NBA Live 19
NBA Live 19 is a basketball simulation video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It features Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers as its cover athlete and was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 7, 2018. The game is the 22nd installment in the NBA Live series, and the follow-up to 2017's NBA Live 18. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised the improved gameplay and modes, but criticized the AI and animations.
Features
NBA Live 19 features Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers on the cover. Much like EA's Madden NFL 19, the game includes gameplay improvements, with the introduction of real-player motion and the expansion of one-on-one features. It also is the first basketball game to include the option to create a female player. In addition, NBA Live 19 received a new commentary team of New York Knicks radio play-by-play announcer Ed Cohen and ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams. Furthermore, new presentation elements debuted for this season. Cohen and Williams replaced Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy, who had voiced the NBA Live series since NBA Live 14. The career mode is also enhanced with streetballer Grayson "The Professor" Boucher and ESPN's First Take with co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman, among others, reacting to player performances.Career Mode – "The One"
The career mode includes online features as well as offline modes – known collectively as "The One" for both NBA and street games. Players can choose to create a male or female player, followed by choosing to play as a guard, wing or power forward/center. They then pick a play style, which determines two initial attributes that can be upgraded and three that can be unlocked for upgrades, and then pick an icon that corresponds to either a current NBA star or an NBA legend that determines a special ability and an extra attribute that can be upgraded as well as various boosts as the character gains experience. Moreover, three WNBA stars also have icons inspired by them. For example, if the player chooses to create a slashing guard, he or she can choose Beast Mode based on Russell Westbrook to increase dunking, The Answer based on Allen Iverson to increase steals or The Spark based on Candace Parker to increase shot blocking. The 25 icons and their associated players are as follows:| Play Style | Current NBA Icon | Classic NBA Icon | WNBA Icon |
| Guards | Guards | Guards | Guards |
| Backcourt Shooter | Chef Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors | Sniper Ray Allen, Milwaukee Bucks | none |
| Slasher | Beast Mode Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder | The Answer Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers | The Spark Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks |
| Backcourt Defender | The Wizard John Wall, Washington Wizards | The Glove Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics | none |
| Floor General | Point Gawd Chris Paul, Houston Rockets | Maestro Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks | none |
| Wings | Wings | Wings | Wings |
| Wing Shooter | The Reaper Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors | The Legend Larry Bird, Boston Celtics | Triple Threat Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics |
| Wing Scorer | The Assassin DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs | Vinsanity Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors | none |
| Wing Defender | The Claw Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors | Pip Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls | none |
| Playmaker | The King LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers | Magic Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers | none |
| Bigs | Bigs | Bigs | Bigs |
| Post Anchor | The Process Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers | The Dream Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets | The Phenom Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury |
| Rim Protector | The Evolution Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans | The Mountain Dikembe Mutombo, Denver Nuggets | none |
| Stretch Big | Big Kat Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves | The Marksman Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks | none |
Court Battles
Aside from Live Run and Live Events as live multiplayer, there is another mode named Court Battles. Each player can create and customize a home court and then both specify a rule set and a team to defend it. At the same time, the player tries to win games on opponents' home courts to take control of them. Unique rewards are available in this mode, including unlocking star players for Court Battles and the Streets World Tour. Each player may also use his or her created player from The One for away games in this mode as long as it meets the home court requirements set by the defending team.Soundtrack
On August 22, 2017, EA Sports announced the soundtrack for the game, which would feature 20 songs, including Migos, J.Cole, Logic, Injury Reserve and Lil Pump. The soundtrack was also made available for streaming on Spotify.Reception
NBA Live 19 received "mixed or average" reviews from critics on the PlayStation 4 and "generally favorable" reviews for the Xbox One, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Prior to its release, some reviewers questioned whether or not the game would be released due to the tepid reception and poor overall sales numbers of NBA Live 18.IGN gave the game 7.9/10, saying: "I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked playing NBA Live 19. The core basketball game and its various modes offer plenty of chances to have a fun basketball experience... NBA Live 19 is great at simulating basketball and has fun modes to shake things up, but its personality comes up a bit short." In its 7/10 review, GameSpot said, "NBA Live 19 is a capable and competent basketball game that offers a multitude of different ways to play and numerous reasons to keep coming back. Its impressive attention to detail complements the strong foundation set by its presentation and gameplay. However, the AI logic and animation problems are impossible to ignore given they're at the heart of the experience the entire game is based on."