NBA Live 08 full impressions

It is only June 27th, yet a group from the community has already spent a significant amount of time with NBA Live 08. The importance of that can't be underestimated. Because the game doesn't come out until October 2nd, we were able to discuss in detail what we liked, what we disliked, and what we would like to see changed for the upcoming release.

Not next year's version, but this will actually affect the one that will be coming out in four months. The input that was given is being taken into consideration and, hopefully, will have been addressed for release. It is something that we'll be able to look back on and see exactly how much impact this community event had on the final product.

A few things of importance to note. The early point in the development cycle means we're obviously seeing a work in progress. Thus, there were many visual bugs, gameplay oddities, etc. that there is really no point in me listing out here. We talked with the producers for the game about those and they saw them along with us so if they weren't aware of them beforehand, they are now. Also there are embargos on some features for the game, so until certain dates we are not able to reveal them.

The first thing that is noticed when checking out the game are the great visuals. The graphics are excellent, down to the player models and courts. The 60fps makes the game so much more enjoyable to play. Everything is smooth and flows well. It really makes a difference that everyone will appreciate right away. 

The Go-To Moves that have been talked about are neat, they add a touch of authenticity. It takes the idea of signature shots to the next level, because not only do players in the NBA have their own signature shots but they also have their own moves that they favor. One important thing to point out here is that Go-To Moves do not mean you're going to automatically make the shot. It still is situational, just like any other attempt on the court. The very first example we saw was a Dirk fall-away jumper that hit the front of the iron.

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Greg Oden named cover athlete for College Hoops 2K8

After it was known that EA had signed Kevin Durant for March Madness 08 at the end of last month, it became only a matter of time until 2K announced Greg Oden as their cover athlete for College Hoops 2K8. They made it official today.

“Greg Oden has been called a ‘once-in-a-decade player’ and he made an undeniable impact in college basketball,” said Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio. “His amazing talent combined with dedication, work ethic and winning attitude will continue to make him a great basketball success. These admirable qualities easily made him the natural choice to represent College Hoops 2K8.”

Looking at reviews for The Bigs

With The Bigs releasing on Tuesday, what I had planned was to summarize the important parts of the reviews however I don't have a chance to do that at the moment. So for the time being I'll just compile all the reviews here. Once I return home I plan on playing this game hard and putting out a review of my own. It actually makes me anxious that I'm not there to play the game as I've been looking forward to it for quite a while.

So far it looks like the game delivers what it hoped to and that is simply a fun experience. The general reaction across various message boards has been positive for the PS3/360 versions. That doesn't really come as a surprise to me, the question will be whether it can sustain interest as "arcade" type games tend to not have the same longevity. The Rookie Challenge and potentially strong online play could help in that regard.

With a demo that was mentioned to come this week, along with the positive response thus far, hopefully more people give it at least that much of a chance.

PS3/360

IGN: 8.3

1UP: 8.5

Gamespot: 8.0 

TeamXbox 8.4 

Wii

IGN: 7 

Gamespot: 7 

Checking in from NY: Day 1

Traveling in I arrived early in the AM with the only thing scheduled for the day being the EA Sports NBA Live party in the evening. There we were joined by members of the press, Kevin Durant and Gilbert Arenas, as well as other players. There were a couple stations with NBA Live however we spent minimal time with it since we'll have six hours with it on Wednesday. I should be able to put up my first impressions of the game and the input we made with the producers late in the evening/early in the morning.

Achievements for NCAA Football 08 revealed

The full list of achievements for NCAA Football on the Xbox 360 is now known. Click through to view the 50 achievements. 

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Kevin Durant March Madness trailer

With the official announcement of Kevin Durant as the cover athlete for NCAA March Madness 08 (which was reported here on May 28th) EA has released the first trailer. It showcases Durant but doesn’t include any gameplay.

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Details on the Madden 08 weapon categories

The following screenshots showcase all 24 weapon categories in Madden 08. Not only do the screens show how to manually trigger the special abilities but it also lists which weapon categories counter the strengths of each.

For example in the case of wide receivers with the Spectacular Catch weapon, players on defense who hold the Big Hitter or Shutdown Corner weapons have the opportunity to take advantage of their weaknesses or neutralize them. Spectacular Catch players leave themselves vulnerable to big hits that could jar the ball loose.

Click through to view all 24 screenshots and the thumbnails to view the images at full size.

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PadreCast #4: A look at the week ahead

In preparation for a busy week I recorded a new PadreCast to go over some of the plans ahead and what to expect. The NBA Live Community Day event is taking place this week and I’ll be in NY for that until Friday. Also The BIGS is being released on Tuesday.

Because I’ll be busy much of the time look for the site to be updated more so late at night/early in the morning on Tuesday through Friday. I’ll try to post up news as well as updates on whats going on in NY but I don’t know how much opportunity I’ll have to do that at different points throughout the day. At the very least though I will catch up at night/in the morning. I may even be able to get a PadreCast or two in while I’m there.

I will be leaving notes of what I’m currently up to on Twitter. You can check through the Twitter website or view the box I have planted in the sidebar. Those updates won’t be anything substantial but its something I can do from my phone just as a fun thing. If I see Joakim Noah doing his dance at the party I’ll make sure to let you guys know.

You can listen to the latest PadreCast by using the player below, the player in the sidebar, or by directly downloading by clicking here. If you are viewing this from the permalink you’ll need to either visit the PadreCast category page or use one of the other options.

First look at Owner Mode in Madden 08

Along with revealing the list of the players with overall ratings of 99, ESPN the Magazine gave the first details on Owner Mode which is returning to Madden 08 this year on the PS3 and 360.

Some highlights:

Ability to relocate franchises

Create-a-Stadium

Full economics system (such as setting ticket prices)

Franchise editor (change team colors, logo, name)

Hire scouting agencies to learn more about players

There will be draft "busts" and "gems" 

The possibility that a high draft pick could be a "bust" is probably the coolest addition. For too long a player's ability was simply based off where he started at and moving up or down marginally based on performance. There was never any risk involved. Even more in that a player's rating wouldn't drop like a rock if he wasn't performing up to expectations. The predictability made things rather boring. Adding in the element of "busts" or finding "steals" should make the draft a whole lot more exciting and development of players much more important.

Latest screens from NBA Live 08

Four new screenshots were recently released for NBA Live 08. Click the thumbnails below to view the full size images.

The darkened crowd has been a topic of discussion surrounding the Live screens that have been released so far. At this point that is done to keep the 60fps going strong. Throughout development details such as lighting will be tweaked with. It is very early in the dev cycle and something like this isn't out of the ordinary considering the circumstances.

Overall visually the game is looking pretty good. That wasn't the problem with Live 07 though, so hopefully the gameplay work that they have been concentrating on will be apparent when playing the game this week at the community day event.