Jao's 360 Impressions

[JaoSming]

The 360 version just arrived at my house. I will be updating with impressions and stuff. For those who don't already have it can ask questions if you want to.

[cyanide]

How are the controller responsiveness? Do your teammates move well on offensive plays? How good is the CPU artificial intelligence on defense?

How realistic and deep is Franchise mode?

I appreciate any feedback, thank you.

[JaoSming]

Just played my first game, Miami vs Celtics (me)

It was a barn burner, I won with a buzzer beater from Pierce. Um, it was kinda gehay cause Miami only took the lead because Garnett fouled Williams with a mid-air collision.....but I didnt press block.


Anyway, the game feels really responsive to me, I feel like I can control everything that happens on that court. Teammates seemed to move well to me and it was actually pretty fun to play.

The CPU D was good, but the CPU O was meh. I got many steals with Rondo, and Williams took most of the shots cause I dont like using the autoguard thingy.

Graphics and animationwise. Graphics are great. Animations are quick and responsive...yet those dunk animations are kinda weird. I saw Garnett do the same dunk 5 times in that game (he held his hand up after dunking) which is kinda meh but I guess it happens with a game like this. Post basket celebrations are good, bench animations are good and the cutscenes are pretty spot on.


Nitpicking time.
My bench cheered when Jason Williams hit a half court buzzer beater while the Miami bench cringed as if the shot was bad.

The lane color of the Celtics court is not the same color as the out of bounds. Also the wood inside the lane is the normal plank, and not parquet like in real life and like the rest of the floor.

The bench player's shorts and jerseys cut through the bench during cutscenes and during gameplay they do not have numbers on their jerseys.

The automatic replays need to be scrapped and replaced with new cameras, plain and simple.



So overall, initial impressions are good, it is a fun game that is actually worth getting if you are Live fan.

[BodyBump]

Thanks for the impressions jao.. one question.. whats the roster cutoff date?

[0gilbert0]

got it for the 360 n it was July,15 2007

[SHAFT23]

the game really sucks online if your opponent isn't realistic.

I have had guys who try to spin and dunk all game and guys who take charge everywhere at midcourt.

but it really is a great lagfree game against realistic opponents.

[fjccommish]

"The CPU D was good, but the CPU O was meh. I got many steals with Rondo, and Williams took most of the shots cause I dont like using the autoguard thingy."

In other words, 2008 has PG domination.

[JaoSming]

maybe, but I was playing really bad defense.

[BodyBump]

Just bought mine awhile ago... went straight to the download roster if there is available.. and yes.. and they have available roster update just today.. oct 3.. nice..

[bigh0rt]

"The CPU D was good, but the CPU O was meh. I got many steals with Rondo, and Williams took most of the shots cause I dont like using the autoguard thingy."

In other words, 2008 has PG domination.

I've yet to experience anything of the sort. If anything, I've been dominated in the paint, where I've found it to be MUCH more difficult to play defense than on the perimeter.

[k-d]

Jao, so you have also an XBOX360?
Thanks for the impressions!

[JaoSming]

Yep I do, I've had it for about a year now.

I am going to say this, and it may be a shocker so try to calm yourself before reading this.

I like the PS2 version better. It might be because I have this long load time glitch or that I am so used to the old engine, but I am honestly enjoying the PS2 version more than the 360 version and I don't really know why.

[k-d]

You really have to get feel with the next-gen. Calm down, you'll like a lot the Xbox360 version.

[JaoSming]

Oh I have the feel for next gen, the first game I bought was Live 06, and after initially trading 07 back I did pick that up again.

I continually played 06 right up until last week.

[Andrew]

"The CPU D was good, but the CPU O was meh. I got many steals with Rondo, and Williams took most of the shots cause I dont like using the autoguard thingy."

In other words, 2008 has PG domination.

I've yet to experience anything of the sort. If anything, I've been dominated in the paint, where I've found it to be MUCH more difficult to play defense than on the perimeter.

I haven't noticed a widespread problem with point guards so far either. I played a game against the Raptors and it was Bosh taking most of the shots followed by Parker and Garbajosa. Ford took advantage of a couple of situations where I left the lane wide open but apart from that he didn't take many shots at all.

[JWL3]

How are the controller responsiveness? Do your teammates move well on offensive plays? How good is the CPU artificial intelligence on defense?

How realistic and deep is Franchise mode?

I appreciate any feedback, thank you.

Yes, please tell us about the responsiveness. I hated the headfake button (tap shoot) in all the past Lives. It's absolutely useless. If the guy bites, the player you're controlling waits until the defender lands on his feet before trying to dribble by him. Pathetic. In real life, if a dude fallls for a headfake, he's eating dust.

[Playmakers]

"The CPU D was good, but the CPU O was meh. I got many steals with Rondo, and Williams took most of the shots cause I dont like using the autoguard thingy."

In other words, 2008 has PG domination.

Through my testing there are a few PG's that will screw up their teams offense by taking most of the shots.

But then there are about a dozen that play within the team concept.

