EA’s classic basketball game comes to iPhone

NBA Live Free is an excellent iPhone conversion of EA’s long-running basketball game. You can act out your hoop dreams by taking control of a real team and leading them to NBA glory.

There are three different game modes in the full version of NBA Live, allowing you to play an exhibition match, a full season, or take part in the playoffs. NBA Live Free is restricted to playing an exhibition match between the LA Lakers and Orlando Magic.

The great thing about all the NBA Live games from EA is the fact that it is officially licensed, meaning you get to control all the real players in all the real teams in all the real rosters.

The presentation of NBA Live Free is very impressive. It boasts a clear user interface, accompanied by some awesome hip hop tracks. There’s a training mode to get you acquainted with the controls and lots of game options. The in-game 3D graphics, commentary and sound effects are a shining example for other iPhone basketball games.

NBA Live Free’s control system is a real dream. You move your players around using the on-screen joypad. Unlike many similar games, the joypad isn’t fixed to one place and it will only appear whenever you hold down your finger on the screen, making it much less cumbersome than other console game ports. Passing and shooting in NBA Live Free are all done using two buttons. Special moves can be executed depending on the way these buttons are pressed.

There’s very little to fault in NBA Live Free. Perhaps the main omission from the game is a multiplayer mode, and it would’ve also been nice to be able to create your own players and edit teams.

NBA Live Free is well worth trying if you’re a basketball fan with an iPhone.