*****TO BE OR NOT TO BE LIVE*****

FOR MY STUDIES I HAVE RENTED ALL OF THE XBOX NBA BASKETBALL GAMES. MY RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOW....PREVIOUSLY I HAVE PURCHASED THE NBA 2K SERIES FROM 2K TO 2K2. I HAVE BROKEN THIS RITUAL & I HAVE CHOSEN TO PURCHASE NBA LIVE'03. IT WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION THE TOP RUNNER UP WAS NBA 2K3. BOTH GAMES HAVE GREAT GRAPHICS...BOTH GAMES HAVE GREAT ROSTER MANAGEMENT. THE DECIDING FACTOR THAT GAVE NBA LIVE'03 A SLIGHT EDGE IS THAT IN LIVE'03 I CAN PLAY A REGULAR SEASON WITH ANY OF THE LEGENDARY PLAYERS (DR.J, LARRY BYRD, CHARLES BARKLEY, EVEN "YOUNG" JORDAN). ALSO LIVE'03 FURTHER FACINATED ME BY ALLOWING ME TO EDIT ANY NBA PLAYER'S SKILL TO BE BETTER (IF THEY ARE BETTER IN REAL LIFE) OR TO BE WORSE (IF THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY THAT GOOD IN REAL LIFE). PLUS WITH THE OPTION TO EDIT A PLAYER, YOU AS THE USER CAN HELP OUT AN NBA TEAM BY CHANGING SOME THOSE GUARDS TO SMALL FORWARDS......OR CENTERS TO POWER FORWARDS (YOU GET THE PICTURE). RESEARCHING PREVIOUS REVIEWS I UNDERSTAND THAT THE DEFENSIVE GAMEPLAY IN LIVE'03 HAS ATTRACTED NEGATIVE PUBLICITY. WHAT I HAVE PERSONALLY DONE IS I HAVE CHANGED MY GAME OBJECTIVES. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO ONLY OUT SCORE MY CHALLENGER (WHICH MAY CAUSE BOREDOM BECAUSE IT IS SOMETIMES VERY EASY TO SCORE)I TRY TO KEEP THE CHALLENGER UNDER 100 POINTS OR 80 POINTS (DEPENDING ON YOUR SKILL LEVEL). PLAYING LIVE'03 WITH A DEFENSIVE OBJECTIVE, INIATES GREAT EMOTIONS...GETTING A DEFENSIVE REBOUND, BLOCKED SHOT, STEAL, OR CUTTING OF THE DRIVING LANE PRESENTS A GOOD CHALLENGE. YOU AS THE USER HAVE TO TAKE MORE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SWITCHING TO THE CORRECT PLAYER, INIATING THE CORRECT ACTION,& COMPLETE THE ACTION IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE TIME....SO AS YOU HAVE READ LIVE'03 CAN BE AN EXCITING EXPERIENCE FOR ANY CONSUMER....PLEASE RENT BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR PURCHASE BECAUSE IN THE YEAR OF 2003 LIVE'03 & 2K3 ARE EQUALLY GREAT BUT IT REALLY DOES COME DOWN TO PERSONAL PREFERNCE....THANK YOU