Second Verse, Same As The First - NBA 08

NBA 07 was probably not the better of the two PS3 basketball games at the launch of the system, but it was competent enough and seemed a step in the right direction after many years of mediocrity from Sony's hoops franchise. Thus the anticipation was that NBA 08 would take the next step to respectability by building upon that competence and improvement. And really, it does. Kind of. NBA 08 by all means is better than NBA 07, but it's not quite the leap you'd be expecting for this 2nd generation PlayStation 3 game – you'd think it was the only hoops game out there and thus no reason to really push the envelope. In the face of stiff competition from EA and 2K Sports, Sony really needed to take the extra mile and they didn't, which is unfortunate. For fans of NBA 07, 08 is probably worth buying for another round of the great Games of the Week, updated rosters and improved gameplay, but clearly Sony San Diego was being a bit lazy and failed to take advantage of all that disc space and momentum from the improved product of last season.

The Setup
Over on the PS2 side, the NBA franchise has thrived with the inclusion of the story-based The Life, now in its 3rd incarnation. It was fully anticipated that The Life would make its way to the PS3 version with NBA 08...it seemed pretty obvious. Apparently it was too obvious, as The Life is absent. To make matters worse, there's still no multi-season Franchise either; all that remains is the same season mode with the same limited statistics as last season. Sure it's great there's still a single season mode for those who aren't into Franchises, but with the competition offering very deep multi-season modes, Sony seems a bit behind the curve...a curve that's been around since the PS1 days. To their credit, the fun and addictive Games of the Week mode returns, offering new scenarios every week based upon real NBA performances, which you download while logged into PlayStation Network. As great as they are, however, they just don't make up for 2 consecutive years without a game mode that's become something sports gamers expect in every licensed sports game.

NBA 08 does try something different with the user profile – instead of the usual “name a profile, collect stats” kind of thing, the game offers a create-a-player mixed in with a riff on Achievements. The player creation isn't exactly the deepest thing ever, but it allows you to create your own star and either insert him on your favorite team or just let 'em sit in the free agent pool. It doesn't matter, because you can still build up their stats without ever using them at all by simply playing games in any game mode (except for online) and earning points that can go to increasing the attributes of your created player. It's not The Life, but it's something to build upon. Also these points earned by completing tasks can unlock bonus features, like retro jerseys and courts, which is pretty cool, though lame at the same time because they can't be used in Season or Playoff modes. The whole thing is a little skittish though, as it seems obvious that you would only earn rewards by actually using your player in games, but instead you can create a superstar NBA hero without actually bringing them onto the court.

The Game
Largely NBA 08 plays like a tweaked version of NBA 07, and generally in good ways. The defensive AI has been ramped up; now to get a good shot the ball has to be worked around and rarely does a shot with someone in your face actually go in. Before it was fairly easy to drive the lane and turn a game into a layup drill; now it becomes much more challenging. The 3-pointer can still be abused pretty bad though...and I found myself relying on it even more because of how tricky things can get in the paint. The same “wind up” shot meter returns, which still works well even if the game still lets you know when a shot is going in – if there's no halo telling you where the ball is going, it's in the hoop. Talk about sucking the drama out of things. Even worse, the lame “Showtime” meter which turns the game into an annoying “arcade” experience (by relying on unrealistic momentum) is back, and in my case, immediately turned off. The only real addition this year is the “Free6” controls, which use the Sixaxis (or analog sticks) to offer some added control to your players.

It's more effective on defense since it brings in “getting high” (not that kind) and “getting low” - by that I mean you can, with either the flick of the analog stick or lifting the controller up and down, change your stance to defend against passing and lane driving or to contest shots. It works pretty well, or at least better than last year where opponent players had the magic ability to blow by anyone. Otherwise, defense on the whole, well...that's not changed much. The computer AI is not quite as repetitive, like NBA 07 where they run a couple plays and generally attack the rim (with success since the AI last year had some really stupid moments, leaving the hoop unchallenged) and now tends to actually use the outside shot making for a more realistic game. It actually makes for a more challenging single player experience, at least until you figure out the quirks and then start abusing them, especially if you choose a top tier team.

The...Shiny Courts
NBA 07 looked quite good last year, though clearly it was upgraded from the PS2 version. This year things have improved. Player models are excellent, looking more real and less zombie-like, and this is with just minor touch-ups to the engine. Animations have improved and so have the jerseys, which have the kind of flowing realism that's been in MLB 07: The Show and more recently, Heavenly Sword. Otherwise everything is touched up here and there – the arenas are accurate with perfectly recreated courts that are so shiny you can see the scoreboard on the floor, there's plenty of fans who scream and boo, and even know to stand on their feet during possessions late in close games, and coaches walking up and down the sideline issuing orders. And it all runs very quickly, at 60 frames per second, even at 1080p resolution, but that's hardly a surprise since that was implemented last year.

The audio took a hit last year because it lacked play-by-play, with only a PA announcer to give out the important information. This year Sony didn't let it happen again. Fans of the old NBA Inside Drive franchise on Xbox will recognize the PBP man, Seattle Supersonics announcer Kevin Colabro, he of the crazy nicknames and insane proclamations after dunks (flyin', like chickens in a barnyard!). He's in rare form in NBA 08, though the over-reliance on nicknames (even for mediocre players!) wears thin. On the other hand, ESPN/ABC color commentator Mark Jackson handles that duty. Now personally I don't like the guy too much, but in NBA 08 he's reserved and doesn't say a whole lot, and even then he tends to repeat himself with frequency. But at the least because the lines are prerecorded I don't have to hear him verbally fellate Kobe Bryant every 10 seconds. The PA guy is still there, for those who wondered...but he's been inserted into the background like the great in-game music that comes directly from real NBA games.

The Closing Argument
NBA 08 is not the vast improvement one expected after NBA 07, and thus is something of a disappointment. Fans of last year's game will enjoy it, but perhaps begrudgingly due to a lack of serious improvement. Gameplay has been tweaked, but not enough. The feature set is still bare, with more features sitting in the PS2 version than the more expensive PS3 rendition. Sony still has a long way to go – the NBA guys should take a page out of The Show's playbook – continually tweak the gameplay but also throw features in our faces to give the game some real life once you run out of things to do. Once again, NBA 08 is probably not the best PS3 hoops game, resting in 3rd behind NBA Live and NBA 2K, but perhaps for those tiring of those franchises, NBA 08 is a decent alternative, especially for more casual players who don't want in-depth options and just want to play through a season or the playoffs. However, those folks should probably go find NBA 07, unless updated rosters is important – it's pretty much the same game, but is likely a whole lot cheaper.