Overall Opinions of Live08 Thus Far
Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:34 pm
I know we have the new poll on the main page, but I'm still wondering how people are feeling about this game? Is everyone down?
I rented the game for the 360 last weekend, and I gotta say I was pretty bummed. Many of the problems mentioned in this section, such as the bad sim engine, the dumbed down shooting, and the atrocious player ratings (this was the worst part, imo) were of course, to my dismay, present. I also found the new dynasty features (except the trading and game play-by-play simulation) were overhyped, as was the enhanced dribbling. Certainly, almost every aspect of the game was superior to 06 & 07, but how hard is it to top ineptitude?
Some aspects of the game were quite good, however. Hot Spots were great, and though I didn't get far enough into a dynasty to find out, I'm hoping they change as the player progresses and his tendencies change. I just started to get the hang of own the paint when I returned the game, and it seemed like it could be a huge asset if used with the right sliders. The graphics were good, though many animations still looked forced/unnatural/crappy. The AI was better than in the past, but mostly on offense, defense was still retarded.
Provided all (or at least most) of the new features are retained for PC (which is what I would buy it for), this game could be fantastic after some heavy modding from the great NLSC community. However, if this year's NHL 08 is any indication, NONE of the new features will be present for PC, and the game will be nothing more than an art/crappy roster update. This is exactly what NHL 08 for PC, and the console versions got a ton of new features. So, that could suck.
However, provided EA does give us a decent port of the PS2/Xbox versions, which are apparently good, I'm still not sold on buying the game. As I said before, the crappy rosters are a huge area of bitterness for me. This is what prevents me from buying the 360 version, because I would then also need to buy an Xbox Live subscription (or whatever their online service is called) just to get a roster update. I hate this form of consumer manipulation, and refuse to partake in it. So I buy the PC version, relying on a fantastic community dedicated to making EA's product not a total piece of shit. And I'm not just talking about bad player ratings. I'm talking about completely fucking retarded and obvious ratings. Great example, as I brought up in another thread, is Jose Calderon. 50-something free throw rating. 50-something!. EA! What the fuck?! Look at his stats, you incapable team of drunks.
There are also 2 other features which really annoy me. One is the re-draft. I did it 5 times, and every time, after Oden and Durant, no real draftees were picked until the second round. Ridiculous. That's all I have to say about that. The other is the inability to play a guy in 2 different positions in the lineup. That's a serious pain in the ass, as well.
So as you can see, I'm conflicted, not only on whether the PC version will actually be good enough to buy, but whether I want to support EA's shoddy business. Or should I just re-install Live 07 and hope that in time EA will find their way?
And what about you? How do you feel about Live 08? That's right, I'm talking to YOU.
I rented the game for the 360 last weekend, and I gotta say I was pretty bummed. Many of the problems mentioned in this section, such as the bad sim engine, the dumbed down shooting, and the atrocious player ratings (this was the worst part, imo) were of course, to my dismay, present. I also found the new dynasty features (except the trading and game play-by-play simulation) were overhyped, as was the enhanced dribbling. Certainly, almost every aspect of the game was superior to 06 & 07, but how hard is it to top ineptitude?
Some aspects of the game were quite good, however. Hot Spots were great, and though I didn't get far enough into a dynasty to find out, I'm hoping they change as the player progresses and his tendencies change. I just started to get the hang of own the paint when I returned the game, and it seemed like it could be a huge asset if used with the right sliders. The graphics were good, though many animations still looked forced/unnatural/crappy. The AI was better than in the past, but mostly on offense, defense was still retarded.
Provided all (or at least most) of the new features are retained for PC (which is what I would buy it for), this game could be fantastic after some heavy modding from the great NLSC community. However, if this year's NHL 08 is any indication, NONE of the new features will be present for PC, and the game will be nothing more than an art/crappy roster update. This is exactly what NHL 08 for PC, and the console versions got a ton of new features. So, that could suck.
