NBA Live 08 E3 2007 Preshow Hands-On

No doubt EA is taking the Wii's family-friendly nature of gameplay to heart with some of its upcoming sports games. Not only are games like Madden NFL 08 and FIFA 08 making use of the users' created Miis in the game, but games like NBA Live 08 are also introducing a new family play mode that looks as if it might be a nice introduction for someone who perhaps has never played a sports game before. We got a chance to try out the game at a recent press event at EA's Los Angeles office.

The new control scheme, dubbed family play, makes use of the Wii Remote only. The basics of basketball are controlled by moving the controller in ways that are very close to their real-life counterpart. To shoot a basket, for example, you move the controller up and then push forward, much as you would during a real jump shot. To dunk the ball, as your player moves toward the hoop, you leap into the air by flicking the controller in the air and then, as your player reaches the net, you simply make a dunking motion with the Wii Remote to the left or the right (depending on which side of the basket your player is approaching from). Different dunks such as windmills and tomahawks are possible, depending on the motion you make with your controller. On defense, you can put a hand up to block a shot or pass by moving the controller up, or attempt a steal by flicking the controller left or right.

With those controls in mind, it's probably worth mentioning now that in family play mode, all player movement on the floor is controlled by the artificial intelligence, even that of your current player. Of course, you can still pass to whichever player you like by either pressing the directional pad or simply by "auto-passing" with the A button. All players on the court will move according to their specific position, so centers will tend to stay under the basket and shooters will stick toward the perimeter. When on defense, you can cycle through the players on your team by pressing the A button. In addition, when in family mode, traditional rules such as the backcourt violation or three-second rule won't apply.

Naturally, family play mode isn't intended for longtime NBA Live veterans. Much as with Madden 08, you can switch to the traditional control scheme on the fly, simply by plugging in the Nunchuk into your Wii Remote. From there, you'll be able to control your players with the Nunchuk's analog stick, while still using the same Wii Remote motions described earlier for things like shooting, passing, and dunking. Regardless of which control scheme you prefer, the game will keep track of every shot, pass, steal, and block you make and report your stats back to you in between quarters; all of that information is then saved to your profile (which is represented visually by your created Mii).

In addition to season mode, NBA Live 08 will feature exhibition matchups and the NBA All-Star Weekend feature that has been a part of the series for a while now. Highlights of this mode include the slam dunk and three-point contests, which obviously will take on a slightly different feel thanks to the Wii-centric controls. The game will also include multiplayer options--four people on the same Wii can take one another on, as well as play four-on-four multiplayer online, which sounds like it could be a lot of fun as well.

While the Wii version of NBA Live 08 won't be mistaken for the Xbox 360 version anytime soon, it did seem to run at a pretty good clip, with player models that weren't incredibly detailed but should improve by the time the game ships to stores later this year. We'll have more on NBA Live 08 in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.