NBA Live 19 review

Single player

EA has introduced a single player campaign across most of its sports franchises. And with the 2K series having its own career mode, it’s no surprise to see one in NBA Live 19. Called The One, it sees players having to turn a no-one rookie into a global superstar. It’s not story-driven like other noteworthy examples, but it’s still a great addition to the overall experience.

Playing The One is a mixture of developing your skills, playing basketball, and making narrative choices that impact your journey. Playing through tournaments will create Hype and Skills which you can spend on upgrading your skills or in a new feature called Custom Courts.

This allows you to build your own basketball court and customize it to your liking. You can really make it your distinctive home. But beware, you have to defend it against other players online through Court Battles. Winning these provides extra rewards, although they carry risks if you lose.

Building your list is another important and fun element of The One. The more successful you are, the more opportunities you will have to add NBA stars to your team. EA has also included the WNBA as well so that women in the sport can be represented for the first time.

Mode

As for the other modes, that’s the usual you would expect to find in an EA title. Ultimate Team is back, as is Franchise. Don’t expect to find too many updates or changes to what you would have played in last year’s installment. It’s kind of a let down considering the improvements made in other areas.

Final verdict

The truth is, NBA Live 19 is a huge step in the right direction for EA as it chases the top spot currently occupied by the 2K series. NBA Live 19 does a lot of good, from the great presentation and beautiful animations to the story mode that looks a lot more interesting this time around. But it still lags behind the 2K series in terms of replicating the sport of basketball down to the smallest detail.