One thing that’s great about NBA 2K8 on the Xbox 360 is that it’s always easy to find an online opponent. After playtesting for review Sony’s NBA 08 on PS3 and finding the online lobbies almost always vacant, it was a relief to get into what is arguably the best NBA videogame on the market for several years running, 2K Sports’ NBA 2K8.
Sure, EA Sports partisans will argue in favor of NBA Live 08, but EA has treated its pro and college basketball games like some pig farmer’s boot heel for some time now. I mean, the company still hasn’t implemented something as simple as linking the college and pro games via draft files last I checked; how simple is that? As simple as installing car spoilers, really; simpler, even!
Pretty simple for NBA 2K8, for which something that basic is a given, so that their energy goes into more critical improvements. This year, team chemistry is a theme, and considering some of the team chemistry blowups we’ve witnessed in the real NBA, like Marbury and the Knicks, Bryant and the Lakers, and before the season started, Garnett and the Wolves, it’s a wonder that this element was given short shrift for so long.
Keeping all the player egos in check is a key to success in the single-player franchise mode; if players start becoming discontent, you can see the results more noticeably on the court this season. That’s nice because although a lack of production may frustrate some gamers who want arcade-style thrills, those seeking more realistic performances and results will not be disappointed.
Back this season is my main man, Kevin Harlan, heading up the announce duties; this man IS the voice of the NBA for me, since he cut his teeth calling Wolves games on KFAN AM 1500 in Minneapolis, back in the pre-Kevin Garnett days. 2K Sports is wise to keep him on for another season.
On the court, the physics are solid and even the online play via Xbox Live seems a bit smoother this year. I’ve run into a lot more “good sportsmanship” types this season than last year and, thankfully, a lot fewer “quit if they start losing” types. The graphics are a marginal upgrade at best, though, since the developers seem to have put more energy into other aspects of the game, such as refining the franchise mode, working on new online play features, and getting animations smoother, rather than a general detail-level upgrade graphically.
While the game is always fun to play, in all candor there’s not a revolution going on with this game, this time out. The game is a solid upgrade over last year’s version, but doesn’t introduce anything world-changing. If that’s enough for you as an NBA fan, NBA 2K8 is still the cream of the pro hoops crop this season on any gaming console. (And no, I’m not counting text-sims on PC like Wolverine Sports’ Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball, which is in an entirely separate category.)
