NBA Live 08

"EA Sports screwed up big time on this one"

I think this game is not worth buying. I do not recommend this NBA game to anyone at all. The lack of automatic roster updates online prevents players from using the teams today. NBA Live 08 comes back trying to be another great NBA Live game. Unfortunately gamers, this game is not an impressive game at all... Maybe next year EA... Maybe.

Game play: First of all let me tell you. This game has a good gameplaying feature and is a really easy game to play. The gameplay is exactly like the arcade NBA game except maybe a bit easier It's too easy to alley-oop, why R2? This game is not realistic. Why can't I get any 3 point shots in at all? I can always get them in on NBA 2K8. This game will not allow you to shoot 3 points at all. The graphics are so bad that when ever someone shoots a 3 point it always shows a quick release. I spent 3 hours trying to perfect 3 points and I got nothing out of it. All-Star Weekend is a hot hit in this game as NBA 2K8 does not have it. All-Star Weekend is a great attraction to online players as they can compete against other users in the All-Star Weekend events. There are many new features in this game such as One-Touch passing and Crossover moves. But this game is so unrealistic... Everytime I drive in for a layup or dunk with a Small Forward or Power Forward the results are always the same. A hot dunk appears and get in. Every single time. I once got 67 points with LeBron James playing 5 minute quarters and at the end of the game LeBron James FG% was 100%. Why the heck is it so boring shooting Free Throws? I can tap the Circle button and allow the player to shoot his Free Throw. Why the heck does Shaquille O'Neal always get his FT's in? Why does Ray Allen never get his 3 points in? Why does LeBron and Carmello always get his dunks in? Also one more thing EA Sports screwed up with is that it is so hard to block when on NBA 2K8 blocks mean so much... The thing I hate the most in this game is 0 online automatic roster updates. I mean NBA 2K8 had 4 already why does NBA Live 08 have none? That makes me frustrated.

Graphics: Why does Carlos Boozer look like a white smiley face?It's because this game has really bad graphics! When you're playing everything looks like as if it's pixelated. Hooray! There's something good about this game... When players shoot Free Throws their movement of starting there Free Throw matches the one they do in reality. Phil Jackson, coach of the Lakers looks like a Seal with a moustache. When you look at the box you might think 'Wow! I bet this game has the best graphics ever!' but it doesn't. The graphics this year have not improved from last years game. When you start the game it starts off with the jump ball right away but in NBA 2K8 it introduces you to the home court and shows a 'Key player matchup' and also when you finish the 2nd quarter it shows the players walking to the locker rooms. NBA 2K8 does the same but shows a halftime report and shows the player that has performed the best so far throughout the game. This game shows nothing apart from taking you to the Halftime menu.

Sound: I think the sound is the only good part of this game. The arena music in this game makes me think myself that I am in a NBA game myself. The commentators aren't as boring as the NBA 2K8 ones. The commentators actually have more things to say then the 2K8 ones. But I still recommend NBA 2K8. I think that the menu music was carefully chosen by EA Sports. It totally matches basketball.

Controls: This game controls are so easy. Why the heck is a Alley-Oop on R2. Everytime I press R2 from the 3 point line it's always successful. Square layup and Circle Shoot. Too easy. But like every other basketball game the controls are quite similar so you shouldn't find any problem handling the game. New controls that weren't in the previous games are here. Posting up players is on L1 like always.

Rent or buy? I don't recommend neither of them. This game shouldn't be purchased on PS2 in the first place. But if you are hungry to try this game then rent it or if you have a friend which owns this game borrow it because I know that you won't like this game. You might not want to buy next years game after buying this one so I recommend renting it or borrowing it off someone.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/08

Game Release: NBA Live 08 (US, 10/01/07)