We all know the NBA 2K series has been king since Soulja Boy was cranking that and T Payne was abusing auto tune methods. NBA Live has been the butt of countless jokes ever since. They’ve had to watch as 2K took off once the new generation consoles came out (Xbox one and Playstation 4). But what happens when little brother gets tired of getting manhandled by a bigger bully?

   I was one of the people who would join in on roasting how trash NBA Live was. Let’s be honest, there have been some baaaaad NBA Live games. The graphics were never  up to par with 2K and the gameplay was sluggish and unrealistic. You can’t say that about NBA Live this year. I can definitely tell their camp has stepped their game up. By offering their demo for free, they’re giving NBA fans no reason not to check it out. Once you get in the game and start looking over the player models, it’s hard not to be impressed 

   The first thing I noticed was how accurate the body types and faces were. That was my biggest beef with 2K last year. Lebron’s face was cool but they made him have these tree stumps for legs (y’all know what I’m talking about). They did the same thing to Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan. It made me not want to run with the Clippers ever. It’s safe to say Live got player models 100% this year. Gameplay has also improved as the game flows and the movements are more realistic. The way the dribble moves are chained together is smooth and realistic (still not better than 2K) and the counter moves based on how you’re defended are impressive. The accuracy of the specific player crossovers, shots, dunks and lay ups is another strong effort from EA. As far as I’m concerned NBA Live matches up with 2K in that department. Durant’s shot in 2K17 did not look right. Neither did Kyrie or Lebron’s. You can always find YouTube videos on how to fix players signature shooting form in 2K17. That’s because they got so many players shooting forms dead wrong. NBA Live has made it so you won’t have to do much tweaking to make Durants shot actually look like Kevin Durant.

   Live even made their own version of MyPlayer with their “The Rise” game mode. In the demo mode you even see the crew from First Take debating about your player. They feature the ability to face scan and import your actual face on your player. Their scan isn’t as good as 2K and it’s obvious but it’s not terrible. Check out my ugly mug:One of my favorite things about their MyPlayer mode is the hairstyles. You can tell Live made an effort to get current hairstyles that suit black players. From fau hawks with designs and countless fades. 

EA also took the time to pay tribute to all the legendary parks around the country. You can play at courts like the Rucker and Venice Beach. They even added the Drew league just to add some authenticity to the game. Live sets itself apart from 2K with this feature and it’s refreshing to see them come with a fresh and new idea.

   Not to mention the soundtrack is 100 times better than 2K. It starts out with DNA By Kendrick Lamar as the intro and also features 2Chainz, NAV, Playboi Carti, Rick Ross and more. It’s a hip hop heavy playlist which is what I’ve always wanted 2K to do for so long. It’s like 2K hasn’t realized their target audience yet… 

   While I’m sure 2K18 is going to be ridiculous and raise the bar even more than last year I have to give props to EA Sports. NBA Live 18 is better than 2K17. That’s saying a lot. EA took all the faults of 2K17 and made them their strengths. I won’t ever put Live ahead of 2K because of the total package and the longevity of the franchise, but don’t call Live trash anymore. Hopefully EA doesn’t see comments like this anymore.