Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP

Genre: Sports

Number of Players: 1 - 4

Support: HD 720, 1080i & 1080p, PS Network Compatible

Peripherals: Ethernet Broadband

I guess it’s that time of year again, though I thought it was kind of early, but I guess I was wrong. Basketball season starts in just a few weeks and that means all-new games are headed to every console under the sun. There are other games out there, believe it or not, that don’t have EA associated with them, though they are a hard company to beat, but Sony has their newest addition, NBA 08 ready to take on the reigning champ of sports video games.

NBA 08 isn’t about how to play the game, at least not in this review. We all know the rules of the game, and even if you don’t, it’s going to be easy to pick up on. What every sports game is about first and foremost is if the real teams are included or not, and in fact they have. The days of fantasy and fictitious teams only exist for the developers looking to do a different type of basketball game, but when you have the NBA name, that means licensed names, and with your favorite teams and players included, there is quite a bit more to look forward to.

While playing the game itself, you’ll find that NBA 08 offers you a very comprehensive commentary track from the Seattle Supersonics own Kevin Calabro as well as Mark Jackson providing the color commentary. While the games in the past have featured this same option, it’s now even better than it has been and not quite as repetitive as heard in the past. The new, tricolored shot meter is a great touch. As you’re setting up your shot, you’ll see the meter change through red, yellow and green, and it should be fairly apparent what these means. If you don’t get it, red is bad, green is good; it’s as simple as that. There is also the Showtime meter which once you build it up, you can use it to boost the crowd response to your game or your team can be on fire and play even better. The Key Control option also makes it incredibly easy to choose who your “go to” player is. This can be on-the-fly as it were and is incredibly easy. Pressing R2 will pop-up with what players are assigned to what buttons, so getting the ball to the player that you desire is a breeze and getting those assists is even easier.

You don’t necessarily have to play as your favorite player, but you can create your own, and you will experience this as soon as you being NBA 08. You can customize the character to have the look that you want and there are a number of options to play with to get just the look you want. Once complete, you can either assign your new player to a team or leave him as a free agent, and the character option also introduces the new Progression System. By playing through mini-games or performing assists and such during gameplay, you will be awarded points which can then be used to increase your stats. For some, this will keep them playing the game for hours on end, at least if they are into a customizable character. For this gamer however, sports aren’t high on the agenda, so while the Progression System is a nice touch, a well as purchasing gear that can also help improve your game, unlocking new content, and even earning trophies that can take a look at in the virtual trophy room.. While it’s not exactly the role-playing game aspect that I’m looking for. If the NBA games could ever involve a storyline, that might make it a little more interesting for me at least. Hopefully the future for the game will see some kind of download that will move the trophies from the virtual room in the game to the virtual room of your own once Home finally is released.

The PlayStation 3 NBA ’08 is the only NBA that’s on the market that features full 1080p and 60 frames per second, and it does look fantastic, but that a great selling point, but NBA 08 has something more to offer, and that’s the downloads. NBA Replay-Relive allows fans to experience some of the greatest moments of the season and there are also five downloadable games of the week from the current season. You can also keep up to date with the current team roster, so let’s say for instance Oden injures himself before the season even starts, downloading the latest line up will remove him from play. If a player is traded to another team, this will also be reflected, so you can always be up to date with the latest lineup.

The ability to play online almost means that the customized character you’ve been working on so hard, assuming of course that’s what you’ve been doing, can be shown off to your friends. That is just the beginning however, and now the online mode doesn’t just let you play against other fans or download the latest team stats, but you can view streaming video, check out who the best really is with the leaderboards and even create your own NBA page suited for your likes and dislikes.

The option to use the SIXAXIS controller is still a part of the game and has been improved over what was in the previous game. By tiling up or down, you will move your players hands in the corresponding direction, and if you are posting up, moving left or right will spin you while other directions give your opponent a shoulder push or charge. The SIXAXIS, or Free6 as it’s called here, can even be used offensively when not posing up allowing you to crossover, step back or even hesitate, and this sense of freedom is actually very easy to use in the game, an improvement over the limited SIXAXIS controls on the previous game.

I’ve actually played NBA 08 on both a high definition and standard definition television, and hands down HD is the only way to go. The court looks incredible and the level of detail for the crowd and arena itself are quite amazing. NBA 08 is actually the only basketball game out there with 1080 resolution, but I did notice a few moments of frame rate drop, though not a lot, and the crowd animations tend to be a little less than stunning, but most wont’ be paying attention to this. They will be watching the action on the court and you’ll find new animations not seen in the previous releases for the players and the coaches.

This isn’t the type of game that is going to change my opinion on watching sports, or even playing them frequently, but many of the new options in NBA 08 make this game the type that a rookie like me can pick up and actually play without getting frustrated along the way. I’m certainly not an expert in the category of sports video games, but NBA 08 has more than enough options not found with the other games that will have fans adding it to their massive sports game collection and playing over and over again in between watching their favorite teams, and if they happen to lose in the real world, NBA 08 will at least let you try and make it right, and this is the closest you can get to the action without overpriced beer and snacks.

-mike-