NBA Live 08 full game: Rockets @ Sonics

As soon as I got my copy of NBA Live 08 I jumped right into a game without adjusting anything. It defaulted to Superstar difficulty. This game features the Houston Rockets @ Seattle Sonics. It is broken down by quarter, each running about eight minutes long.

The next thing I’ll be working on is a video made up of go-to moves in the practice gym. If you have any specific players you’d like to see their moves demonstrated drop the names in the comments.

Continue on to view the videos.

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Images from March Madness 08

I found these images buried in a recent asset CD that I received from EA in preparation for the NBA Live 08 release. They obviously weren’t intended to be included on the disc but since they were I feel at liberty to display them on the site.

They are in relation to March Madness 08 which makes these screens the first to be revealed from the game. They appear to be detailing improvements made to the uniforms, player models, and t-shirts.

Click the thumbnails below to view the screenshots full size.

NBA Live 08 coverage begins Wednesday

I have been informed that my copy of NBA Live 08 should arrive on Wednesday the 26th. Once I have it in hand I'll try and post up some full game videos, put together my impressions and compare/contrast with what I played back in June at the Community Event, see if I can get some early online impressions up, and try to get some questions about the game answered including player ratings!

If you have questions or things you'd like me to look for feel free to leave them in the comments for this posting or any future posting. I can't guarantee I'll be able to answer them all, but I'll try to address as many as I can time permitting.

NBA 2K8 soundtrack

The complete track listing for NBA 2K8 can be found below.

The in-game soundtrack will also include music that harkens back to the roots of hip-hop, as well as an eclectic mix of songs from other genres that complement the virtual hoops action.

As one of the music industry’s most influential producers, J Dilla inspired many artists, including Common, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli and Madlib, all of whom he had previously collaborated with in some fashion. These artists were tapped to keep J Dilla’s legacy alive because of their friendship and respect for this fallen talent. Now exclusively on the NBA 2K8 soundtrack, three J Dilla tracks will feature the lyrics of Common, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, and Madlib.

— J Dilla feat. Madlib "The Official (2K8 Mix)"
— J Dilla feat. Q-Tip & Talib Kweli "Lightworks"
— J Dilla feat. Common "E=MC2"
— Run-DMC "Sucka MC's"
— Stone Roses "Fool's Gold"
— Breakestra "Getcho Soul Together Pt. 2"
— Fishbone "Skankin to the Beat"
— Tommy Guerrero "Molotov Telegram"
— Percee P "Throwback Rap Attack"
— Quasimoto "Chrome Dreams"
— Devo "Through Being Cool"
— Quantic "When You're Through"
— J. Rocc "Cold Heat Megamix"
— Cut Chemist "Bunky's Pick"
— Billy Ball & The Upsetters "Tighten Up Tighter"
— The Highlighters Band "Funky 16 Corners"
— A Guy Called Gerald "Hurry to Go Easy"
— Sonic Trip "Energy Play"
— Baron Zen "Turn Around (Peanut Butter Wolf Instrumental Mix)"
— Finley Quaye "Ultra Stimulation"
— G-Love & Special Sauce "Shooting Hoops"
— Ernie & The Topnotes "Dap Walk"
— The Fabulous Jades "Cold Heat"

Exciting NBA Live 08 news coming?

A few days ago it was mentioned in a blog on the NBA Live 08 website that there would be exciting news regarding Live this week. However I have found out that whatever it is will not be revealed until Monday the 24th.

No one really has a confident feel on what this news could be. Some have suggested the release date may be pushed up to next Tuesday, but its hard to believe EA would want to release Live on the same day as Halo 3. On the other hand it would still accomplish beating out NBA 2K8 to the store shelves. Both currently are set to be in stores on Tuesday October 2nd.

Regardless of what the news holds I am hoping to have my copy of Live early next week. Full impressions, comparisons to the Community Day build, and videos will follow soon after having it in hand. 

Update 9/24: I've just been informed that this announcement is now unlikely to come today. It should make its way out by the end of the week, possibly as early as tomorrow.

Examining the NFL Tour cover candidates

Earlier this week it was announced that the cover of NFL Tour will be determined through an election. The voting is currently open and offers the choice between Jason Taylor, Dwight Freeney, and Shawne Merriman. Read up on the candidates below.

Jason Taylor comes off an amazing season in which he recorded 10 1/2 sacks, two interceptions both of which were returned for touchdowns, and 10 forced fumbles. That earned him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. He has averaged nearly 13 sacks and five forced fumbles a year since the 2000 season.

Show your support for Jason Taylor by visiting and posting in the supporter thread in the forum and encouraging others to vote! Click the bumper sticker to drop in!

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Madden 08 auto-update details

A required update was released for Madden 08 on the Xbox 360. The PS3 will receive this same patch soon.

The details on what this update corrected follows below:

Franchise: Editing a player causes his contract value to change

Franchise: Former user coaches do not fill their new team’s roster causing the game to stop simulating.

Franchise: The game crashes when simulating if the user releases all the HOF players from the Player Management Menu and then starts a franchise

Train for This Game: Certain Player Weapons Stat Points are not being recorded after Training.

Online: In Game: If the Client pulls connection at the end of game, prior to the Match Up screen, they will crash the Host.

Online: When the client ejects disk after the game clock has been reduced to 0:00 but before the opponent gets the match-up screen the Host will crash.

This update is not representative of a potentially more complete patch that will address gameplay and other franchise issues.

EA Sports World website reemerges

EASportsWorld.com is apparently now operating with full functionality for all titles including Tiger Woods 08, Madden 08, and NCAA Football 08.

I have been unable to see if everything is working properly since the site was announced to have returned earlier this morning. Feel free to leave any comments about whether or not everything is up and running and functioning as intended.

Hopefully this represents the beginning of the end to the problems that have plagued the site since it launched with NCAA Football (which have been followed closely and reported on in detail here) and prevented consumers from utilizing advertised features of the games. The looming release of FIFA 08 on October 9th with its ties into the EA Sports World website will be a big test.

Patch being worked on for Madden 08

Yesterday EA tipped off that a patch is in the works for Madden 08 by releasing it prematurely for the PS3. As it was not complete it caused some problems and was retracted later in the day. Also the rosters on both the 360 and PS3 were rolled back to the original default set. It isn’t known whether the two issues were related.

There was an update today to fix the rosters back but that does not represent the final patch that is being worked towards.

By releasing the patch before it was ready EA let it be known that they were actually creating a patch, which is something that had been expected to happen but not yet confirmed.

It is unknown what the patch for the 360 and PS3 will entail, though it seems likely it will address the high frequency of fumbles during gameplay and the glitches within franchise mode. Those are the two topics which have dominated discussion around the game since release.

No ETA has been given yet on when to expect the completed patch for the 360 and PS3 versions of the game. Once it is released I expect to have the details of what it specifically addresses.

NBA 2K8 demo news

The demo for NBA 2K8 can now be found on the Xbox 360 Live Marketplace. The PS3 likely won’t see the demo until Thursday of next week (Sept. 27th).

This was a smart move getting it out now in that it avoids getting swallowed up and completely ignored as it would’ve been if released during Halo 3 week.

The demo features the Cavs @ Spurs for a full half with four minute quarters.