Next up in the NBA Academy are the quickstrike and lockdown drills. I didn't find these to be as enjoyable as the others. One thing is that the game really isn't explaining what to do for quickstrike other than knowing the basics of using the right analog. With the lockdown defensive drill it contributes to learning how you can learn to keep a body on your man and direct him where he doesn't want to go. The problem is that the drill begins so suddenly that if you aren't paying complete atten...

As I've mentioned in the postings for the previous two games this is the one where I felt things started to come together. There is a little bit of everything in this game and I started to reach a comfort level with the offensive features as well as how to improve defensively. Just wanted to note again that the game ships with the generic Oklahoma City but the logo, colors, uniforms, and court will be patched in or offered as free downloadable content by next Tuesday. Continue on to vi...

While I continue to hold back on most of my general impressions it is evident the more I play the more I improve and get comfortable with Live 09. The first game was rough at times but things started to click in this game especially in the third quarter. Leading into the next full game you'll be able to see my continued progression with Pick and Roll control, calling plays, and playing defense. Gambling on defense is punished pretty severely as the CPU rarely misses an open shot. Continu...

Previously in part one I put up videos of the Fast Break and Pick and Roll Control drills from the NBA Academy in NBA Live 09. The next four to showcase are Offensive Rebounding, Defensive Rebounding, Low Post Offense, and Low Post Defense. Just from a snap judgment I didn't find these four to be quite as valuable as the previous four, though that could vary depending on the individual or skill level involved. I did learn some though, especially from the rebounding drills on how to box ou...

This is the first full game I played of NBA Live 09. As such you'll notice how much I struggle especially on the offensive end. It isn't until the third quarter of the second game I played that I started to get into a flow offensively. You'll witness that in the next set of videos which will be Warriors @ Clippers and then especially in the one after that which is Thunder @ Hornets where it all started to come together for me. I suspect that most people will find there is a curve to learn...

I've believed for a long time that a Superstar type mode was best suited for a basketball game. This year we have that in NBA Live 09 with the introduction of Be A Pro. The mode, which has been a huge success in games such as NHL and FIFA, is not nearly as fleshed out here. Actually it would be difficult to describe it as a mode. It is just a one game experience taking over an existing player. Really it is probably best used as practice for Online Team Play. A few notes to pass along on B...

One of the most intriguing additions to NBA Live 09 is the NBA Academy. While this hasn't gotten much fanfare after going through some of it at the community event I believed many people would find it to be extremely valuable. One thing that hasn't been done is producing a full list of drills and showing how they are run so that is what I plan to do over the next few days. The following drills are available in the NBA Academy: Fast Break Offense, Fast Break Defense, Pick and Roll Control ...