However, provided EA does give us a decent port of the PS2/Xbox versions, which are apparently good, I'm still not sold on buying the game. As I said before, the crappy rosters are a huge area of bitterness for me. This is what prevents me from buying the 360 version, because I would then also need to buy an Xbox Live subscription (or whatever their online service is called) just to get a roster update. I hate this form of consumer manipulation, and refuse to partake in it. So I buy the PC version, relying on a fantastic community dedicated to making EA's product not a total piece of shit. And I'm not just talking about bad player ratings. I'm talking about completely fucking retarded and obvious ratings. Great example, as I brought up in another thread, is Jose Calderon. 50-something free throw rating. 50-something!. EA! What the fuck?! Look at his stats, you incapable team of drunks.
There are also 2 other features which really annoy me. One is the re-draft. I did it 5 times, and every time, after Oden and Durant, no real draftees were picked until the second round. Ridiculous. That's all I have to say about that. The other is the inability to play a guy in 2 different positions in the lineup. That's a serious pain in the ass, as well.
So as you can see, I'm conflicted, not only on whether the PC version will actually be good enough to buy, but whether I want to support EA's shoddy business. Or should I just re-install Live 07 and hope that in time EA will find their way?
And what about you? How do you feel about Live 08? That's right, I'm talking to YOU.
Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:49 pm
Loved it. Well; not loved. It is actually a mediocre game; but I'm satisfied with it; simply for the fact that it completely blows the last two games, and my very low expectations out of the water.
Its better than 2K8; so Live 08 wins.
Its better than 2K8; so Live 08 wins.
Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:35 pm
Beautiful. Quite an eloquent piece. Ah, for the love of the game.
I'm still awaiting for the PC version. Let's see what they got this year. My expectations are not that high. I just don't know why I remain loyal to this series since NBA Live 98.
I'm still awaiting for the PC version. Let's see what they got this year. My expectations are not that high. I just don't know why I remain loyal to this series since NBA Live 98.
Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:50 pm
Well i love it
Though i havent played 2k8 yet Live 08 is the best to date since Live 04.
After last years lack of effort that went into live 07 and 2k7 for the ps2 i upgraded to a ps3.
The graphics look amazing for the most part in Live 08 and the players look alot better compared to what i saw in 2k7 and screens of 2k8
The gameplay is 100% better than live 07 but it does have its faults, iam not the type of person to pick at every little detailed mistake EA makes but afew that i would point out would be that the players do jump to high resulting in the guards/small forwards getting alot of blocks on the outside on jumpshots.
The second problem i have is that if a player drives to the basket the cpu wont bring over a second defender to contest the shot even if you switch to that defender he moves over very slow and in most cases fouls instead of taking a charge or blocking the shot.
The main beef i have with EA is and iam sure most people will agree is the player indicator disappearing during games that makes it very difficult to defend. the other thing that really bugs me is not been able to edit player apperance!!
Thats the one thing i always liked about nba Live over 2k is that i didnt have to play with the knicks at home with white head band that they very rarely wear!!
Andrew, Is there anyone that you can ask at EA about if a fix for the player indicator and edit players apperance is on the way?
Player apperance could even be unlocked with a code, i wouldnt put it past ea to do something like that and then they make out that there giving you something extra for your money
Overall id say this game has saved the nba Live series but there is alot of room for improvment.
Having the cut off date for the rosters as 15th July i stupid imo as alot of the rookies havent signed contracts yet and the way ea picked certain rookies to add made me wonder.
No Yi ? even tho he's in the game you still have to create him yourself and Mike Conley jr is in the game which is great but he didnt sign a contract till the end of july while players like Wilson Chandler signed before that but were missed out.
One thing i did love about playing the game on the ps3 was that after spending 6 hours re-doing the rosters/ratings/creating players and sliders i could save it to a usb storage device then email it to my friends no trouble at all.
nba live 08 = 7.5/10
Though i havent played 2k8 yet Live 08 is the best to date since Live 04.
