Year after year, little tweaks and additions to sports game sequels are minor and cosmetic more often than not. However, in this year's NBA Live 10 for PlayStation3, one such subtly, i.e. team-specific playbooks, makes for a dramatic, systemic improvement.

Funny, but the team-specific playbook has been a staple of EA's Madden football series for years, much to the delight of NFL gamers. That it's only showing up in EA's annual NBA game just now is a head-scratcher. No matter; it's here and it's good.

Basically, integrating actual team styles adds a serious layer of authenticity to the (video) game. If you're playing against the Phoenix Suns, for example, you'll be coping with their run-and-gun, up-tempo style of play. If you're playing the San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, you can expect to encounter their, uh, "measured" pace and half-court offense.

Also new for NBA Live 10 is an independent ball control scheme using the right thumbstick. It lets you control dribbling separately, moving your man with the left stick while dribbling the ball between his legs or behind his back or pulling killer crossovers with the right. The learning curve for such double-thumbing feats is a little harsh, but once you finally get it, oh baby, welcome to a whole new world of offense.

Also sporting an improved online mode, dubbed Live Run this year, NBA Live 10 makes it super easy to meet up with friends and throw it down either against one another - or team up for a go against others in a one-off game, or as a team (a "clan" by any other name) in a league competing for the "title."

Get too many players online, mind you, and you can expect some lag - usually at about the 6th online player. Not a huge deal, but there it is.

Back from last year - and largely unchanged, for better or worse - is NBA Live's "Dynamic DNA," a feature that tracks the real life players and their stats, then downloading and integrating them on-the-fly with each in-game player and his stats. To wit, if buddy is tearing it up in real life, the video game counterpart will see his stats improve; if he's struggling, his stats will take a dive. Ultimately, Dynamic DNA is candy for the hardcore; there if you're into it, largely unnoticeable if you're not looking or don't care.

Last of the new, there is now a FIBA World Championship mode in NBA Live 10 where you'll represent one of 24 countries shooting for what is basically the World Cup of basketball.

Still haunting EA's NBA Live franchise is the surprisingly bad ball physics, or more specifically, a recurrence of a ball that will sometime pass right through any given player like he wasn't even there - or the ball wasn't. Hence, even if you have a guy perfectly placed to intercept a pass, the ball can still make its phatasmical way to the player it was passed to - and you're all like "oh come ON!" It's extremely frustrating, not to mention disappointing considering it's from EA, the ultra mega super publisher that prides itself on sports games.

So, though NBA Live 10 is still an extremely good basketball sim, replete with user-friendly online modes and a more authentic feel to it all overall, that single graphical botchery makes for a zero net gain over last year's NBA Live 09.

If you're totally hardcore or otherwise gonzo for the latest rosters and daily stat updates on the lot of them, by all means, go for it. Just know that the basketball may or may not be a phantom.