From my findings so far these PG's can stay at Default for Shooting Mentality because I experienced no problems with their game

Arenas
Hinrich
Billups
Davis
Deron Williams
Paul
Bibby
Marbury
Francis
Nash
Iverson
Foye
Conley Jr

These PG's need a drastic drop in shooting mentality
Harris
Rondo
Jayson Wiiliams
Claxton
Tinsley
Fisher
Gibson


I have a scale that I'll post soon as to the settings that have worked for the PG's that need lowered. It'll be broken down into 3 level with the first group staying at their Default ratings because they played like they should play especally when you assign a playbook to their team.

[Jimmy]

Francis is the only PG problem in XBOX360 version for me

In the other words, XBOX360 version of 08 is a worthing buying game

[TheMC5]

I rented the 360 version this weekend, and I gotta say I'm severely disappointed, mostly by the absolutely retarded ratings EA is giving people. Good example, free throws. Why the fuck does Jose Calderon have 57 free throws? Dude is an 80-something % shooter from the line. How fucking hard is it, EA, to check someone's stats on NBA.com, seriously? Or how about Juan Dixon rated a 72 overall to Anthony Parker's 68. Yes, that makes sense. And the playing time distribution options are horrible, not to mention the sim-engine. The actual gameplay was decent, but being someone who sims lots of games and likes to take dynasty really far, accurate stats and player ratings are a must, and that is where this fails miserably.

Also, a bit off topic, but the 1 thing I'd like to see in Live more than anything else is the CPU having the capacity to actually make coaching decisions. Here's an extreme example. Say you have a team of Chris Webber (C), Al Harrington (PF), Corey Maggette (SF), Monta Ellis (SG), and Mike Bibby (PG) as you're 5 best guys in terms of overall. Now, your next 5 are Diop, Chuck Hayes, Bowen, Battier, and Rajon Rondo. As you can see, the first 5 guys are all offense, no defense. So, would any NBA coach anywhere play those 5 as his starting lineup? Fuck no. Bowen or Battier would play either the 2 or 3 in place of Ellis or Maggette, and there's a good chance Hayes or Diop would start as well over Harrington or Webber. But in Live, the computer just picks the 5 "best" guys and plays them. It's pretty stupid, really, and there's no reason why something like that couldn't be implemented. You'd just need to find the right algorithms.

Anyway, Live 08, though much better than 07, still has quite a few problems, and I really doubt I'll be buying it.

[bigh0rt]

but the 1 thing I'd like to see in Live more than anything else is the CPU having the capacity to actually make coaching decisions. Here's an extreme example. Say you have a team of Chris Webber (C), Al Harrington (PF), Corey Maggette (SF), Monta Ellis (SG), and Mike Bibby (PG) as you're 5 best guys in terms of overall. Now, your next 5 are Diop, Chuck Hayes, Bowen, Battier, and Rajon Rondo. As you can see, the first 5 guys are all offense, no defense. So, would any NBA coach anywhere play those 5 as his starting lineup? Fuck no. Bowen or Battier would play either the 2 or 3 in place of Ellis or Maggette, and there's a good chance Hayes or Diop would start as well over Harrington or Webber. But in Live, the computer just picks the 5 "best" guys and plays them. It's pretty stupid, really, and there's no reason why something like that couldn't be implemented. You'd just need to find the right algorithms.

If EA did this, you'd have 5x as many people calling them "fucking retards" for "not even being able to put the five best players on the court to start lolerz!!!!"

[TheMC5]

but the 1 thing I'd like to see in Live more than anything else is the CPU having the capacity to actually make coaching decisions. Here's an extreme example. Say you have a team of Chris Webber (C), Al Harrington (PF), Corey Maggette (SF), Monta Ellis (SG), and Mike Bibby (PG) as you're 5 best guys in terms of overall. Now, your next 5 are Diop, Chuck Hayes, Bowen, Battier, and Rajon Rondo. As you can see, the first 5 guys are all offense, no defense. So, would any NBA coach anywhere play those 5 as his starting lineup? Fuck no. Bowen or Battier would play either the 2 or 3 in place of Ellis or Maggette, and there's a good chance Hayes or Diop would start as well over Harrington or Webber. But in Live, the computer just picks the 5 "best" guys and plays them. It's pretty stupid, really, and there's no reason why something like that couldn't be implemented. You'd just need to find the right algorithms.

If EA did this, you'd have 5x as many people calling them "fucking retards" for "not even being able to put the five best players on the court to start lolerz!!!!"

True, but that could potentially be remedied by being able to turn off the proposed "coaching" option. EA also really needs to understand that not all starters play 30 min/game.

[bigh0rt]

Jao, are you having as much trouble defending in the paint as I am? I'm defending on the perimeter generally well, but in the paint it's like a free 2 every time for the CPU.

[JaoSming]

I Own the Paint, lolz......


no im good down low but I cant seem to stop anybody from driving from the 3pt lane.

[hwwztt]

my good just cool!

[Donatello]

Jao, are you having as much trouble defending in the paint as I am? I'm defending on the perimeter generally well, but in the paint it's like a free 2 every time for the CPU.

Same problem here. I feel like an artard.

my good just cool!

Amen, brother.