NBA Live 18

NBA Live 18 has the main merit of overcoming the predecessor both in gameplay and controls, but it still lacks something to make it a top level title.

The extra year of development and the implementation of Frostbite has help this leap foward that NBA Live fans long await. There's still some things to be improved, but it's a very amusing game for all fans and it captures the essence of NBA.

The sabbatical that EA gave its basketball franchise was a year well spent. In certain aspects like presentation and fluidity on the court it still is inferior to Visual Concepts’ 2K series, but overall it is a big step forward in almost every area. I found myself spending a lot of time in NBA Live trying to become The One.

Live 19 still has some gameplay and AI issues to fix, but it is an interesting options for those who want a more arcade approach to basketball games.

Whilst it may not be the complete package, it does a lot right and has a new and sturdy foundation to build the future of the series on.

NBA Live 18 is intended as an alternative for those looking for greater immediacy in basketball simulations. Offering practical aids and solutions, even at the expense of realism, the title achieves a very entertaining gaming system.

EA shows it has taken the right path for its hoops series, with a captivating story mode and good game modes. There's still much work to do, especially in the franchise mode, but it's definitely a good comeback for the series.

NBA Live 18 has improved in almost every way over its predecessor, making a strong case for its continued existence. However, a lackluster franchise and a sense of been-there-done-that with that other basketball series puts Live 18 one step behind the competition.

EA have a vested interest in seeing the NBA Live franchise land at the top of the basketball simulation sub-genre. While this year's iteration doesn’t quite get there, they’ve made a big enough leap for people to take notice, especially given the much lower price point than NBA 2K18.

NBA Live 18 isn’t an opponent of NBA 2k18 but a more than worthy alternative for the casual players or for those who want a more arcade-ish gameplay. The game is a step forward from the last entrances of the series; EA has to keep working hard.

NBA Live 18 is a welcome return for EA's basketball series, but doesn't come close to matching the greatness of NBA 2K11 or 2K16.

NBA Live 18 still doesn’t match or best NBA 2K18’s deep feature set, but this year does show progress. The stable online matches, interesting career mode concept, and adequate if arcadey gameplay all point to a more promising future for EA’s most struggling sports franchise.

NBA Live 18 is closer to being a really good game than many would have anticipated, even after a year off for the series. It offers refreshingly simplified and genuinely fun gameplay with an excellent career mode. Deficiencies in other areas of the game hamper its appeal as a total package, making it difficult to recommend as more than an alternative to its competition, but it's still important to recognize this may finally be the turnaround year that NBA Live has been seeking since the current console generation began.

NBA Live 18 has a lower price point than most major sports video games, and that's a good thing because it simply doesn't offer all of the features that other sports titles do. There are some promising base features in place from a gameplay, conceptual and presentation standpoint, but it's still not where it needs to be.