Live 08 XBox 360 review...

[Kstat]

Wow. After playing the demo, I thought the graphics were below 2K8. No way. They are EXTREMELY beautiful in hi-def.

I've played two games, one ranked online, and one vs CPU.

First off, the game needs a serious roster update. Everything after the KG trade is undone. No Luis Scola or Yi, but I'd assume they're coming in a roster update via XBox live.

The AI is better, although I handled it easily as the Pistons vs the Spurs, but I had Duncan in foul trouble the whole game. When Duncan was in, I had trouble stopping him.

Couldn't really tell if it was PG domination, or the Spurs were just going to their go-to guy without Duncan in the game. There were a lot of plays where Parker gave the ball up only to get it back on a cut down the lane for a shot. Maybe that was by design.

In online, I jumped in against the best player I could find, he was 10-1 I believe.

While the load times in the offline games are very shots, the online game load time IS at least a few minutes. Very long wait.

On the plus side, the online lag was virtually nonexistent. It was easily the most seamless EA online game I've ever played. If that's because of the load time, I'll gladly take that tradeoff.

FYI, you get achievements for answering the trivia questions.

In my first game vs an experienced human opponent, he sank his first 10 shots with allen iverson. I admit I was a bit discouraged that defending him was harder than I'd anticipated.

I was beginning to get frustrated, but let me elaborate on dribble moves in this game.

If all you use is the L button, your will get DESTROYED by the best perimeter scorers in this game. You need to utilize the take-charge button.

Iverson picked up three quick offensive fouls when I switched a quicker defender (Stuckey) on Iverson, and took the charge whenever he abused the crossover button. It worked, and the game eventually went over to my defensive pace.

Far as gameplay goes, this is the most fluid NBA Live game I've played in half a decade. Being able to control everything you're doing is a big plus for me.

OK, my review on the game:

Offense

Shooting: If you get an open shot with a good shooter, you're probably going to make it. On one hand, scores can get really lopsided fast because there are no token missed shots to allow the other guy to catch up. Learn to defend quickly or suffer the consequences.

dribbling: Take it from me: this is the most lethal game ever made from a dribbling perspective. A great ballhandler will knife right through even the best defense. As I said before, you can stop it without AI assistance, but the offensive guy clearly holds all the cards bringing the ball upcourt.

passing: pretty liberal here: interior passes are typically easy to convert, even in traffic. That said, passes around the perimeter are often intercepted if you throw them lazily. I pressure Iverson in the 2nd half and he was passing simply to pass, and Prince intercepted several of them easily.

Scoring: If you have an open lane with a noted scorer, take it. If you don't, don't force it because there are an uncanny amount of offensive fouls called in this game on players that just plow into traffic. The defensive player doesn't even need to be set: he just has to be outside the take-charge circle. But yeah, if you have a little guy known for scoring in the paint, he's worth his weight in gold in this game, so long as he has a path to the hole.

Rebounding: very slippery slope here. While yes, the AI has trouble going after rebounds, and looks silly watching the ball hit the floor after bouncing off the rim, they DO generally box out. The rebound numbers won't be skewed if you take control of your nearest big and go after the ball. Offensive rebounds are only easy to get if the other guy isn't going after the boards himself instead of letting the AI do it.

Defense

Perimeter: As I said, utilize both the L button and the b (charge) button, but don't make them your only weapon. While L keeps you in front of your man, it doesn't allow you to move as fast, so don't be doing it 50 feet from the hoop unless you have terrible ballhandler cornered. And while the charge button is lethal against over-dribblers, it's nearly harmless if you're making controlled advances. And as I said before, once a great inside scoring guard gets by you, it's over. My advice: learn to play solid man to man D without the use of the L or b buttons, and only use them in special circumstances when the other guy is abusing one player or one dribble move.

Stealing is a double-edged sword. Either you get a clean steal and a breakaway, or you miss and are left off-balance. I generally find a failure rate of %75-80 gambling on steals, and %99 of the time I get burned.

interior: Blocking dunks is really tough. %90 of the time you'll just foul him for the and-1. But every other shot is fairly easy to block if you time it right. I had a couple of spectacular blocks where the ball was swatted back 5 feet and started a fast break. guessing wrong usually results in a foul though, so be aware of pump-fakers.

post-game: the plays of the game reel sucks. You see 6 different plays form 6 different camera angles, and most of them make watching the play a lot tougher than it needs to be. One angle is a reverse-courts bird's eye, for christ's sake. The players looked like ants pushing around a spec of dirt.

Finally, I can't speak for all the player moves, but I'll say this: The totally nailed Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell, right down to their inside moves. Maxiell even has his signature one-hand gorilla dunk. If EA went to the trouble of capturing the Pistons' #6 and #7 guys, I can't Imagine what they did for the other teams.

Oh, and this is the best version of Allen Iverson ever in an NBA Live game. all of his dribble moves and variety of shots down the lane are available, and they're all awesome. I was in such awe, I almost felt bad about stopping them.

[huddy187]

Kstat,

can u edit the players gear
i heard u could not do that anymore

[Kstat]

I just tried, and I don't believe I'm able to.

On the plus side, player edits can be made in bunches now, which saves time instead of constantly going from player to player.

[huddy187]

u serious wow thats sucks

what about the stats can u view past stat like in madden
in dynasty mode

[UNCarquest]

How is defensive rebounding? That's one thing that drove me up the wall about 06...

[Kstat]

like I said, it's a bitch because the AI sometimes doesn't chase down boards, but it does box out so you'll normally get them if you take control of your man and go get the board yourself.

[Fresh8]

Good review. Cheers.

[UNCarquest]

KStat... thanks. I normally control the 4 or 5, so I'm going for rebounds all the time anyway. Is the same thing true for rebounds off foul shots?

[Kstat]

I typically control the third guy on the line for free throws and I collect the defensive rebound %95 of the time.

[Prospector15]

Online can people see your messages and will your online settings get saved when you play someone, Like camera angles, plays, coaching etc. Lastly, How are the graphics on a 720p if you know, like the players and crowd. Thanks

[ThaLiveKing]

I agree in High Definition. . NBA 2k, can't handle Live. . .The game looks real, I have to sit far back from the screen. The game looks Beautiful. I started my dynasty,Ill restart when I get Roster updates. . I played Boston, I was down 20 with the Pacers, and came back and went into overtime. I lost like 120-115 tho, but it was fun. If I remember, JErmaine was Killer 39 points. The go-to guy feature is amazing in this game.

Oh and Kstat, the computer tries to steal the ball everytime you cross half court, that's when I pull off my dribble moves, or just pass it to the open man on the wing. I'm happy I got this before I got 2k8.

Once EA adds some Defence and smoothen out the dunks, and fix some of the AI problems, 2k won't be able to compete. I don't care what anyone says. . .This is a huge improvement from last year's game

[ThaLiveKing]

Online can people see your messages and will your online settings get saved when you play someone, Like camera angles, plays, coaching etc. Lastly, How are the graphics on a 720p if you know, like the players and crowd. Thanks

My TV (Sony Projection LCD 42 inches) is 720p. . .All I can say is that you will not be disappointed at all. 2k's graphics have nothing on Live's. PERIOD

[TechDaddy]

I have both of the games for 360 and I just keep going back for more EA and I haven’t played 2k at all… Its just 2k have messed up with the player’s movement! EA 08 has a more fluid player movement and smoother graphics, which defiantly makes for a nicer game! With a couple of slider changes would make it tones better.

NBA Live 08 deserves a higher review score then a 6.9…. What happened???

Nice review Kstat, you nailed it perfect