Input lag seemed to feature heavily in this game, and although it looks great, when you can't control the ball in even the simple ways, you find yourself getting frustrated. I haven't tried it since, so it may have been patched, but when I played it, the input lag was immensely terrible.

It's a tall order taking on the already-established basketball franchise of NBA 2K, but EA has its sights set on making a name for itself with NBA Live. The uphill battle has been fought for a few years now since its return, but the response to it has been mediocre at best.

NBA Live 16 is an improved game from last year's offering. But while shooting, passing, and dribbling all feel a bit tighter this year, the changes are too minor to push the total package beyond mediocrity.

Jumpers off the dribble look and feel better; Online Pro-Am and Summer Circuit modes are new and interesting

Complex plays lead to bizarre defensive breakdowns and poor spacing; Rising Star mode is mundane; Setting screens and making long shots is just too easy

This game will show how in the future,, NBA live will be a great game. The graphics are improving, the avatars have a realistic feel and appearance, there's a few bugs that need to worked out. But the I find this game as well as the previous year is shoeing improvement.

NBA Live 16 is another step in the right direction but it still feels far from the polish it needs to have to compete in this space. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done before the game finds its footing.

Like a general manager clinging to the "tremendous upside potential" of a draft reach, EA Sports has patiently given the NBA Live series ample time for development since its revival. Three years into this reclamation project, the franchise has slowly and steadily taken strides to shore up its game.

NBA Live 16 had me thinking that Live would be back competing with 2k. While it isn't that good, Live 16 provides an overall better experience than its two previous counterparts, with great visuals and great presentation, along with Ultimate Team, which is leaps and bounds better than 2k's MyTeam.

From the starting five on down to the bench and the coaches, everyone has a job to do. It takes a team to win a championship; without cohesiveness, nothing works and things become stagnant. It takes patience, communication, execution, and practice to construct the winning formula.

Live Pro-Am; Accessible menu interface; Progressive Rising Star mode

Simple in style; upsetting step back from last year; Progressive Rising Star mode; Tags

Big on Offensive, Fails on Defense

There was a time when NBA Live was a dominant sports franchise, even rivaling the popularity and quality of EA's other blockbuster IP, Madden . However, the series has inexplicably fallen off the map in the past five years. There