Publisher:
EA Sports
Developer:
EA Tiburon
Platforms:
PS4, Xbox One
Genre:Sports
Release Date:September 7, 2018
NBA Live 19 is a basketball sports simulation title developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It is the twenty second instalment in EA’s annual NBA Live series, and the fifth since they rebooted it in 2013 with NBA Live 14 after a three year hiatus.
Development
EA Sports announced that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers would be the cover athlete for NBA Live 19. Changes and additions were also made to presentation elements, the most notable of which was a change to the in-game commentary team. The previous duo of commentators of Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen was replaced by the new duo of Ed Cohen and Jay Williams. EA Sports also announced that the game’s soundtrack would include twenty licensed songs, from artists such as J.Cole, Logic, Lil Pump, Migos, and Injury Reserve. NBA Live 19’s soundtrack was also made available on Spotify.
Gameplay
NBA Live 19 features several improvements to the moment to moment gameplay on the court. Among these improvements is the addition of the Real Play Motions system, to improve upon the movement, collisions, and animations of players on the court, similar to improvements made in the area in other EA Sports titles, such as Madden NFL 19 and FIFA 19 as well. At the same time, EA Sports also made improvements to one on one moments during matches. Another major addition is the option to be able to create female players from the WNBA.
Several modes are also included in NBA Live 19, of which some are new additions as well. One of the new additions is the Court Battle mode, which is a tower defence mode of sorts. Court Battle allows players to create and customize their own basketball courts, with customization options ranging from things such as the colour and look of the court floors to the patterns on the hoops. Players then set custom rules for these courts, with an example of this being only dunks earning players points (or earning more points), and assign players to defend their courts as per the rules. Players then take their teams to defeat other players’ courts. Successfully defending or defeating other courts yields more in-game currency and CP, and also unlocks new players, kits, court customization options, and more.
Returning modes include The One, NBA Live’s campaign experience. The One sees players progressing through their career, building up progress in either skill or reputation or both through playing on the streets or playing in NBA matches. The mode includes unlockables, as well as skill trees for players to progress through, and also offers player choices. Skills include things such as passing, rebounding, and dribbling, among others. Players progress by earning either XP or by enhancing their reputation (which, in the mode, is denoted as “hype”). The latter is portrayed through things such as in-game social media, such as clips of players’ exploits during game circulating online, or fans coming up to talk to players after matches, or personalities on ESPN discussing your players’ progress and exploits. The One mode features matches in various locations, including the likes of Quai 54 in Paris, Tenement Square in the Philippines, and Parque De Rio in Brazil.
Ultimate Team, a staple of most EA Sports titles, also returns in NBA Live 19. Ultimate Team features microtransactions. Card packs can only be bought in multiple of 100 points, which can either be earned by playing the game, or by real world purchases, but points can be bought in multiples of 150 only. Franchise Mode also returns, with improvements being made to things such as contract negotiations, with the inclusion of Bird Rights, and pre-draft previews. Franchise Mode, however, lacks online fumnctionality. NBA Live 19 also has a training mode where players can practice their skills and moves. NBA Live 19 also has a character creator, which allows players to create and customize both male and female players. Matches in NBA Live 19 also feature a revamped grading system, which rewards players for successful actions and skills. The cap of the grading system is no longer at 100.
There are also co-op and online options in NBA Live 19 with added head to head modes. Co-op challenges include street court games in 3v3 or 5v5 matches. Completing these challenges contributes to the larger progression within NBA Live 19, while extra customization options are also unlocked.
Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.