Gamernode: Reviews - NBA 08

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• NBA 08
• PlayStation 3
• SCEA San Diego
• SCEA
• September 25th, 2007

Making substitutions is equally nonsensical. At the end of each quarter, you're given the option to make subs, check the leaders, etc. If you opt to make subs and then resume the game, you start the next quarter with the same players you had last quarter. Your subs are nowhere to be seen. You need to wait until you or your opponent makes a basket, and then - even though it may not be a dead ball - you'll see your subs make their way onto the court. Huh? And just as vexing is the decision to announce and display only a single individual being subbed, even though both teams might be sending out five new players a piece.
 

But let's take a step back to the commentary. It's awful. They employ the usage of nicknames at a rate of 10:1 with players' real names at best. In the maybe five or so games I played with the Lakers, I never heard "Kobe Bryant" once, while I heard "Mamba" probably two dozen times at least. And just like fouls, nothing is mentioned about being fouled until those 3+ seconds have passed after it was committed.
 

Season mode is about as deep as last year's NBA 07 PSP offering, which is to say it's got about as much depth as the Boston Celtics' bench. Trades are a matter of simply swapping two players; there's no negotiation involved. If you can press the X button, you can have any player on your team. While I realize this is no franchise mode (which is nowhere to be seen in the game, unfortunately), it still should provide some sense of running an NBA club. Instead, you're left to wonder which players on your roster are inactive (there's no indication one way or the other) and then need to use the piss-poor substitution system to adjust. For instance, you have player 1 starting, player 2 on your bench, and player 3 inactive. You want 3 to be on your bench and 2 to be inactive. To accomplish this, you need to sub player 2 for 1, then 3 for 2, then 3 for 1. Confused? I was too.
 

The game does have some rather nice aspects to it, though. One feature is the NBA Replay mode, which allows you to recreate moments from NBA games. You may notice the cover boasts the "NBA Game of the Week" feature, which keeps throwing new scenarios at you as the NBA season unfolds. (If you played 07, you know exactly what that's about.) You're also able to create your own baller, and by playing games earn experience to upgrade their stats and make them a better player. 
 

While the game is pretty and runs at 1080p and 60 frames per second, there just isn't enough of a game here to warrant a $60 purchase. All of the extra modes -- the minigames (3-point shootout and company are fun but aren't something you play more than a few times), NBA replay and Upside Progression -- are nice additions, but the actual base of the game isn't good enough for all of these features to live up to their potential. It feels as if the developers felt they needed to add as much stuff on the side as possible, but the basketball itself suffered as a result. If Sony wants future NBA games to be minigame heavy and very straightforward, they might be best laying off the price a bit and releasing this on the PlayStation Store. With the features offered Sony does have a nice list for their next title; now they just need to polish up the actual gameplay.

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