So Long, Tecmo Bowl

Remember the original Tecmo Bowl? You could pick Walter Payton and be guaranteed that nobody else on the field would have a chance of catching him (except maybe Lawrence Taylor). It didn’t matter if Payton got hurt midseason, had a streak of fumbles or even retired the next year. In Tecmo Bowl, ‘Sweetness’ was forever. Ah, those were the days.

With the launch of DynamicDNA in NBA Live 09, EA Sports has completely shattered the static memory of Payton.

Roster updates have been available for years, but for NBA Live 09 the game system will update player stats on a daily basis. And we’re not just talking about trades, injury status or even three-point accuracy. Tendencies that are logged by Synergy Sports Technology for more than 20 real NBA teams will adjust the performance of your fake players. A player’s tendency to cut a certain direction or his accuracy from the elbow or the top of the key will be updated nightly. If Kobe goes eight for eight from behind the arc on a certain night, be sure to launch shots from deep in your game the next day. Team tendencies and streaks will also be adjusted on the fly, so check the paper before you pick your squad.

But, for the nostalgic among us, fear not. On your original Nintendo that only works when you squeeze in a quarter, Payton won’t have changed a bit.