A look back at NBA Live 96
by Matthew Damian

NBA Live 96: "Back-to-Back Champion"

The return of the first NBA Lives…NBA Live 96 had some competition this time around with Total NBA 96, but I think it's safe to say that EA left it in its dust. NBA Live 96 brought in Virtual Stadium technology for the first time, and with it changed the whole atmosphere forever. There felt like there was a buzz to this game when you played it. But EA also improved the graphic models of the players. Of course there are no cyberfaces in 96 but from the court to the arena to the fans to the scorers table at courtside, NBA Live 96 was an upgrade.

When you first load up NBA Live 96, you will notice that all the formats from NBA Live 95 have returned. There is of course Exhibition, Season and Playoff mode, along with the basic levels of difficulty (Rookie, Starter and All-star). Season mode is the heart of the game, allowing the user to play 82 games and ride into the playoffs. Unfortunately, you can trade for whoever you want. This can be good or bad, depending on your own self control. As you play through the season, you will notice all stats are fully tracked and the season standings have a nice backdrop of the North American map. The All-Star Game is played in San Antonio with correct court logos and uniforms. As the trade deadline approaches, there is a notification that you will not be able to make any trades after the deadline.

The PC version featured a brand new animated Playbook

The playoff seedings are all correct, and division winners are either the 1st or 2nd seed, even if a division winner doesn't hold the second best record in the conference. As the playoffs start, you are given the option of which playoff format you would like: 1-3-3-3, 3-5-5-5, and 5-7-7-7. During the playoffs your main screen is the playoff tree. During the games you will notice nice features such as the Playoffs and Finals logos on the courtside table.

Basically, NBA Live 96 was ahead of its time with the extras with plenty of small things that make a game truly enjoyable and a classic. But the gameplay wasn't quite up to the standard of the rest of the game. The player movement wasn't as good as it could have been, and a lot of the time it felt like the players were on ice skates, and were difficult to control as they didn't change direction quickly. The non-calling of pushing remained. If your player does get pushed and no foul is called, he will fly 10 feet across the court and be out of the play for a few seconds, leaving your defense at a disadvantage. The camera is also fairly slow off turnovers and takes a second to recover and get the ball in the picture.

Some folks felt that NBA Live 96 was not a big enough improvement

However, not all the gameplay is bad. The fact that more realistic strategy was implemented is a major plus for NBA Live 96. The AI, when not pushing your player 20 feet into the stands, also uses logical strategy when defending you. If your star player gets on a tear and scores 10 straight points, you can expect a double team.

The roster options for NBA Live 96 were improved with the addition of Create-A-Player and inactive rosters. Create-A-Player offers users the opportunity to create either themselves or past legends and play as them. It was such a popular feature that every NBA Live since has made use of it. The inactive roster is great for season mode as it allowed players to take injured players out of the active roster.

NBA Live 96 also improvised and included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Magic as "Roster Players" with different numbers. Their appearance resembled their real life counterparts and their ratings are also very similar to the real life versions:

Ratings	Jordan	Barkley	Magic
Field Goals	96	88	86
3 Point	78	76	75
Free Throw	85	75	72
Dunk	98	90	72
Off. Rebound	79	91	80
Def. Rebound	84	93	85
Blocking	80	71	73
Stealing	95	70	84
Off. Awareness	94	88	97
Def. Awareness	93	81	94
Speed	94	83	80
Quickness	92	84	81
Jumping	98	89	72
Dribbling	91	78	94
Strength	81	91	80

NBA Live 96 was the critical "next step" in the NBA Live series after an impressive first edition. It showed improvement in every area of the game and especially in the presentation and graphics, but the gameplay was not as greatly improved. The foundation had been set for the longest running and most successful basketball game franchise in the history of video games.

Did you know?

• NBA Live 96 was the first game in the NBA Live series to have the option of multiple camera angles.
• As mentioned earlier Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were all absent from the game but were replaced by "identical" roster players. (Note: Console versions only)
• The Super Nintendo version of the game allowed you to automatically create missing players and legends simply by entering their names in Create-a-Player.
• NBA Live 96 also introduced dynamic playcalling for the first time in the series. Every NBA Live since would boast this feature.