NBA Live 09 (Xbox 360)

Nba 09 was the last nba live game i played in that series as i moved over to the 2k franchise again in 2011. I found nba 09 still a great game at the time as the gameplay still had an authentic feel to make you feel in the game.

The game had the usual dynasty modes where you can guide your team through the 82 game of the season or select a shorterned season if you prefer still while having the option to sim or play the game yourself. The option to jump in the game is there if you sim so if your down by two in the fourth quarter and have possession with 3 seconds left you can jump in and try and knock down a game winning three.

There is a xbox live update you can get throughout the season where players stats and hot and cold streaks get updated so if kobes has a run of bad shooting games his stats will reflect that in the game.

One new feauture was the be a pro mode where you select one player and guide them through the games being rated on effectiveness in the games by rebounding,steals,blocks,points scored and guarding effectively along with good position on offense but i personally thingg the dynasty mode is the best.

The typical all star game format was there again along with teams form fiba so you can pit the germans against the usa if you want although personaaly i always preferred the decade teams and having russell and wilt going against magic and bird in a 60's vs 80's which i mentioned in my 2k 11 review but cannot stress enough they should bring that back.

The other modes are the usual practice and the all star regular slamdunk and 3point contest that was a in areana event compared to 2k11 streetball style.

I found the game became particular easy due to the shooting style as each player had their own sweet spot to shoot from which when you run the right offensive play and get dwyane wade isolated in the corner it was an easy 3 points plus you could always position your point gaurd near the top of the 3point line and that would force the defender gaurding wade to sag off allowing you to re run the same play many times. The other way to score easilly is just a siple pump fake and attack the basket when the defender jumps which sadly is quite often.

The usual marv albert comentary along with steve kerr does a good job to keep the play by play info coming at you just like on tv with player stats pooing up at free throws while the crowd also respond to the games well at big blocks and threes at home the roars come loudest in the 4th quarter. The fans chant mvp when your at the line late in the game reflecting your mvp ratings from the during the season is a nice touch.

Overall its an old game now but if you want to have a a game on your own or with a mate at home or even 5-5 over xbox live ( i never played online so cant comment) its not bad for a few quid.