For this year’s edition of NBA Live, EA has thoughtfully added a new shooting feature that uses two face buttons: one handles lay-ups, the other slam-dunks. This two-button configuration is a little awkward at first, but it’s a snap to pick up. And thanks to the AI’s better shot blocking, ball stealing and smarter defensive strategies, you’ll have to practice your offensive plays and moves if you want to be a winner in Live 2004.

NBA Live 2004 features an impressive list of game modes; including all the usual game types such as one on one, single season and playoff modes. And for those of you looking for something with more depth, you’re in luck as EA has included a few new options to the dynasty mode. While playing through the dynasty mode, players are given several responsibilities to tend to other than just trying to win enough games to get to the championship. You now have to negotiate contracts, trade players, recruit rookies, post bail for the trouble makers (ok, so I just made that one up) and new to this year’s game, you’ll set up training sessions for your players. A single player awards you points in dynasty mode for accomplishing certain objectives such as scoring "x" amount of steals, or nailing "x" amount of points in a game. You can then use those points for training players or hiring new coaches to work with your team. The dynasty mode can be a little overwhelming, and will most likely appeal only to the hardcore (and patient) basketball fans that want to micro-manage a team.

NBA Live 2004 looks pretty much identical to last year’s game, but the game features a new 10-man motion capture technology for an increased boost in the realism department. This special motion capture makes the players’ reactions to one another look and feel just like they do in a real game of hoops. So instead of having the player models running around doing their own thing, the new animations recreate true-to-life player positioning and motion, giving you a visual sense of their on-court teamwork.

The player’s faces all look just like the real deal, and they all wear the actual (overpriced) brands of shoes that the real players wear on the court. You’ll see all the big name brands like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, and while yes it may be cheap commercialism on the shoe company’s part, it is a cool feature nonetheless. As part of the gameplay, you can unlock shoe brands, jerseys and other clothing items to dress up your custom created players, after all, it’s all about the "bling bling" isn’t it?

The big weakness in the graphics is the cut-scenes, which get old after a while due to the same scene being repeated way too often. Luckily you can skip past them with a press of a button. And after a short while, you probably will start skipping them.

The audio is everything you’ve come to expect from an EA Sports title. The sounds coming from the court are authentic and everything is crisp and clean, including the squeaking of the high-ollar sneakers and the ball bouncing off the backboards. The commentary is provided by Mike Fratello and Marv (YES!!) Albert, and surprisingly enough, it doesn’t seem repetitive or grating like in so many other sports titles. The crowd noise is great and they will "raise the roof" when the action heats up on the floor. The music tracks are composed of hard thumping hip-hop tunes that will make you wanna get "jiggy with it."

NBA Live 2004 is making strides in the right direction to becoming the ultimate basketball video game. Some may say the game leans a little to the arcade-like feel. I say it’s a good balance between simulation and arcade game-play. This is a great looking, great sounding and great playing basketball game that every fan of the sport should have in their game collection.