBA Sports games come in two popular assortments - The NBA "2K" series (NBA 2K8, 2K9, etc. ) and the more widely know, NBA Live. NBA Live has entertained and satisfied many customers around the globe with games on all platforms - well, all platforms except 1 - until now. NBA Live is now available on the App Store for sale on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Graphics & Audio

The graphics for NBA Live is actually relatively amazing. EA has already published several other games for the iPhone, and they have all been published with amazing graphics. Of course, it's now going to look like something you're playing on an XBOX 360 or something, but for a mobile device such as an iPhone, you can't hope for something so high. I myself have been delighted by another outstanding job by EA, but one thing that disappointed me was the fact that even though the graphics are great, they are not as great as Madden 10. As many of you know, Madden 10 was released earlier this year on the App Store, and had amazing graphics. Not too great, but not disappointing either.

The audio is actually outstanding. You can get great quality sound from an iPhone or an iPod Touch while playing this game, mainly because that's what they're made for!! But more desirable than the quality of the music, are the tracks. EA chose many tracks from popular artists including Matt and Kim, Snoop Dog, and Xzibit.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to the actual games. If anything, they are almost exactly the same! They offer the same modes, the same teams, the same rankings, the same rosters! The only thing different is how you control the players in defense and offense (well, if you think about it, DUH!!). To move, you touch your finger down on the screen and move it left, right, up, or down to go left, right, up, or down, respectively. This is a very "calming" feature for many of us who kept touching the wrong area of the screen to move in Madden 10. To shoot you tap the shoot button, and to dunk you hold it down when you get close to the basket. You can even trick dunk, fake shoot. To pass, you click the pass button to shoot to the nearest player, or hold it down to choose exactly who to choose to. With the pass button, you have the versatility to handle the ball and do tricks. Very simple controls, and very easy to play.

The only problem that I have encountered is that sometimes the game gets too "cluttered". It might get a little difficult to realize what is actually going on, but for most of the time, you should be fine.

Creativity

EA has done a great job with creating this game, and it is very entertaining. It gives you a nice feel of the game and it runs smoothly. Again, it's very similar to its more expensive counterparts.

One thing that really popped out at me was the free-throw shooting. When you shoot a free throw, you have to hold up your device, tilt it back like you're bringing the ball back in real life, and then quickly tilt forward again to shoot. I enjoyed shooting and it's not very difficult to make a basket either. Good job EA.

Overall, I loved this game. It is worth getting, and it will keep you occupied for days to come.