In anticipation of this weekend's attempt at 1,000 players actually using NBA Live 07 at the same time, I rented said game . . . for free. I certainly wouldn't pay legal tender for this game, especially since I have now played it.

EA may have the licenses for ESPN, NBA (though not exclusive), and many other sports-related titles, but the quality of the end products are not determined by the brands on the box.

Once I determined just how the swizzle-sticking SUPERSTAR moves worked, the first 750 points weren't a problem. I messaged a points-farming buddy, challenged him to a doo-el and by the end of the evening went to bed with three quarters of the game's achievements completed. Holding the left bumper down and then rotating the right analog wasn't really an intuitive way of executing a play.

From the various sports games I have played over the last few months--in an effort to harvest their points--I have experienced many different mechanics. EA Sports seems to take pride in making a straightforward sports experience an unintuitive labor. The SUPERSTAR moves in Live 07 were less gregarious than the gaudy spectacles found in the NBA Street series, but they were still unnecessary. The different shots and moves are mapped to face buttons already. The additional moves seem to have been designed simply for the purpose of using inputs that would otherwise have gone untapped.

NBA 2K6 was thankfully a lot more intuitive. I'm not saying that just because I harvested all the achievements in one game, but because I could easily access and execute game-winning moves. Shooting wasn't a chore, I wasn't fighting with the controls, the framerate, or the glitchy players like I was in Live 07. When I was playing against the computer I scored more than 200 points in a standard game. While playing against a non-moving opponent in Live I think I was barely able to break 50.

Before you miscontrue my message as EA bashing, MLB 2K6 was almost unbattable for me. Having gone years without playing a baseball game, the act of returning to the plate was an enormous hurdle. The batting mechanics of the game made the experience even less accessible with the odd thumbstick usage and the cryptic reading of the pitches. It seems both sides are intent on catering to only the most die-hard sports fans.

Given my experiences with current-gen sports games, I am more likely to play 2K games than the infinitely closer and less expensive EA titles. Despite having friends imbedded within EA, getting in their game(s) still seems to be the biggest barrier to me ever owning another sports game. But I doubt I will really attempt another baseball game any time soon, unless it is back to Baseball for the NES.