With a total of 11 subclasses to choose from, The One delivers considerable replay value. If you're interested in being a guard, for example, you'll have to decide if you're a playmaker like John Wall, a backcourt defender like Mike Conley, a slasher like Russell Westbrook, or a point shooter like Steph Curry. Picking a play style is akin to picking classes and subclasses in other genres. While there is a specific path to greatness, The One is loaded with optional opportunities to build your cred and improve your skills beyond amassing wins throughout an NBA season like taking your talents to street courts. NBA Live 18 is the product of the times in more ways than one.
#NBA LIVE 18 PS4 PROFESSIONAL#
It underscores how professional basketball culture has evolved with social media. The One is less about physical recuperation and more about the rebuilding of one's personal brand, based on how well you respond to trash talk and court challenges. Although its premise of a derailed athlete making a comeback echoes this year's Madden campaign, don't expect a similarly heartfelt narrative and Telltale Games' inspired designs. The One follows EA Sports' positive trend of featuring story-driven single player career modes. And with the long-overdue inclusion of the WNBA, NBA Live returns to the court from a one-year hiatus with a respectable game, even if it's not a complete package at the levels of EA's more stable sports franchises. These outside influences-which are represented in the game's career mode called The One-help overshadow EA Sports' standard issue modes like Ultimate Team and Franchise.
When it comes to bringing back some competition to the basketball video game genre, EA took inspiration from non-sports genres to mold its progression and character customization systems with NBA Live 18.