This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the Atmosphere settings in NBA Live.
Following a decade of duds and dormancy, it’s easy to forget how innovative NBA Live was, even after NBA 2K became the premier brand in sim basketball gaming. With that being said, if you’re been playing basketball video games long enough to remember a time when NBA Live was still widely considered a viable, or indeed even a preferable choice, you’ll probably remember NBA Live 10 as a strong release. I’ve seen people nominate it as the best game in the series, and while I appreciate it a lot more following last year’s retro kick, I’d only go so far as to say it’s one of the best.
I do see why many of my fellow gamers give NBA Live 10 the nod, though. It did several things right after a few rough years for the series, and appeared to be steering it in a better direction. NBA Live 10 still holds up today, and boasts a few features that newer releases – including the latest NBA 2K games – actually lack. One example that I’ve yet to cover in-depth here in Wayback Wednesday is the game’s Atmosphere settings. They weren’t unique to NBA Live 10, but it could be argued that the first implementation of the concept was the best. Let’s take a look back…way back…