Unlike it’s Cell fueled brethren NBA 08 on PS2 is a different beast than the other version. Gone is the NBA Replay mode, and the constantly updated gameplay during the regular season. In its place we get The Life V3, an obvious third attempt at a “story” driven stroll through skill challenges. Playing through The Life was exactly like it was playing through NBA Replay on the PS3, with the exception of a few different and welcome challenge types. I still don’t see a need for a story mode in a sports game, unless it’s something a little more freeform like the skateboarding genre has become, so the inclusion of it here was more a curiosity than a driving factor to get the title. Sadly, the story is so weak that the cutscenes become more of a pain than anything. Sure it’s the story of a rookie working his ass off to get to the top, but come on. Save it for another movie starring Dennis Quaid.

Sports games released in this millennium generally include a set base of play modes, and NBA 08 includes most familiar modes of play. You can opt to play a quick match with teams of your choice, enter in a set of mini-games, or start league play, which has the very limited options of Exhibition and Season. For those who’ve never played this title before, Season does not mean you have access to any tweakable items found in other games containing a Dynasty or Franchise mode. The Season mode in NBA 08 shows a table of upcoming games and gives you the option to play or simulate them. Do not expect to be able to tweak concession costs / ticket prices or even draft players to mold them in the minor leagues before bringing them up.

Lack of SIXAXIS controls aside, the game actually feels quite close to its high powered partner thanks to a common interface and shooting mechanism. While the juke moves and the defensive posturing is absent from this title, the controls still hold up fairly well even though some responsiveness seems lost between generations. The standout here is the way shooting is handled; a color-coded meter that takes a little skill to know when to release the shot button. Hold it too long and you’ll be blasting the ball through the backboard, too light and you’ll throw up a brick. While some sports benefit from pure analog stick control, I feel that basketball is best suited to a meter such as this to prevent from flailing with the analog sticks and finding that slight particular movement for a finesse shot.

Definitely a step backward in graphical and audio quality NBA 08 suffers from block character design, lack of detail and the excellent jagged edges that the games are known for. The near solid color for the hardwood floors brought back memories of Double Dribble, and the jumpy animation didn’t help smooth things out either. The sound in the game is solid, with decent ambient noise and musical selections throughout. Again, as with most sports titles the commentary’s can get a little tired after only a couple of games so you’ll likely want to supplement the music should you sit down for a longer period of gaming.

One again when you look at the other available NBA titles on this market for the PS3, NBA 08 is missing out on one key feature that I’d imagine a large portion of PS2 gamers are looking for – the Dynasty mode. Seeing as this has the potential to be the last NBA title released by Sony for the PS2, this could be their swan song. Hopefully they’ll take the feedback received and make a contender for the next year, be it on the PS2 or the PS3. If you’re itching for a new NBA title, then there’s nothing that can be said to dissuade you, but my recommendation at most is to rent this title.