After last years lack of effort that went into live 07 and 2k7 for the ps2 i upgraded to a ps3.
The graphics look amazing for the most part in Live 08 and the players look alot better compared to what i saw in 2k7 and screens of 2k8
The gameplay is 100% better than live 07 but it does have its faults, iam not the type of person to pick at every little detailed mistake EA makes but afew that i would point out would be that the players do jump to high resulting in the guards/small forwards getting alot of blocks on the outside on jumpshots.
The second problem i have is that if a player drives to the basket the cpu wont bring over a second defender to contest the shot even if you switch to that defender he moves over very slow and in most cases fouls instead of taking a charge or blocking the shot.
The main beef i have with EA is and iam sure most people will agree is the player indicator disappearing during games that makes it very difficult to defend. the other thing that really bugs me is not been able to edit player apperance!!
Thats the one thing i always liked about nba Live over 2k is that i didnt have to play with the knicks at home with white head band that they very rarely wear!!
Andrew, Is there anyone that you can ask at EA about if a fix for the player indicator and edit players apperance is on the way?
Player apperance could even be unlocked with a code, i wouldnt put it past ea to do something like that and then they make out that there giving you something extra for your money
Overall id say this game has saved the nba Live series but there is alot of room for improvment.
Having the cut off date for the rosters as 15th July i stupid imo as alot of the rookies havent signed contracts yet and the way ea picked certain rookies to add made me wonder.
No Yi ? even tho he's in the game you still have to create him yourself and Mike Conley jr is in the game which is great but he didnt sign a contract till the end of july while players like Wilson Chandler signed before that but were missed out.
One thing i did love about playing the game on the ps3 was that after spending 6 hours re-doing the rosters/ratings/creating players and sliders i could save it to a usb storage device then email it to my friends no trouble at all.
nba live 08 = 7.5/10
Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:21 am
How bout Sony's nba 2008 ?
Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:21 am
Don't ven try to buy that game!Coyroy wrote:How bout Sony's nba 2008 ?
Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:07 am
FerdBrown wrote:Beautiful. Quite an eloquent piece. Ah, for the love of the game.
I'm still awaiting for the PC version. Let's see what they got this year. My expectations are not that high. I just don't know why I remain loyal to this series since NBA Live 98.
Neither were mine, for the past 3 years ive read every little bit of info regarding the new nba live for that year and imo its been to overhyped that iam then left disappointed with the game. This year i read nothing and apart from a couple of problems iam overall very happy with the game.
Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:20 am
The PS2 version of Live 08 is nothing to write home about.
So meh, the PC version will be sucking monkeyballs until the NLSC team performs their yearly surgery to improve it 10x more.
So meh, the PC version will be sucking monkeyballs until the NLSC team performs their yearly surgery to improve it 10x more.
Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:56 am
I have been playing the NBA Live series since '95 and have been loyal to it. I must agree that almost all of them have their faults which I normally just adapt to. Since I got used to the control scheme of the series, I just tend to get Live instead of the other basketball games out there.
I got the 08 for the PS3 (3 days ago), again, because its NBA Live and also since I got a sneak peak with the Demo that you can download over PSN.
The graphics will obviously blow you away with 1080P HD clarity and almost perfect players models (on some players). You can even see them sweat when you close em up. The signature go to moves are a nice touch not because its effective but they add to the experience of realism when playing the game. It sets the "superstars" apart.
The small faults that I found in this years version will either be new or were never addressed since the previous years of Live:
--The control scheme has been jumbled a bit. We all have been used to the R1 as turbo all those years then you find out that it became the direct pass and alleyoop. While the prohop and back down/post up buttons made a comeback by being designated in their original button spot.
--Passing is still inaccurate and hard to manage. Worse yet, Direct Passing access has been delayed quite a bit. You have to hold the button for at least 3 secs (again because its also designated with the alleyoop) before you can see the button icons of the player you want to pass to. This by the way will be my major gripe...
