Post Description

Shaq is the best point guard in the NBA. You read that right. In Visual Concepts' NBA 2K8, Shaquille O'Neal can be turned into a dominant defender on the perimeter. No, this isn't meant to be some slick new feature added to open up unique gameplay opportunities, but an unfortunate misfire from one of 2K's new features. It's a shame, because if Shaq had to be Shaq (and every other player had to conform to their true NBA selves), NBA 2K8 would be one fine game. With an excellent and deep franchise mode, fun new Slam Dunk Contest, and refined controls, NBA 2K8 had the potential to be the best in the series in the past four years. But numerous minor issues and a few major ones hold NBA 2K8 back and ultimately make it inferior to last year's product. 

There are a number of great additions to NBA 2K8 over last year that put it on the path towards hoops greatness. The animation system has been completely reworked to fit with the all new foot-planting technology. This new tech allows for more realistic dribble moves. So instead of the old days of using IsoMotion to perform a series of rapid-fire moves that allow you to get past a defender and to the hoop, things are more grounded. A player needs to plant his feet now and use his momentum to perform moves instead of easily popping through animations in an unrealistic fashion. This slows down IsoMotion somewhat, but leads to more realistic breakdown moves. 

The foot-plant technology does have its drawbacks. Though Visual Concepts is known for offering smooth animations, there are some jarring moments in animation transitions this year. It's not severe, but there are enough minor hitches to be noticeable through the course of a game. The few uglier moments are easily forgotten when you see all of the sweet new pass animations, dunks, jump shots, dekes, and finger rolls. 

While the animations aren't perfect, the details in game are stronger than in 2K7. Yes, there are still some bugs with the cloth technology, causing shorts to flip inside out, but it's less common than before. The crowds, while still not beautiful, look better this year and the sidelines are more animated. One nice touch is that the players and coaches on the sideline are truly part of the game. At one point in a game, Nash stumbled out of bounds after firing a fade-away three. As he turned to head up court he ran right into coach D'Antoni. Nash placed a hand on D'Antoni to steady himself, pushed passed him, and ran back onto the court. 


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Title: NBA 2k8
Date: 10/2/07
System: XBOX360
Region: NTSC ONLY !
Filename: *-nba2k8*