Last week, 2K Sports announced that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant will be on the cover of NBA 2K10. Now we know that Dwight Howard, C/PF for the Orlando Magic, will grace the cover of EA Sports’ NBA Live 10. Of course, this raises a question: how late are these cover athletes finalized? Did 2K Sports and EA Sports simply wait until the 2009 NBA conference champions were announced?

Marcus Stephenson, a producer on NBA Live 10 at EA Canada, stated yesterday that the decision was made a while ago, and that the team was simply “lucky that Orlando got by Cleveland” in the Eastern Conference Finals. Who knows for sure? Either way, I’m digging the stylized cover, which is similar to the awesome artwork for Madden NFL 10.

Howard is a beast on the floor — last night, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers, he finished with 16 points, 21 rebounds, and an NBA Finals-record nine blocks. However, his two missed free throws in the last minute of the game (in addition to coach Stan Van Gundy’s inexplicable decision not to foul the Lakers intentionally) set the stage for Derek Fisher’s ridiculously clutch three-pointer to send the game into overtime; the Lakers went on to win, 99-91, putting the Magic in a 3-1 hole in the series.

Game 5 will be held in Orlando on Sunday night. I’ll be watching to see if Howard can show why he deserves to be on the NBA Live 10 box. As for the game, it’ll be out on PS3, 360, and PSP this October. Check out the box art in the gallery below; there’s also a reveal trailer and a press release after the jump.

[Update: Stephenson was nice enough to send over the PS3 box art, so it's now available in the gallery in addition to the 360 cover! Enjoy!]

Dwight Howard Named Cover Athlete of EA SPORTS NBA LIVE 10

Three-Time NBA All-Star Currently Looking for First NBA Title

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – June 11, 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc. announced this day that Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard, will be the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10. A three-time NBA All-Star, Howard is currently looking to lead the Magic franchise to their first NBA Championship. The No. 1 pick of the 2004 NBA Draft was the 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Kia Motors, an All-NBA First Team selection the last two seasons, and stole the show at the 2008 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest with his superhero antics. Additionally, Howard was the starting center of the 2008 U.S. Basketball Men’s Senior National Team which won the gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing. NBA LIVE 10 is currently in development under the EA SPORTS™ brand by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. and will be available worldwide this October.

“It’s an honor to be named as the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10,” stated Howard. “This year has been a crazy ride and this is a cool way to cap it off. Of course – there’s one more thing I’m on the hunt for that would complete it.”

Featuring several innovations to the core gameplay experience and online game modes, NBA LIVE 10 is bringing a renewed focus to the long-running EA SPORTS basketball franchise. The groundbreaking Dynamic DNA service, driven by Synergy Sports Technology, will make a return in NBA LIVE 10, with significant improvements that’ll allow players to connect their game to the NBA season like never before.

Along with Howard, regional NBA LIVE 10 cover athletes for France, Germany, Spain and Italy will be named at a later date.

The NBA LIVE franchise has graced multiple generations of consoles for over 15 years, and has sold more than 35 million units lifetime. The game will be available for the PLAYSTATION

With Criterion Games constantly providing such a steady stream of add-ons, Burnout Paradise seems to have more in common with a platform than an actual videogame.

The core experience has evolved time and time again, and the game has yet to stop feeling fresh, but fans like myself have been eagerly awaiting the release of the definitive downloadable content, “Big Surf Island,” as if it has some magical healing capability.

Does it live up to the hype? Did it cause me to spontaneously become giddy like a schoolgirl? You’ll have to read the full review after the break to find out.

“Massive Surf Island“ (Xbox LIVE [reviewed], PlayStation Network)
Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: June 11, 2009
MSRP: 1000 Microsoft Points, $12.99 on PSN

After finding all of the Smashes, Billboards, and Super Jumps in Burnout Paradise, I thought I was done. A few weeks later, I discovered the on the web Freeburn Challenges, and was sucked right back in. Many hours of gameplay later, I had gotten the ridiculous Achievement for completing 250 of the damn things, and then I truly became burned out (pun so intended) on the game.

That was, of course, until “Big Surf Island” came out. If there was one thing that the disc-based content for Burnout Paradise lacked, it was more over-the-top locations full of insane ramps and obstacles for players to mess around on. There was the Airfield, and the Quarry; that was honestly it.

Those two spots are easily the more popular locations for the exact reasons I described, but that’s going to change now that the construction on the bridge to Large Surf Island is complete. Why? Because this add-on is like combining Paradise City’s airfield with its quarry, and then multiplying that fusion by ten. It’s nothing but crazy jumps in a super tight, visually-appealing package.

Players who often find themselves worried about cost per hour of entertainment when it comes to videogames should note that this DLC will take five hours to finish. It shouldn’t need to be said, but I’ll say it anyway: “Big Surf Island,” much like Burnout Paradise as a whole, isn’t simply about getting all of the objectives completed. So, in that regard, you’re really paying for a new locale that has replayability far beyond the five or so hours of guided gameplay.

This add-on includes 15 Mega Jumps, 45 Billboards, 75 Smashes, 12 roads to rule, 10 Freeburn Challenges, and 15 Events. Like I said, unless there is one last gate that you cannot freaking find, you should have no trouble getting 100% completion of the island. Thankfully, these collectibles are much more manageable than ones found on the Burnout Paradise disc, due in part to their more vibrant color scheme.

There’s one new Event type, Island Tours, in which you race across Massive Surf to hit various checkpoints in a certain amount of time. Nothing mind-blowing, I’ll admit, but Criterion did a terrific job of putting some of the checkpoints in extremely weird and awesome places, which helps to differentiate the Event type from the more traditional racing.

The other Events are just more of the same (Marked Man, Road Rage, etc.), but because they take place in a location as aesthetically amusing as Large Surf Island is, they don’t feel boring or rehashed in the least bit. As for the Freeburn Challenges, I wish there were more available; this is probably my only complaint with the DLC. But at the same time, I comprehend it’s all about quality over quantity.

The most memorable one involves up to eight players jumping off of the Crash Television Ski Jump, the single largest ramp in the game, simultaneously. The catch is that everyone must be in the air at the same time, and having to navigate back up to the jump is a big pain in the ass. Let’s just say my first attempt at beating this Challenge with seven other random Xbox LIVE players didn’t go so well.

Beyond the incredible scenery, “Big Surf Island” brings another great thing to the table: a sweet line-up of vehicles. How I’ve managed to get this far into a review about a racing game without mentioning a single automobile, I don’t know, but that’s not to say the new vehicles are bad. In fact, the Carson Dust Storm, a dune buggy, has replaced the Jansen 88 Special as my favorite Burnout Paradise car. It’s somewhat fragile, especially when going head-to-head with other automobiles, but it offers extremely satisfying control, and is small enough to zip around Huge Surf Island’s narrower areas.

As a part of the DLC, there’s also eight additional automobiles to unlock. One is a second dune buggy, another is more or less a Hummer, and then there’s a hot rod. But, surprisingly enough, there are “toy” versions of the Legendary Cars. Yep, you get adorable, tiny versions of the Ecto-1, the DeLorean, and more. Considering their full-size counterparts are paid DLC, this offering makes “Big Surf Island” feel even more worth the $12.50 (or $12.99 on PS3, for whatever reason).