--Steve Kerr tends to shut up in the middle of the game literally. You just hear Marv Albert do commentaries alone at a time. And they say the same thing from the previous Live... I mean this is a third gen game where you pay 60 bucks a pop. EA should at least liven (yes pun, intended since its call NBA Live) the commentaries. So I normally mute the commentaries and rely on the crowd SFX intead.
--Some gameplay issues I guess can be addressed with sliders. I find too much offensive rebounds and steals in the game. Also the amount of point blank misses is just too much for me. The thing is however that I'm lazy with tinkering with the sliders.
--Roster issues for me is something I rarely deal with like the sliders. I almost always play exhibition or online. Again I'm lazy with micromanaging. I rely on online updates instead.
Overall, I can bear with the faults and enjoy the game as it is now. Little adjustments can be made customize it to your personal preference. And since I already paid for it, might as well make the most out of it.
I'm not familiar with the processes involved on how EA makes the game. Maybe its really hard to address all the issues at once due to budget constraints or whatnot. I just wish that they can at least keep the good stuff of the previous Lives and address the major issues first rather than adding a "feature" here and there. Its like you are adding a garnish on an already bad food instead of fixing the food itself.
Again hoping that next year will bring more promise...
I'd rate it 8/10
I got the 08 for the PS3 (3 days ago), again, because its NBA Live and also since I got a sneak peak with the Demo that you can download over PSN.
The graphics will obviously blow you away with 1080P HD clarity and almost perfect players models (on some players). You can even see them sweat when you close em up. The signature go to moves are a nice touch not because its effective but they add to the experience of realism when playing the game. It sets the "superstars" apart.
The small faults that I found in this years version will either be new or were never addressed since the previous years of Live:
--The control scheme has been jumbled a bit. We all have been used to the R1 as turbo all those years then you find out that it became the direct pass and alleyoop. While the prohop and back down/post up buttons made a comeback by being designated in their original button spot.
--Passing is still inaccurate and hard to manage. Worse yet, Direct Passing access has been delayed quite a bit. You have to hold the button for at least 3 secs (again because its also designated with the alleyoop) before you can see the button icons of the player you want to pass to. This by the way will be my major gripe...
--Steve Kerr tends to shut up in the middle of the game literally. You just hear Marv Albert do commentaries alone at a time. And they say the same thing from the previous Live... I mean this is a third gen game where you pay 60 bucks a pop. EA should at least liven (yes pun, intended since its call NBA Live) the commentaries. So I normally mute the commentaries and rely on the crowd SFX intead.
--Some gameplay issues I guess can be addressed with sliders. I find too much offensive rebounds and steals in the game. Also the amount of point blank misses is just too much for me. The thing is however that I'm lazy with tinkering with the sliders.
--Roster issues for me is something I rarely deal with like the sliders. I almost always play exhibition or online. Again I'm lazy with micromanaging. I rely on online updates instead.
Overall, I can bear with the faults and enjoy the game as it is now. Little adjustments can be made customize it to your personal preference. And since I already paid for it, might as well make the most out of it.
I'm not familiar with the processes involved on how EA makes the game. Maybe its really hard to address all the issues at once due to budget constraints or whatnot. I just wish that they can at least keep the good stuff of the previous Lives and address the major issues first rather than adding a "feature" here and there. Its like you are adding a garnish on an already bad food instead of fixing the food itself.
Again hoping that next year will bring more promise...
I'd rate it 8/10
Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:12 am
Retrolock wrote:The PS2 version of Live 08 is nothing to write home about.
So meh, the PC version will be sucking monkeyballs until the NLSC team performs their yearly surgery to improve it 10x more.
word
Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:54 am
I have been playing NBA live since 2003, and it has come a long way since then. But of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Here is what I think about NBA live 2008, btw, I'm playing the PS2 version.
1. Gameplay is better. Shooting the ball effectively is now based on strategy on how the shooter can be open for such shots, not unlike the previous versions where the superstar can create his own shots by the freestyle moves, so on the old version, the more superstar your team has, the better you are. But for the 2008 version, it doesn't really rely on how many superstars you have, but on how you can create open shots for your superstar.
