I know most of you here haven't played this game, but today I'm here to review NBA Live '08. The PS2 was my very first video game system and I got it back when I was only 6 years old or so (since the game was released in 2007). NBA Live '08 was the first legit video game I've ever owned, and it's one of my favorite games of all time. I used to come home from school and play this game everyday for a few years. I still play this game every once in a while for the nostalgia (and to play with the older rosters ). Here it is, my NBA Live '08 review!


This game has pretty good graphics for the Playstation 2. The players look decent, the coaches look really accurate, and the visual gameplay is great. I would rate the graphics a 10 for this game, if not for 2 things. The first thing is the crowd. The crowd looks bad, in my opinion. It's just a bunch of boxes waving their hands around. The other thing is there are some visual glitches where you can pass through other players at some times. Overall, the graphics are still good, though.


Now, I usually don't look for sound in video games, but this is where this game struck gold. The music in this game is unbelievable. This game features my favorite song of all time: "Don't Make Any Difference To Me". I always liked the beat and the sounds of this song, but as I grew older, I understood the lyrics and loved the message that the song was trying to send. Here's a link to the song on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkc4ENGBlIA . I really liked almost all of the songs in this game, and the in-game sounds were great as well.


You can probably tell from the sentiments I have expressed about this game, that it was highly addictive for me. There are several modes to play such as Regular Game, Season, Playoffs, Dynasty, etc. It's never boring with this game, as there's so much to do. I also loved the feature that allowed you to simulate games until the end of the 4th quarter (anywhere between 30 seconds and 5 minutes left in the 4th) and lets you finish a close game, which pumps your adrenaline.


Sports games usually don't have stories, and this game follows that script. The only story that is possible in this game is if you play Dynasty mode and play for several seasons. Besides that, there's no real story involved in this game, but nevertheless, doesn't take away from the game.


This game has a lot to offer in terms of depth. There are several modes, as I mentioned earlier. I'll briefly explain what some of the game modes are about. The "Play Now" or "Regular Game" mode is pretty self explanatory. You play a custom game, with nothing on the line against a team of your choice. The "Season" mode is a lot longer. You get to play the whole 82 game season, or simulate games, if you want, and if your team is good enough, you can play in the playoffs too. You have to manage rosters, injuries, and a lot of stuff. It's a lot of fun, really. The "Playoffs" mode is similar to the Season mode, except you only play the playoffs. This is by far my favorite mode because of the intensity of the games. The "Dynasty" mode is like the previous two modes I explained, but with a lot more seasons. Your goal is to build a team that is competitive for titles for several years to come. The other modes are basically just for fun like the "All Star Weekend" and the "1 on 1s". This game has so many modes, and you can't ever truly "beat" this game.


This game isn't very hard, but I wouldn't say it's easy either. You can change the difficulty of the game to match your skill level, so there's not really a definitive difficulty the game has. There are 4 difficulty modes you can choose from, Rookie, Starter, All-Star, and Superstar. I never got quite good enough to consistently win at the Superstar level, but Rookie and Starter were way too easy for me, so I spent most of my time at the All-Star level, since it was the only level where I could get a challenge, but also win more than I lost. It's great how basically no matter how good or bad you are at the game, there's a level for you. 

Good review! Had very good vocabulary and makes me wanna dust my PS2 off and go eBay a copy of NBA Live '08.