Right now you can officially call my relationship with NBA Live 08 a love/hate affair.  On one hand, Live does some things really well and on the other, there are still some issues that need further review.  If you have been keeping up with the thread in our forums, you are no doubt aware of the strengths and weaknesses we have observed with Live so far.  I just want to present a brief list what's great, what's good, what's bad and what's ugly.

Whats Great

The Commentary and overall atmosphere.  EASports did a great job of this and it helps the overall quality of the game quite a bit.  Because of the outstanding atmosphere, you can overlook some things but you definitely won't forget about any of the shortcomings.

Computer AI is much better.  The star players try to attack the basket and if you aren't playing sound defense, the offense will make you hurt.  This helps the quality of the game quite a bit, but it definitely is far from perfect, but it's nice to see the Computer AI make sound decisions now.

Shooting is much improved this year.  The overall mechanics and just how much better it works is really good.

What's Good

The quick strike system works well.  It doesn't feel just perfect yet, but I think it works really well.

The graphics are solid and the overall look of the game looks incredibly polished.  With the commentary, the overall ambience of the game is very solid. 

Mid-air collisions are just good.  They look very solid and really effect how the game plays, but in a positive way.

Fouls are actually called and they seem legit most of the time, but when they don't, well that seems to be in a realistic fashion too if that makes any sense.  There's never a perfectly called game so if it's not perfectly called in a video game that's not so bad.

What's Bad

Suction still rears its head quite often and it really gets annoying sometimes.

Dynasty mode feels really shallow overall in depth.  For example, NCAA Football gives me the feeling of quite a bit of depth but not with Live.  There is a lot that could be improved upon in Dynasty Mode.

Blocks are a bit strange but I tweaked some sliders with some success so far.

What's Ugly

Trades in franchise mode are just crazy.  I saw LeBron James and Kobe Bryant both traded in a season.

I resimmed the '07 draft and there were some just crazy picks.  So I would venture to say the overall computer draft logic is a bit flawed.

No import draft class feature from March Madness...at least not that I saw. Uh...ok?

Loose ball logic sucks, plain and simple.  If a ball is on the court there should be bodies flying after it, not 10 guys standing around.  This isn't exactly fixable by sliders and really takes away from the intensity of games. 

Want to know more?  Check out our thread for continual updates and to ask any questions you might have.  Look for DSMs review of NBA Live on Tuesday!