NBA Live 09 is a basketball simulation game. The player, as usual, controls the athletes and attempts to accomplish routine basketball maneuvers with his controller. He can play the entire season, the playoffs, or the FIBA World Championship. In Dynasty Mode, the player assumes the position of a basketball team executive, which requires him to deal with managerial chores such as transfers and training. The Live Academy Mode includes unique challenges, such as scoring specific points over time. The final special mode is Be-a-Pro, where the user controls only one athlete.
The most significant innovation of NBA Live 09 is the so-called “Dynamic DNA,” which synchronizes in-game statistics through the internet with real-league data. Based on these statistics, the game calculates the most promising tactical movements and selects them automatically (the player can turn off this automatism and set it manually if he prefers). The player can also repeat a match precisely as it occurred in real time. Pick & Roll controls for the offensive are also new: if the player holds the designated button, the athlete with the ball blocks it while the player controls another player and walks into position.
