I know GAF is the 2k-lovefest about everything, but I will post my impressions of Live anyway. If you aren't interested in Live or just want to bash it, no need to post.
As the reviews have said, it is better than last year, but it could have been Atari 2600 basketball and it would have been better than last year. They made strides, but they have another year to go before they are considered a great game. Just little nagging things that bother me.
- Passes, unless I have to hit turbo while passing, every pass is floaty. Similiar to how every shot was last year. Now, when trying to pass it to Yao over a defender, I can see it, but when trying to pass to someone, the pass is slow or makes a big arch before reaching the target. This is a problem when trying to hit a moving target.
- Layup/Dunk button doesn't produce the expected results. If I have a big center backing down to the paint, I expect him to attempt a dunk as to get fouled or just score. That doesn't happen everytime. Meaning, my center will instead throw up an awkward two-handed layup that never goes in when he should be trying to muscle the ball in. Also, when having an open lane to the basket, a high-flyer like T-Mac or Kobe will instead try that same awkward layup. This is sometimes on a fast break with no defenders on that half of the court. But at other times, they will dunk like it is All-Star Weekend. I haven't figured out what conditions that make the players do this or is it just random.
- Faces and bodies are very off in some instances. Not that he is an all-star, but Mike James is not exactly a no name in the NBA and I would think his face and body would be depicted correctly. He looks nothing like himself, and to drive that point home, when he is shooting free throws they have a picture of him in the overlay. This is minor, but I know some people really have a thing for people's faces. The Superstars of the league are done universally well though.
+/- They implemented an "auto-movement" component. I think it was put in as a response to the overall sluggishness of the game. Basically, if you do a pump fake and it is successful (and sometimes if it isn't) the player will go into an animation of taking a first step to the basket. Now this is seemingly random and not something you can depend on as it doesn't happen all the time. Again, I might be triggering it by some secret control that isn't explained in the 8-page manual, but that is how it seems to me. This also happens when using the right stick to juke someone or cross them over. I give this a plus and a minus because I think that if used I could figure out how to reliably use this, then I would love it to get a first step on the defender.
+ The shots have the correct trajectory this year, along with release points/styles. So Luther Head and T-Mac shoot nothing alike and release the ball at different points of their shots. Even layups are done
+ General gameplay is like an NBA game. With lulls when it seems your team cannot score at all and times when your team is on fire. This extends to players too. Have you ever seen players come out in the first quarter and can do no wrong, but the rest of the game they can't hit the side of a barn? That is in the game as well.
+ Atmosphere is great, the crowd does the "Three!!!" at the right time, but also as the game goes on, it sounds like a big game. Also, in a close game that is going down to the wire, everyone is standing up. Now one thing I noticed is that the crowd doesn't have on the appropriate colors on, but they are reacting the way they should. Complete with emptying seats in a blowout. Also, cutscenes to the coaches are done very well. Seeing Phil Jackson shake his head after he had to call a timeout due to your 11-0 run is satisfying.
+ This relates to gameplay as well, but the AI has great gameplanning. If you are dumping it down to your bigs for easy points, the other team will not only double team, they might go into a zone to collapse on your post players and then go back to man-to-man if/when they catch back up. Also, the superstar players are used correctly. Baron Davis will go off and be very aggressive when playing the Warriors. You won't see the stars on the bench at the end of games.
So while it is improved, Live 08 still needs help in a couple of important areas. Fix those and the game will be great. Though only a couple of areas are problematic, they are huge ones. The slow, floaty passes have to go. They are problematic when playing a two man game and trying to pass out of a double team. By the time the ball gets to the teammate, the defense has re-positioned itself. Dunk button has to become more reliable. If you are going to split up dunks and shots, then make it 100% dunks or atleast layups. Don't change to a weird-ass shot just because there is a defender in front of you. Sometimes you just try to dunk a fool. The overall sluggishness of the game is disappointing.
But with all that said, I played about 5 games back to back last night. That tells me something right there. The game kept my attention for awhile and even with all the issues I had fun. Is it a legit alternative to 2k8? I haven't played 2k8 yet, though I played the crap out of 2k7. I think it is a legit alternative to 2k7 in the sense that you are exchanging one set of issues for another. Neither are where they should be, but I am having fun with Live. Though I do miss Kenny's Stamp of Approval.
