Prior to E3, I wrote a piece on what NBA Live needed to do in order to compete with NBA 2K. Since moving to the next-gen systems, EA has not had an answer for 2K’s basketball sim… and it hasn’t even been close. While last year’s version was an improvement, even if only because of the inclusion of a dynasty mode, NBA Live has suffered from serious gameplay issues that are highlighted further because of the presence of 2K’s title.
EA has been billing their work on NBA Live 08 as a “back to basics” approach and I’m sure I wasn’t only one who raised a skeptical eyebrow. While I was pleased to see that they were acknowledging the mistakes in their previous versions, I thought this may just be EA telling everyone what they wanted to hear. After sitting down with producer Brent Nielsen at E3 and losing a close game against him, I am confident that NBA Live 08 will seriously challenge 2K’s basketball supremacy.
Alright, that’s a bold statement considering 2K hasn’t released any information about NBA 2K8, but that is a testament to how impressed I was with Live’s transformation from a year ago. And, before anyone pegs me as a NBA Live pusher, let me just point out two things: 1) I have been very critical of NBA Live in the past and 2) NBA Live has been so terrible as of late that pushers for this franchise don’t even exist anymore.
In my earlier article, I highlighted 3 specific rules that NBA Live 08 would need to adhere to in order to be successful…
Rule 1: Fix existing errors before implementing new features
Camera Angle
I am happy to know I wasn’t the only one who hated the baseline camera angle from Live 07. I just found the turnovers to be annoying and slightly disorienting since the camera had to rotate all the way around quickly. Thankfully it was replaced with the broadcast camera similar to 2K.
Choppy Animations
An issue in both of NBA Live’s earlier releases, this was clearly a focal point this year. Obviously everyone expects the game to look better, but 60 fps does make a tremendous difference. There was only one graphical hiccup I noticed during my game (the lack of a realistic pass stealing animation) and nothing that appeared blatantly insensitive to the laws of physics. Even with the new Quick-Strike system that allows players to prematurely end animations, you will be hard pressed to notice graphical flaws.
Collision Detection
Lots of sports games have had problems with this but NBA Live was definitely the poster child for collision issues. In the past, it didn’t matter what was in between a player and the basket; once the driving animation began, the resulting dunk was a foregone conclusion. Live’s new collision system is one of the most impressive features I’ve seen in some time. Not only does the collision system fuel the post game and influence rebounding, but players react differently depending on who they are (ie. Lebron James’ collision animations are uniquely his). I didn’t get a chance to determine if the animations differ depending on who the defender is (as EA claims) and I only had a chance to play as the Cavs, but this thing could be the shizznit.
Rule 2: Graphical improvements should take a backseat to gameplay and controls
Own the Paint
This is one feature that I thought would be critical if NBA Live was going to be a success. A basketball simulation must have a realistic post game. To that end, NBA Live has done a better job than any other title to date. There are between 50-60 different low-post animations; the one you get is probably determined by position to the hoop and who the player is. The best part of this feature is that, even with the variety of moves and fakes, it is defensible. There is no hop-step button that will automatically allow you get behind an opponent and there isn’t a fast animation that puts the defender at a disadvantage. Again, I only played one game so there may be cheese techniques that I haven’t seen. From what I did see though, the low post game is actually a fun and rewarding experience (and that’s saying a lot).
Smart AI
Another strength of NBA Live 08. The first thing I noticed was the auto double-teaming. It is done at appropriate times as you would see in an NBA game though I’m sure there are settings that let you change how often or from how far out the double-team comes. I am uncertain though if they collapse on star players more often than others (mostly because Lebron was always handling the ball and always drew some help defense). Either way, while dribble penetration isn’t impossible, it’s definitely not as simple as in years past. The AI will also take charges; I only saw one during the game (called on Tony Parker drive), but it seemed like a reasonable call.
Perimeter Shooting
This was supposed to have improved in NBA Live 08 but I still found it a bit disappointing. The problem isn’t so much with the shooting, which has now been normalized to some degree with the inclusion of Hot Spots; the problem is defending it. Even when a defender is directly in the face of a shooter, unless you specifically put your hands up, the shooter has a great chance of nailing the shot, even from 18-20 feet out. I’m not expecting to reject any shots, but I do assume that having a defender that close to a shooter will have some impact on his accuracy. EA should have made putting your arms up on a shot automatic. Even so, with reliable shooting from outside, maybe this will help dissuade the constant dribble penetration found in earlier versions.
Rule 3: The more realistic the game, the better
Rebounding
I have read that this was an issue in the past as well. Supposedly, in prior versions, only the player most likely to pull down the board would even jump. And, supposedly, in NBA Live 08 that has been improved but I didn’t really notice. I did notice the box-out animations but I didn’t see any over the back fouls called or any tip-out or saving-the-ball animations that you would normally see during an NBA game. You wouldn't think that these would be that difficult to add. Speaking of missing animations, will anyone ever put in a tie-up animation?
Go-To Moves
I will admit that I was wrong about this feature. I initially described it as a “more selective version Signature Style found in the 2K series.” While it is true that the feature only applies to better known players of the NBA, it does not only apply to perimeter shooting. Players like Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade have multiple go-to moves depending on the situation. In a way, this feature is stronger than 2K’s because you won’t have to learn the shooting animations of every obscure player in the NBA, only those of your stars. My reaction after Lebron threw down one of his vintage jams would have been enough to convince you how cool this is.
Overall, the improvement from last year is simply staggering. EA has really done some good work to create a more sim-style experience. Two of their highlighted features: Own the Paint and Quick-Strike specifically address the issue of a balanced offense; dribble penetration, perimeter shooting, and the post game are now all viable and possibly necessary methods to win. While it would be premature for me to hand the title to NBA Live 08 (since we haven’t even seen NBA 2K8 yet and because they usually dominate this sport), I do think that 2K Sports should be very worried.
