Last year’s NBA Live 09 was a huge step forward for EA’s efforts on the court. Previous incarnations of the game on next-gen consoles just didn’t capture the true feel of a real basketball game. The changes EA made to last year’s core game had me convinced the developers were on the right track, but Live 09 was far from perfect. Though I didn’t actually get my hands on this year’s version of the game, what EA did have to show those of us in attendance looked to be building on the foundation they started with last year.

Even though we weren’t treated to any new gameplay mechanics, the developers of NBA Live 10 did run through a few different scenarios to show off new animations, and discuss just how this year’s game was going to immerse players in the basketball life like no other game in the series had done before. The first thing brought to our attention was that all the player models have been redone from scratch. It was hard to tell just what has changed graphically without having a side-by-side comparison of NBA Live 09, but the game certainly didn’t look terrible. Like many of their sports titles, player modeling has never been the issue with the Live series, it’s been the gameplay. As we went from the menu into an actual game, much was made of the efforts to differentiate one arena from the next. All-new stadium sounds have been recorded from across the NBA to better lend authenticity to your team’s home court. The virtual crowd will also have numerous new props, and the atmosphere of the arena (lighting, pre-game, etc) will hopefully match that of the actual court more than it did in previous games.

Once the action on the court actually started, numerous animations and elements of the AI were pointed out. In an effort to eliminate unstoppable lay-ups or dunks, this year’s Live will not have any canned animations. Each and every move is part of a branching path that will hopefully lead to more realistic physicality on the court. Gamers who’ve played prior incarnations of the title know that there were some animations that, once started, led to many uncontestable shots or players getting caught out of position. In one of the demos we got a closer look at this new branching system in action when Chauncey Billups tried to drive past a defender. Billups was about to pass the defender, but was met at the last second; forcing him to pull back and change which hand he was controlling the ball with. We also got a look at a player driving into the paint, only to be stopped as he was about to shoot, forcing him to pull up early. While an animation similar to that may have been in last year’s game, it was nowhere near as smooth, or dynamic. Instead of relying on one “if/then” code, more inputs will factor into just where a player’s animation branch takes them, such as skill level and body size.

Our next demo was of a Finals game between the Lakers and the Magic. Playing as Orlando in LA, the devs took this time to point out the improvements to the off the ball AI. In previous incarnations, players not under your direct control would seemingly run around the court haphazardly. Unless you chose a specific play to run, or were playing with friends, it was difficult to run an offense or defense like a real NBA team. This year, EA is hoping that’s a different story. From what I got to see, which wasn’t more than a handful of plays, it seemed like the computer actually wanted to help you win. Players would flash to the post, scramble on the baseline, and jockey for position beneath the basket, and all of it seemed to spring from the particular player’s AI. Dynamic DNA will also make more of a difference this year, feeding into more statistics, such as a player’s court intelligence (my term, not theirs). They did explain that opponent AI would be more balanced, but from the short time I got to watch, it wasn’t clear just how much had changed, particularly since most of the demo was spent showing the new animations involved in the offense.

Perhaps the most interesting thing talked about, but not witnessed, are the ways in which EA is hoping to drive home the culture of hoops. There will be over 100 different types of storylines the commentary will touch on during the season. These storylines could range from how hot a player has been during recent games, or how an injured player’s presence is noticeable in the way the team has been playing since he got hurt. Early in the year, there won’t be as many topical situations for commentators to make note of, but as the year progresses and the playoffs begin, you can count on the game’s narrators to keep you up to date. There will be even more throwback jerseys, as well as special “event” jerseys (ie - Green Week), to compliment the more than 500 pairs of shoes players will be wearing in the game. As the season progresses, big name players that come out with new versions of their incredibly expensive kicks will have them uploaded into the game to hammer home the realism. In-game cut scenes have also been revamped to flow out of the events happening on the court, instead of being canned cinemas with different players. Though we didn’t get to see any examples, if the recent build of Madden 10 is any indication of how NBA Live’s stoppages will play out, fans will be in for a much more involved experience.

Though I wasn’t able to actually get my hands on the game to see just how it will play, what I did get to see at EA Canada was very promising. Last year’s game was a solid foundation to build upon, and with the strides taken in the animation and AI department, EA is closing the gap between Live and its competition. I’ll need to see more of the game before I sing its praises too much, but for now, you can be sure that EA is trying their hardest to make the best basketball game on the market. If all the new features work as seamlessly as EA hopes, NBA Live 10 just might convince naysayers that they can compete.