Play smart hoops and you will be rewarded. The defense properly collapses when Shaq gets the ball in deep. And the AI, now often seen moving without the ball, will likely set Dwyane Wade behind the arc. Pass out of the triple-team and Wade is left wide open. Players such as Wade and Nash, who rarely miss those open shots, aren't going to miss them in 2K8. Think about it. How often have you seen Nash find spacing and drain a wide-open shot? All the time. He's almost automatic. But in most hoops games, soulless mathematics are used to determine an artificial probability of that little orange ball going through the hoop. And too often that ball clanks. I've seen first hand that if Nash pulls up and no one is around him, in 2K8, he's banging that home.

At the same time, the 2K team realized that there are some players who can drive into traffic and will the ball into the hoops. Kobe, KG, Agent Zero. Whether it's pushing through and slamming a dunk over a defender or finding a way to teardrop the ball through the hoop, some players just have a knack for draining clutch shots in traffic. Those players now have a specific rating in NBA 2K8, so that once impossible shots can sometimes be possible. That isn't to say you won't see harsh rejections of even the most dominant players, but no longer is every player treated as equal with a defender's hand in his face.

Things are a little more sophisticated away from the paint as well. Each player now has a rating judging how good they are shooting off the dribble. Kobe may just be one of the very best in this category. How often do we see an awkward jumpshot off a dribble drained by Kobe? NBA 2K8 recognizes there are some players better at setting their feet and shooting and others that have a gift for dropping shots on the move. Again, all of this is meant to better individuate NBA players. You want Tony Parker to play differently than Leandro Barbosa. You want Nash and Dirk to both be highly-skilled but different to control. From the game I played of NBA 2K8, that dream is closer to reality than it has been in a long time for Visual Concepts.

In hopes to add even more realism to its sim franchise, Visual Concepts implemented new footplanting technology. The new animation and physics system requires that every crossover and post move have the necessary footwork to make it real. In the past you could use the Isomotion system to break from a crossover and then instantly hit a spin move. While it looked cool, some of the animations were physically impossible. Now, players must plant their foot to properly push off. It makes some of the moves slower to respond, but it also makes NBA 2K8 feel a touch more grounded than its predecessors. Movement and momentum were a major focus for VC this year and its shows.

The drawback to the new system is that the once fluid animation chains are gone. The build I played had some jerky transitions at times. While individual animations looked great, they don't connect well together. This is something VC is tweaking and hopefully can improve before NBA 2K8 ships in early October. Aside from the jerkiness, NBA 2K8 is a visual improvement over last year's model. The crowds in particular look much better. And those chunky bodies have been slimmed down a bit, so players appear more like their true selves than very tall IGN editors.
As with so many aspects of NBA 2K8, Isomotion has also seen some tweaks. Things have been simplified. Just use the Left Thumbstick for basic moves and the Right Trigger as a modifier. Nothing more than that. Anyone who's been playing with the Isomotion system the past few years should have no trouble adjusting to the changes. Though, I will say that those who used to rely solely on Isomotion to get to the hoop will find that the AI will make this tougher than in recent years.

One offense, you'll notice a set of five bars beneath the ball handler that look like a cell phone reception meter. This shows a player's hot zones. Every player has been given zones compiled from their past five years in the NBA. But rather than show these zones as an overlay, as EA's NBA Live 08 does, 2K8's interface is a bit more clever. The bar immediately lets you know that LeBron is golden from anywhere on the court and Yao Ming shouldn't be outside the arc.

The bars also come in three colors. Blue is for a cold streak, yellow for no streak, and red for a hot streak. Streaks are determined by how well you are shooting. So, again, if you take smart shots, you're going to be more likely to get on a hot streak. This won't set the ball on fire or mean that every three you throw up will hit nothing but net, but it will give a slight boost to your ratings. Streaks shouldn't be confused with a player's clutch rating. Clutch Factor only comes into play in the fourth quarter and speaks more to a player's consistency in big moments rather than a major boost to overall ratings. Robert Horry is about as clutch as they come, but you still have to get him open shots.

While your or I might have called it a day with all these improvements, VC soldiered on. Next on the hit list is the post game. Let's face it, post play has never been as perimeter play. NBA 2K8 hopes to change that with a more refined post option. The biggest change in the post are your options. Players have a far greater range of shot options and moves. And the post doesn't feel as artificial, as if it's some mini-game within a game. While after one game I can't say it's the greatest thing since jelly on toast, it's certainly faster and more exhilarating than in 2K7.

On defense, there has been one significant addition. Players now have the option to engage Lock-on D. Get in front of the ball handler and, if your player is a good enough defender, a target icon appears below the player. When you see it, hold the Left Trigger to initiate Lock-on D. You'll need to adjust your player to match the offensive player's moves, but the CPU will help guide you to keep you close. If you just stand there and do nothing, the other player can easily drive by you. But if you see the ball handler move to the right, move towards the right and your defender will be more likely to cut them off. With some skill, you can keep players from driving the lane and even ride a player out of bounds.

This advantage is only brief and can be countered with the right moves. A quick player can try and just turbo past the defender. Or you can pass out of the Lock-on D. Or fake one way and move the other. The Lock-on D is meant to be a guide for the player, but also to help make the game a little more believable. A great defender shouldn't be beaten time after time by a mediocre shooter. But that happened a lot in previous iterations. My only issue with the Lock-on D is that it actually became a distraction. Too often I got caught waiting for the target icon to appear and not relying on my own skills at defense. It's a system that might require a few games to get the hang of, but hopefully it doesn't end up being too artificial.

When the buzzer rings and the crowd begins filing out of the arena, you still have reason to avoid quitting to the main menu. The post game show starts with the Jordan Player of the Game. You'll see the player's stats and their highlight reel. It even shows their hot zones and how well they shot around the court. Then comes the top 3 plays of the game. If that's not enough, you get signature highlights for every player. Let's say you play Celtics vs. Suns. You can click on Kevin Garnett and see his highlight reel. Then check out all of Nash's dope dishes. And Barbosa's sweet jumpers. If that isn't enough, you can go through a catalogue of every single play in the entire game and choose any replay you want to watch. That's hot.

NBA 2K8 still has a few rough edges. The animations aren't as fluid as they should be and I'm not completely sold on the new Lock-on D system. That said, from everything I've seen and played in NBA 2K8, it's hard to imagine any other game will be able to step up and take its crown this year. This is certainly one of Visual Concepts most promising games of the past few years.

 

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