The NBA Live series was once the dominant basketball franchise back in the 16-bit days.  But for years now it has been overshadowed by 2K Sports’ NBA 2K series.  Each year Electronic Arts makes new promises, and each year they’re still a few steps behind.

This new gameplay video accentuates many of the series’ flaws.  Most notable is the animation, thanks to the slow-motion speed of the video.  While the animation is serviceable, it still feels like a PS2/Xbox game, and not a current-gen title.  Along the same lines, check out the crowd in the background of some shots.  They look not only fake, but horribly animated.  Sure, crowd graphics are hardly a focus in a sports title, but for a sport like basketball where you are mere feet from the crowd, a bad crowd can be very distracting.

Oh well EA Sports, there’s always next year.