There's less than two weeks remaining before NBA Live 15 is available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gaming consoles on October 28. The game was originally slated to release on Oct. 7, but it was pushed back three weeks for more seasoning, per executive producer Sean O'Brien.
The delay was a bit worrisome considering last year's effort wasn't exactly well received (43 on Metacritic), but looking at the glass half full, fans might have room to be encouraged by what is obviously a concerted effort to create a solid game this time around.
One area last year's game did shine in was with its soundtrack.
It used an evolving concept that introduced gamers to new artists and kept changing months after the game was released. Instead of piggybacking off the same approach, the newest track list for NBA Live has a more static feel. There's been no indication that the content will change. Instead we'll flow with a steady, hand-picked array of songs.
Per information provided to Bleacher Report, here's what will be blaring during menus and other points of the game:
Artist
Song
813
Thank You
A-Trak x Milo & Otis
Out The Speakers feat. Rich Kidz
Bas
Charles De Gaulle To JFK
Bishop Nehru
You Stressin' (Prod. by Disclosure)
Bodega Bamz
Young And Livin
Brooke Candy
Opulence
Chuck Inglish
Gametime feat. Action Bronson
Daytona
Walk Around (Prod. By Harry Fraud)
Deluka
Black Magic
Fashawn
Letter F
Flatbush Zombies
My Team Supreme 2.0 feat. Bodega Bamz
Federal Reserve
Still Dipset feat. Cam'ron, A-Trak & Juelz Santana
Gent & Jawns
Fireball
J. Sands feat. L.F. Daze
Five To Get Live (NBA LIVE REMIX)
Jeezy
Me Ok
Jeremih
Don’t Tell Em feat. YG
K CAMP
Money Baby feat. Kwony Ca$h
Phantogram
Black Out Days
Raz Fresco
Freshest Ever feat. ChillxWill
Rustie
Up Down feat. D Double E
Sir Sly
Inferno
Smif N Wessun
Born and Raised feat. Junior Kelly
TeeFLii
24 Hours feat. 2 Chainz
Tuki Carter
Yeah
Yonas Michael
Concrete Love (Live at the Velvet Room)
The track list was curated by renowned DJ MICK. Variety is really the key here. This list certainly features artists from a several genres, so the objective is to have a little something for everyone.
Sounds obviously have their place in the overall scheme of things as it relates to video games, but we all know it's more about what you can see than hear.
For starters, NBA Live 15 has drastically upgraded its visual quality. That's clearly displayed in the visuals trailer below.
Last year's version had several player likenesses that didn't accurately represent the real-life athlete. Without a doubt, NBA Live 15 keeps itself in the game with the enhanced quality of player renders and arenas.
Gameplay is another major piece of the puzzle.
There were hitchy aspects to the flow of the action in NBA Live 14. Most of the issues were on offense. That explains why one of the newest trailers released by EA Sports highlights improvements to offensive gameplay.
Faster and more fluid action in transition is a must for this title to take the next step. From what we can see of the dribble animations, passes in transition and seemingly improved leaping animations, there looks to be strides made in most of the major aspects.
On Thursday, a demo for the game was announced via this interview conducted by Hip Hop Gamer with NBA Live 15 senior producer Ryan Santos.
The demo will release on the day the game ships, so it will provide gamers who aren't quite sure about making the purchase a chance to test drive the title. Ideally, there would be a pre-release demo, but something is better than nothing in this regard.
We'll have our eyes and ears open for more information on the game as its release date approaches. Stay tuned for the latest information.
Follow Brian Mazique aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist