NBA 08 - hands-on with Player Progression, NBA Replay

Aug 23, 2007

So what if you never made it to the NBA? Maybe you were a phenomenal athlete whose career was derailed by injury. Hey, it happens. Then again, it's just as likely that you never made the team to begin with - the stinging result of a physique that can only be described as "hobbit-like." Well, regardless of how close you came to stardom, the ever-benevolent team behind NBA 08 would like to help you live out your dreams of former glory with a pair of promising features: one a refined version from last year's title, and the other a new take on a sports game staple.

Those who played NBA 07 are likely familiar with the concept of NBA Replay. If not, what Sony San Diego has essentially done is take the entire 2006-07 season, from opening night tip-off to Tim Duncan's sweating profusely on the championship trophy, and break it down week by week in search of the two most thrilling single player performances during those seven day stretches. These scenarios are reconstructed as a challenge where you have to recreate the player's hot streak, both offensively and defensively.

The example we were shown had the player mimicking Mike Miller's epic - perhaps the first and last time those three words will ever be used consecutively - fourth quarter performance from week one in which he dropped 21 points in the final period against the Bobcats. This year, Sony has used game-by-game shot charts from the source material to add specific floor locations for you to shoot from during these scenarios. This helps add a whole new layer of realism to a feature that already succeeds pretty well in letting you vicariously live out the highs of NBA stardom.