NBA Live 18 is a basketball simulation video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports, featuring James Harden of the Houston Rockets as its cover athlete. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 15, 2017.[1] It is the 21st installment in the NBA Live series and the follow-up to 2015's NBA Live 16 after EA took a year off between games. Though it received criticism for its gameplay, the game was praised for improvements over recent installments and became the series' highest-rated game since NBA Live 10 according to Metacritic.
Features[edit]
NBA Live 18 features Houston Rockets guard James Harden as the cover athlete. Harden previously shared the cover of NBA 2K16 with Steph Curry and Anthony Davis.[2] The game's "UltimateTeam" mode allows players to draft different players to create a custom roster, similar to EA's Madden NFL franchise. It is the first basketball video game to feature a full WNBA roster. A single-player career mode, called "The One", is similar to 2K Sports' "MyCareer" mode. In this mode, the created player can use their skills across leagues and even join the NBA Draft and Combine, which features over-the-top analysis from segments of ESPN First Take, hosted by Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith. Hosts give their open-minded opinions in the direction the player is going to progress through the mode.[3] The game mode allows players to experience basketball life both on- and off-court with more clothes and a Game Face app for iOS and Android devices, allowing players to scan their face for upload to the game.[4]