EA Sports has returned with NBA Live 09 for the Nintendo Wii. Last year’s edition was panned by most fans due in part to the game’s weak graphics, horrible gameplay and lack of modes. This year, they tried to give Wii owners a fun and varied experience, but it shows up with the same results.

Here’s our review.

Gameplay

This year’s key feature for all Wii EA Sports titles is ‘All Play’, which gives gamers an easier way to enjoy their favourite sports. Instead of having to worry about remembering all the controls, the computer takes control for you, leaving you to focus on the key motions to enjoy the game.

Live 09 has two main control schemes for gamers to play with. The first is using the remote and Nunchuk and the other is using the Wiimote in its classic controller position. With the latter, your controls are extremely simple; the 1 button acts as pass and change player while the 2 button does everything else. You can use the B button for sprinting, but the way it fits in your hand it’s actually quite uncomfortable to use. It’s fairly simple and outside of sprinting, works well for those who don’t want to play the game using the gesturing system.

The gesturing system, using the remote and Nunchuk, is done relatively well and is the preferred method of playing. If you decide use the All Play feature, all you have to worry about is motions for shooting and remembering to hit the A button to make a pass. This is good for younger gamers or those who want a quick play through. The advanced controls do have a lot more depth to them and should be the preferred method of playing for the true EA experience.

Last year’s NBA title had very few game modes. You only got the basic options with no franchise and only two party games that grew old fairly quickly. This year, there are more options available but they still do not offer enough to keep gamers interested long enough. The main menu contains three main options: Play Now, Game Modes and NBA Live 09 Party. ‘Play Now’ is pretty self explanatory and it will only take you a few moments before you are on the court. There are six options in the Game Modes, but none really stand out. The game only contains a Single Season mode rather than Dynasty that has been around for ages on every other system. The only interesting mode here is the SuperStar Challenge, which has you taking part in 24 different situations where you need to help your team win and at the same time have a certain player end the game with specific stats achieved. If you bother to play anything here, this would be the only mode with any long-term interest.

The last mode, Party has expanded since last year. In Live 08, you only had 3-Point Competition and Slam Dunk. This year, on top of those two you get two more with 2on2 and 21, both of which are boring. Outside of the 3-Point Competition, none offer any real enjoyment or long term play. The Slam Dunk competition, which has you using gestures to simulate dunks just looks ugly, is not that much fun and you only get one chance really impressing the crowd. If you’re expecting it to simulate the entertainment of the real event, you will be greatly disappointed.

As for the action on the court, once you actually start playing, the gameplay is still as weak as it was last year.  Regardless of the level setting you will dominate the game from start to finish. Your team’s shooting percentage is unrealistically high, the computer makes simple mistakes and it does not have a true basketball feel. EA Sports has stated that they improved the on-court performance, but those who played last year’s edition will not notice much of a change.

Graphics and Sound

There must be a lack of development resources at EA Sports because I have not played an uglier looking sports game in a very long time. Players have poor textures, move funny, and while they do have similarities to their real-life counterparts, you won’t be impressed by them. Even the courts, both indoor and outdoor, that you will play on look extremely ordinary. It’s really disappointing since it gives off the impression that they either just poorly ported the PS2 engine or rushed the game to stores without bothering to check how the game looks and runs.

With ugly graphics, the sound at least gets to be the more popular of the two, but only by default. While Marv Albert and Steve Kerr have been synonymous with the NBA Live series for quite some time, it seems like no real effort was put into giving this title any competent play-by-play. The two repeat themselves very often and it seems like they only recorded a few lines of dialogue. I can’t tell you how many times in a single game I heard Marv respond to a play with ‘flamboyant’. From now on, every time I hear that word I will cringe. The only saving grace to the sound is the relatively good soundtrack, which fits perfectly for a basketball title but doesn’t do enough to save this game.

Value

Without a really in-depth franchise mode, I doubt you will see much longevity with All Play. The Party features are extremely limited and don’t really give you enough prolonged enjoyment. Four people can play together in all the party games and stats are kept track, but it’s highly unlikely you will spend enough time for this to be a factor. As stated before, only the SuperStar Challenge will give you any prolonged use with the Live 09.

Conclusion

Across the board, NBA Live 09 All Play is a poor game that will disappoint any Wii Basketball fans. I will give them credit on using the Wii remote some-what effectively, even with the poor use of it for free throws, but it just does not offer enough value for basketball fans to want to spend money. I think they should have maybe held off this year’s edition and worked harder in giving us a better product next year. If you are a basketball and you own the Wii, I would suggest not spending money on this brick.