This is the eighth NBA Live game to appear on the Playstation 2, and overall is roughly the thirtieth Basketball game to be released on this console. Gamestyle has made pointed comments about the abundance of American sports games before (see the Madden 07 Wii review, for example) but these are given an extra spin by the statistics above. Does the world need another Basketball game?
Clearly not. So Gamestyle is set to beat down the global games behemoth of EA and their new strain of American Cultural Imperialism. A couple of hours later and we’ve gone from a potential Mark Thomas to Michael Thomas. NBA Live 08 shouldn’t really exist as a thirtieth Basketball game, but it’s just hard to dislike.
It’s got a gamut of teams from the NBA, presumably up to date with the latest ‘rosters’ of players- plus classic teams as you’d expect. New is the inclusion of half a dozen national teams- China, Germany, France, Greece and America -who are rated incredibly highly, which is unsurprising, although the last basketball game Gamestyle can remember watching was in the Olympics where the Greek team, spurred on my their home supporters proceeded dish out a beating to the NBA’s finest. The realisation that the NBA is clearly the premier, but not the only form of basketball is pleasing.
As is NBA Live 08 itself, smooth passes in abundance as you dribble like a one-year old Peter Beardsley, feint like Nureyev and shoot like James Bond. It’s a great attacking game, where you can pass and move, pass and move and shoot. Gamestyle is probably obliged to talk about how spectacular the slam dunks are- and they are- but they never seem to work in a game situation. Which, to use the vernacular, sucks.
Its not like Gamestyle hasn’t practiced. Slam Dunk training, check. We did a bit of 1- on-1. We spun, dropped steps and faked pumps. In a game, it’s a different matter. And that’s the problem with basketball- it’s skewered so much to the offence that defence is all but impossible. When a potential basket is saved by the defence slamming down an outstretched arm to knock away a shot, the result is as good as a scored basket.
Gamestyle also feels obliged to mention the new feature, which is player’s ‘Hot Spots’, where the court lights up in different zones, so you can see how likely a player is to score. It will not change the world.
For the fan, enough has been packed into NBA Live 08 to keep you playing forever, with trophies and individual achievements to aim for- just for pride of course, this is not the Xbox 360. Talking of which- highlights TV programme NBA 360 is on a digital channel near you, where you can see the players in all their glory. The atmosphere in the actual games seems to lack something; a hushed silence is punctuated by the bounce of the ball and the squeak of a sneaker. Thankfully, an essential soundtrack in Live contains the latest sounds from Joss Stone to The Hives (in a particularly funky mood) to the latest Hip Hop.
Even the animation is classy- the player’s agility is showcased from the deft flicks of the wrist to the leaps and bounds, the dribbles and bobbles. The graphics aren’t anything to show off your new plasma screen with, but that’s fine, everything’s just tidy.
Gamestyle didn’t want to like NBA Live 08. Frankly, we wanted to say how little they get played post-review, and we fully expected this to be the case with NBA Live 08. But there’s something to it. The flaws are with the sport itself, mostly, and the lack of competitive slam-dunking is annoying, particularly when the computer produces the magic against you.
If you own any other NBA game then this will just be an update, but if you don’t then this is a solid piece of work. The sorry truth is that it probably won’t get played as much as it warrants. This is somewhat a shame. Fast, fun and big in Greece, NBA Live 08 rolls around the rim and falls into the ‘recommended’ basket.
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