NBA Live 08 is a good basketball game, but also feels like a missed opportunity Score: 6.9/10
Graphics--the player models look great, but the animations look bad. Players pass the ball weirdly, and there are still those little glitches were players' arms or heads will go through either the net, rim or backboard. The animations for running look jerky., also. The crowds look bad, but that's in just about every basketball game ever made. I'd say the graphics aren't perfect but are a lot better than NBA 2K8.
Gameplay--the controls are fluid and easy to understand. To shoot you press B, to pass press A, press X to steal, press Y to block, and so on. Unlike previous PS2 versions of NBA Live, this game's gameplay runs somewhat like 2K8's. However there are some problems that drag the fun down a little. There is no timing on your shot, and it feels like you're not in control of your shot. The AI is bad, since your teammates just stand around after a missed shot and don't attempt to get the rebound. Also, your teammates don't make that much of an effort to get open for a shot. The fouling system is unrealistic and quite annoying. You get charged for charging fouls way too often, and it actually doesn't look like you bumped into the guy if you go to the replay. When a CPU player is driving towards the basket and gets fouled, 90% of the time he hits his attempted shot while in midair. When you play down low on offense, you shoot from behind the backboard too many times. The scoring during a game is still too unrealistic, as the scores usually end up to at least 115 points each team per game. Also the blocking is awful. It's nearly impossible to block a shot, even when you're playing as the center and are trying to block the point guard. An addition to the gameplay are these "hot spots" the players have, which gets annoying. An example of this is when a player is wide open for a three, you pass it to him, but he's in his cold zone so he's very likely to miss the shot, even if it's Kobe Bryant. The multiplayer is really fun. When I play online, I usually play the team play, where it's 5-on-5. I think it's really fun, even with the gameplay problems.
Graphics: 7.9/10--the faces and models look great but the animations look jerky and stilted, along with some minor glitches.
Gameplay: 6.3/10--good control layout but there's too many problems preventing it from being solid, so it's just ok.
Online: 7.2/10--pretty fun but not excellent
Enjoyment: 6.7/10--i enjoyed it, but there's a lot of problems that EA need to fix in order for it to be a really good game.
Final Thoughts: If you're a basketball fan get this game, but for anyone else avoid, unless you like some easy achievements. This is a solid basketball game, considering that there isn't much that's better except NBA 2K8.
Final Score: 6.9/10