NBA Live 09 All-Play (Wii) Review

NBA Live 09 All Play for the Nintendo Wii is a definite improvement over the 2008 version, but still falls well short of being anything but a thoroughly average experience. The 2009 version features improved graphics and control and a wider variety of game modes, but still suffers from some fundamental technical and gameplay flaws that, in the end, make it a frustrating experience for casual and experienced gamers alike.

The 2009 version of NBA Live is the first to feature EA Sports’ new All Play branding. All Play gives casual and first-time players a vastly simplified control scheme and a much more user-friendly interface than the PS3/360 version. The simplified control scheme allows new players to be instantly competitive against more experienced players and the simplified interface makes it a far less intimidating experience for anyone unfamiliar with EA Sports typically cluttered and unintuitive interfaces. All Play is a simple concept that has greatly increased the accessibility of the 2009 range, but its appeal is somewhat limited to a select group of players.

More experienced players will most likely ignore the simplified controls and dive straight in to the regular control scheme. Thankfully, the substandard controls of the 2008 version have been updated, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 style IR passing being a welcome addition. The rest of the motion-based attacking controls have been tightened up considerably, but still fall well short of the responsiveness and accuracy which should be expected at this stage of the Wii’s lifecycle. The defensive controls are sadly just as frustratingly bad as the previous version and border on completely broken, making the player rely more on luck to force turn-overs or steal the ball.

The source of this poor control is the simple substitution of the Wiis motion controls for button presses. The fantastic implementation of motion controls in Pro Evo has proven beyond any doubt that the Wii can add a significant new dimension to sports games. All it took was a little out-of-the-box thinking instead of just trying to shoe-horn the motion controls into the pre-existing format. The team behind NBA Live 09 seems to have been willing to experiment a little with similar out-of-the-box thinking, but fell well short of the high standards of Konamis excellent football game. Instead of a bold, complete rethink of how a basketball game should be controlled, it seems that a timid, cautious approach was taken, only adopting a single proven idea from Pro Evos revolutionary approach.

Sadly, the gameplay too only gains a slight upgrade over the 2008 version. This years version is a little more balanced, but there are still a variety of integral flaws in the design of the attacking plays that can be too easily exploited. The defensive control problems compound this even further, turning the game into a bit of an offensive procession. A number of technical problems also hamper the quality of the title. The IR calibration is terrible, with the cursor appearing far to the right of where it should. There is also a significant section of the left hand side of the screen where the cursor will not register at all. Other technical problems include an overuse of cluttered menu screens and, typical for an EA Sports title, constant loading screens.

The number of game modes in the 2009 version has been increased, but the lack of a proper career mode, which is probably the most important mode for serious players, really hampers the fun and longevity of the game. There are a few party games, a multiplayer mode and a new 2-on-2 mode, but each is hampered by the poor gameplay and lacklustre controls. Other modes that would have been welcome, such as a create-a-player mode, seem to have been skipped.

While the graphics have been improved since the 2008 version, they are still below par and nowhere near what the Wii is capable of producing. Poor textures, bad animation, low polygon models and bland stadiums combine to make this one of the worst looking sports games on the system. With the massive success of the Wii and the huge sales potential of family-oriented sports games, it is a surprise that EA Sports have not invested at least a little time in getting the game to look better than it does. The audio is decent, but has seen hardly any improvement over the 2008 version. The commentators tend to repeat themselves quite a bit and generally sound a bit flat, but they certainly do the job. The soundtrack on the other hand is excellent, with a good selection of hip-hop and urban tracks that go hand-in-hand with the sport.

Without a proper career mode, the value-for-money takes a serious hit. The party games are not engaging enough to overcome the poor control and gameplay frustrations, and there is just not any reason to keep coming back to the game. There is an online mode, which uses EA’s own online system (no friend codes!), but it is extremely difficult to find anyone to play against. While hardcore basketball fans will love the accurate rosters, WNBA teams and ability to play as national teams, there are just not enough reasons to stick with NBA Live 09 All Play for very long.

While NBA Live 09 All Play is an improvement on last year’s game, the changes have been mainly cosmetic and have failed to fix the inherent flaws in the design. Until EA Sports decide to completely rethink their approach to controlling sports games on the Wii, the All Play versions are going to sadly be poor imitations of the PS3/360 games. Pro Evo and even Tiger Woods have proven that a revolutionary approach is necessary to really make the most of the Wii-Remote. Tacking on poorly thought out motion controls in place of button presses has not worked for any genre on the Wii and it doesn’t work for NBA Live. Maybe the addition of Wii Motion Plus controls will help improve the 2010 version, but until then, basketball fans should probably find a better way to satisfy their needs.