NBA Live 08 Updated Hands-On
Online leagues anyone? We've got EA's latest hoops game in house for a hands-on look.
It's no secret that expectations are high for EA Sports' upcoming basketball game, NBA Live 08. Ever since the game first debuted back in May, we've heard that the focus has been on five-on-five gameplay and that the series is taking a back-to-basics approach, aimed at getting the fundamentals of on-court play before piling on extras. After spending some extended time with a preview build of Live 08, it's clear that the developers are working on improving the caliber of the Live series' gameplay while still tossing in new features at the same time.
In terms of additions to the game, the biggest news of all for NBA Live 08 comes in the form of online tournaments. Here, up to 32 players can compete in leagues that, according to producers, are based on online presence. In other words, EA does not handle the scheduling of tournament games; instead, the game merely handles the results and statistics then declares a winner when all games in the tournament are complete. Setting up a league is as simple as going to the appropriate menu and selecting "create online league."
The person who creates the league is the default commissioner and he or she has the option to set league rules. These league options include the following: league name, abbreviation, description, password, maximum number of users (from 2 to 32), games (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11), maximum DNF percentage (any or increments from five percent up to 95 percent); reputation (Xbox 360 only; 2+ stars, 3+ stars, 4+ stars); quarter length (2-12 minutes), and fatigue (on or off). In order to keep leagues open, there can be overlap within the same league, so you can have multiple 76ers or Celtics (or any other, team for that matter) in the same league. Players will be able to keep track of their progress in the league via the "league standings" screen, which will keep track of things like recent game results, as well as the number of games each participant has remaining against every other player in the league. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be Web site or e-mail support for your league, but our fingers are crossed that this kind of thing is implemented in the future.
Other noteworthy online options in the game include a versus mode, which pits you and up to three friends on the same console against an online foe (also with up to three friends), as well as and online quick pick play, which lets you play a game after building your team from scratch from various NBA stars. There's also plenty of ESPN-related content in the game, such as ESPN videos playing in the newly refurbished practice gym (where you can horse around with your favorite NBA star), as well as live stats, results, and stories that you can filter by league or team.
Other new game modes in NBA Live 08 include the FIBA World Championship, which will let you compete in an eight-team tournament using either top international or NBA teams. Want to see how far your beloved Atlanta Hawks match up against such international teams as China or Spain? This is the mode for you. Quick pick play is a new feature that plays similarly to the online quick play: You draft 10 players on any NBA team and then hit the court against your opponent's 10-man team. The new scenario play mode lets you either create scenarios of your own or go up against randomly generated challenges that will put your basketball skills to the test. Variables you can set in a scenario include home and away team, home and away scores, quarter, quarter length, time remaining, time remaining on the shot clock, home fouls, away fouls, team with the ball, timeouts remaining on both sides, and game situation (jump ball, inbound - sideline back, inbound - baseline front, and so on.) All of these modes are in addition to the standard game modes that were in last year's game, including quick play, dynasty mode, and the NBA all-star weekend, as well as all of its associated minigames.
NBA Live 08 Quick Links
Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices
Games you may like…
-
NBA Live 07
(X360) -
NBA Live 06
(X360) -
NBA 2K8
(X360) -
NBA 2K6
(X360) -
NBA 2K7
(X360)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games
21 Comments