Today I will go in depth about Live Pro-Am mode and what I think about it. For starters, Pro-Am means Professional-Amateur. There are a lot of people that don't know that so let me let you guys know the base of what it is. Ok, so lets get right into it

THE MODES

Summer Circuit is a mode where you use your created player online against CPU controlled teams with varying difficulties. The great thing about this mode is, there can be a mix of real people who are playing with you. For example, I can play with 3 of my friends online with the other two spots being filled by CPU controlled players. The 5 of you go up against the CPU in seven different venues.
- Rucker Park in Harlem, New York
- Terminal 23 in Downtown New York
- Hoop Dome in North York, Ontario
- Brooklyn Park in Brooklyn, New York
- Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington
- Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, California
- Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California

The way things work is every venue has 5 teams that are based from that region. Like your first game at Brooklyn park will be against a pretty strong ass team: Kemba Walker, Taj Gibson, Lance Stephenson, Branden Knight(he is from Florida) and John Wall(he is from North Carolina). As you can see I'm sure it would be tough to fill out 5 games with all New York players so they had to throw in a couple guys. Example of your second game at Brooklyn Park could be: dudes not even in the NBA as they have stated that created players will fill out some games. Game three might have Jokim Noah at Center with a bunch of Amateur guys. all the way up to your final game with Carmelo Anthony, Andre Drummond,..etc. The levels are set from normal all the way to hard. Within these games you have individual accolades that you can try to obtain such as a certain number of assists or three pointers made. This same style works for all the venues. I'm not sure if these games will have legendary players such as Jason Kidd on one of the Kezar teams or Gary Payton maybe. Or a game in Toronto yields the MVP level Steve Nash in your final game at Hood Dome. Until they actually announce this it is a mystery.

        In Live Run things get a little more heated as this mode is strictly 5 on 5 with all players being controlled by humans. You can go in with 5 of your friends and play 5 friends or you can go in by yourself and join up with randoms or other groups and play a team of randoms as well. The great thing about this mode is matchmaking is in. There will be no standing around waiting for a game. You get matched up with people on your level and you play games to 21 points (Summer Circuit is also 21 points by the way) shots counting as 2's and 3's.

        Within these two modes, there is a lot going on too. Your created player levels up in both modes as one player. Your not going to have two versions of one player for two modes. If you are rated an 82 you will be an 82 in both modes. As your skills increase you become a better player in your chosen player style.(I will be covering customization in my next blog post tomorrow) You gain RP and SP. RP is reward points which you can use to increase your skills that pertain to your player style you chose. SP is style points which you can use to buy clothing to make your avatar unique. Speaking of player styles, a good example is if you want to be a point guard, you can choose to be a Shooting,passing or Driving PG. You can't be all three but, don't let that bother you because your main choice will level up faster to make you a better team mate but it doesn't mean those other stats are not able to be improved. They will also go up but at a slower rate. I can't confirm the other positions but you can expect something like Defensive Center, Shooting Small Forward or Stretch power forward. Don't expect to be able to shoot and dribble like NBA guys off top. Things like Lebron James' dunks or Stephen Curry's shot style will not be available until you reach a certain rating level. Like from what I've heard you have to be at least a 95 rated three point shooter to even be able to buy that shot package. So if you choose to be a power forward you will NEVER be able to shoot like Steph Curry because of the soft cap on that rating for big men. If you plan out your player and you want to be able to do crossovers like Jame Harden then it would be a good idea to start your character with a style that resembles James Harden like Scoring Shooting Guard(I'm guessing)


        Now to what I think about the mode personally. This is great for Live because of the RPG aspects of the mode.Its not about just paying your way to what you want and having a 7 '2 280 lbs Shooting guard shooting threes like Kyle Korver. Everything is a choice and every choice has a consequence in terms of what your future holds. I am so excited about the team aspect of the gameplay that EA is trying to convey. It will be hard to win games if your Center is trying to bring the ball up or your small forward keeps thinking that he is the best passer on the court. Its like a battle in a game where your playing with others to beat a boss. You have certain weapons and armor that can do damage to the boss that the other guy can't so they expect you to do what you do so the win can be obtained. Same goes for everybody. If your playing with somebody and they are a speedy Point guard with passing skills you should always give them the ball to bring up the court and make sure you maneuver your player to the spot on the court where you can play your best. Matchmaking along with games going to 21 means you get to jump in and out of games fast with no problems. Plus EA has always had great servers that are reliable so I expect this stuff to work really well.


        Well, that pretty much covers the basics of the mode. Im sure there is more that they are going to announce and when they do, I will bring it to you. Thanks for reading and make sure to subscribe to my blog to keep up with the news.