May 3, 2007 - Instead of focusing on some superstar-freestyle-highlight-reel-above-the-rim Eye Toy control feature that no one will ever use, EA has wisely decided that NBA Live 08 is going to be all about five-on-five basketball.
Of course, this back-to-basics approach is a nice way of admitting that the previous next-gen NBA Live titles were the biggest basketball let-downs since the Pistons drafted Darko. Note to Joe Dumars: WTF? Seriously, WTF?
So EA broke down the game of basketball into the basic categories of offense, defense, shooting, passing, dribbling and said: "Let's try and make them good this year." We recently visited EA Canada in Vancouver and got our eyes on NBA Live 08 and came away impressed. Not by the game -- it's too early for that. But the EA cafeteria is awesome. Very impressive.
Nevertheless, Live producer Brian Ullrich walked us through a Lakers-Pistons game of 08 to show off all the work that has gone into the action on the floor alone. Visually, the game is leaps and bounds beyond 07 -- the framerate is locked in at a smooth 60 frames per second and player likenesses are striking. Ullrich zoomed in on Kobe Bryant and he looked just like his Eagle County mug shot. The player models are still a bit "cartoony" compared to more photorealistic style used in NBA 2K7, but guys like Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace looked spot-on. While there is always a strong emphasis on player faces, it looks like a lot of effort has gone into body types as well -- Prince is long and wiry and has a 76-foot wingspan, and Kobe no longer has 24-inch pythons for arms.
Hundreds of new animations have been added to Live 08 that have opened the door for some subtle yet notable collisions. As Chauncey Billups tried to drive to the left past Jordan Farmar, Billups stuck his right forearm into Farmar while Farmar tried to cut off Billups from the hoop. In another sequence, Farmar drove to the bucket past Billups and Prince came over to help. Farmar attempted a layup but ran smack dab into Prince in the air and released an awkward looking shot as he fell backward. When two players collide in the air in 08 you'll see some spectacular sequences of players getting knocked around and falling to the parquet.
The dunk and layup buttons have merged and your aerial assault will be context sensitive. High-flyers like Vince Carter will probably try to posterize defenders with a dunk in traffic. But in too much traffic he'll simply lay it in. Tony Parker will never, never dunk in traffic. Never ever. As for shooting, EA fixed the trajectory of jump shots so that balls aren't soaring into the rafters -- shots now have a realistic arc on the way to the bucket. Players also spring up as they push off with their legs rather than floating upward in a magical jump shot animation. And ripping a page right out of NBA 2K's book, there will be about 60 signature jump shots in the game, including Shaun Marion's low release and Kobe's it-doesn't-matter-what-you-do-this-is-going-in shot.
A big emphasis has been put on rebounding. This is greatly helped by the rim no longer being a ball magnet. There will be a lot more long rebounds thanks to the improved ball physics, and all the players in the vicinity of the ball will go for the rebound. In 07, the only player jumping for a board was the player predetermined to get a rebound. And while they have not yet been added, Ullrich says there will be a bunch of new box out animations. We expect this could pave the way for some risk-reward as you decide to fight for a board with the possibility of drawing an over-the-back whistle against a properly positioned player. But we're just guessing. Kind of like Doc Rivers.
Finally, EA is addressing player movement and dribbling, hoping that many of these new animations will give the game a more realistic look. None of this is very sexy, like a simple crossover dribble, a change of direction or skipping backward on defense. The touches may be so subtle you won't notice, but the goal is to appear as if you're watching a television broadcast. The new default sideline camera helps, too.
We only saw Live 08 in action for 15 minutes, but it's clear EA has a chip on its shoulder and needs this game to compete critically with the stellar 2K franchise. With all the work that's gone into the basics, at least we know that EA is playing to win. Doc Rivers... not so much.
