Do you love watching basketball? What about playing games on your mobile device? If you said yes to both, there's a good chance that you'll be interested in the NBA LIVE Mobile Basketball game from EA Sports. However, is it worth your time to download? Find out in our review.

This mobile game is completely licensed by the National Basketball Association. The gameplay allows you to choose your own path to greatness as you build a team of superstars. The game is available for free on Android and iOS devices.

EA Sports NBA LIVE Mobile puts you in the driver's seat of your own basketball team. It's your job to draft the best superstars from around the league. The first things that you'll notice are stellar graphics and presentation. EA Sports didn't skimp on the aesthetic appeal of this game.

At its core, the game uses a card-based system, and the cards represent the players. Using in-game currency that you earn during play, you can buy new cards to add new players to your team. You can also upgrade players to take them from average to superstar level. In order to make a complete team, however, you'll need a lot of cards.

The mobile app offers multiple game modes for you to enjoy as well. These include everything from shooting drills to challenges that create memorable moments from real basketball games. Some challenges even put you head-to-head against real players. Unfortunately, the whole process is bogged down by a very unforgiving energy system. Each activity that you do costs energy. Once you run out, you have to wait for it to recharge before you can do anything else. It's a similar strategy that other mobile games use, but this game gives you so little to work with that you run out of energy far too often. This means that you can only enjoy this game for short periods at a time. You can, however, buy more energy with real-world money.

Despite that, the game controls are smooth and responsive. In short, you'll never feel like you lost a challenge because of the controls. It typically comes down to not having the right superstars on your team.

Speaking of challenges, this game features weekly live events. These events keep things interesting and even set you head-to-head with friends and foes alike. It actually feels like a full sports game but in mobile format.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Great graphics and presentation.
  
• Plenty of game modes to keep things feeling fresh.
  
• Controls are responsive and easy for a mobile game.
  
• Officially licensed by the National Basketball Association.
  
• Compete in weekly live events.
  

Cons:

• Unforgiving energy system.
  
• The game relies heavily on microtransactions.
  

Final Verdict

In the end, this basketball mobile game is worth an install if the idea of creating your own basketball team is exciting. It looks great and is easy to control. While the unforgiving energy system is annoying, it doesn't completely ruin the experience. In short, it's one of the better basketball mobile games available and is officially licensed.