2. For passing the ball: Before, if you have a superstar ball handler, you can almost pass the ball to anyone you want with minimal steals from the opponent, now you have to make sure there are no obstruction from teh passer to the target hence you're ball get stolen.
3. The only downside with the 2008 is their roster management. I understand the game might have been finalized before the rosters of the actual NBA teams were finlized, but EA sports failed to have foresight on the possibilities of which players being signed by NBA teams. For example, a lot of foreign players who are suppose to be playing for some NBA teams are no where to be found, but you can find them in the FIBA world championships. EA sports should have been ready in case these players who were then rumored to be signed by NBA teams by placing them in the Free Agent pool. We play NBA video games because in a way we want to see our favorite teams win, we want to see our favorite players rule the court and we want to see how new recruites will be able to help our favorite teams.
1. Gameplay is better. Shooting the ball effectively is now based on strategy on how the shooter can be open for such shots, not unlike the previous versions where the superstar can create his own shots by the freestyle moves, so on the old version, the more superstar your team has, the better you are. But for the 2008 version, it doesn't really rely on how many superstars you have, but on how you can create open shots for your superstar.
2. For passing the ball: Before, if you have a superstar ball handler, you can almost pass the ball to anyone you want with minimal steals from the opponent, now you have to make sure there are no obstruction from teh passer to the target hence you're ball get stolen.
3. The only downside with the 2008 is their roster management. I understand the game might have been finalized before the rosters of the actual NBA teams were finlized, but EA sports failed to have foresight on the possibilities of which players being signed by NBA teams. For example, a lot of foreign players who are suppose to be playing for some NBA teams are no where to be found, but you can find them in the FIBA world championships. EA sports should have been ready in case these players who were then rumored to be signed by NBA teams by placing them in the Free Agent pool. We play NBA video games because in a way we want to see our favorite teams win, we want to see our favorite players rule the court and we want to see how new recruites will be able to help our favorite teams.
Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:05 pm
Lamrock93 wrote:it completely blows the last two games.
Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:15 pm
i hate Live. i'm not a fan of the series. and always wanted to buy 2k games.
but yeah, i only have my PC with me so i'm still gonna buy Live every year
but yeah, i only have my PC with me so i'm still gonna buy Live every year
Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:15 pm
I only play NBA Live 08 on PSP, and I absolutely love it! Great game, my only real complaints are with the rosters. Not "as of" the date they claim, numerous players left out of the game, very questionable player ratings (some of which they didn't even bother to update) and unable to edit players. Other than that, it's a great basketball game.
Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:09 pm
Not bad for PS2 version.I'm getting nervous on what kind of game live 08 pc is.
Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:09 pm
Coyroy wrote:How bout Sony's nba 2008 ?
Last resort.
Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:26 am
Although I have both games. . .2k8 is a better game. . .Live still need to enhance the 5 on 5 gameplay and make the animations look better!!! Fix some AI issues and they have a pretty solid game
Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:41 am
jimpworld wrote:3. The only downside with the 2008 is their roster management. I understand the game might have been finalized before the rosters of the actual NBA teams were finlized, but EA sports failed to have foresight on the possibilities of which players being signed by NBA teams. For example, a lot of foreign players who are suppose to be playing for some NBA teams are no where to be found, but you can find them in the FIBA world championships. EA sports should have been ready in case these players who were then rumored to be signed by NBA teams by placing them in the Free Agent pool. We play NBA video games because in a way we want to see our favorite teams win, we want to see our favorite players rule the court and we want to see how new recruites will be able to help our favorite teams.
Exactly. And that is a huge concern for me. I feel it is incredibly unfair of EA to rely on patchers to the work they themselves should be doing.
Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:07 pm
Live 08 for PS3 is a piece of shit. We played three games with my friend and I don't think we'll ever touch it again. I didn't have time if it plays better against the cpu but I don't know if I want to even know.