If you have a favorite star in the NBA that you've always wished you could be, now may be your chance. EA's NBA Live 08 has got player models that are nearly spot-on representations of the stars of the National Basketball Association. Faces, bodies, and proportions are all graphically sound, and the sweat rolling off the players is the icing on the cake. Sure, there are some players that wouldn't necessarily be mistaken for an identical twin, but the most recognizable ones look great. Arenas also look great, but the crowd lacks a bit in the emotion department.

On the audio side of things, the commentary is usually the difference-maker in sports games. NBA Live 08 is no different, with Marv Albert and Steve Kerr at the helm. There are times, in fact, when you'd swear you were watching instead of playing, because they are that good and that smooth. However, there are many occasions of overly-repeated player backgrounds and such, and other times when the commentators miss the ball completely, and spout off some other completely irrelevant information or recaps.

In terms of the fun factor, NBA Live 08 will keep you coming back for more, if you can get past the numerous problems with the game. The gameplay itself lends for entertaining matchups, but the heart of the game lies in Dynasty Mode. Other modes include a 3-point shootout, Slam Dunk Contest, FIBA World Championship, and Online Leagues, just to name a few. But don't get too excited just yet about starting a league online... because it's not quite as it sounds. You'd think that this means you can play a full season with any number of players, but this just simply isn't the case. Instead you'll be able to set up a limited number of games and invite people to play; up to 32 total teams can compete. There's also no way to set up or join an open league directly, or search for any general leagues that are made. You must apparently know the name of the league, as I was unable to even test this feature. A misleading concept, Online Leagues could have been the mode that sold me on Live 08.

Instead of overachieving in this manner, however, NBA Live 08 shoots more bricks than it does game-winning shots. There are so many problems and bugs with this game that it will eat away at you like a snide comment from Kobe Bryant. These nuances cover a wide range as well, from simple graphical glitches all the way up to the title crashing numerous times in the same spot (as you are leaving the trivia and entering a game, while intervening a simulated dynasty game -- very common, for those keeping track). Because of these problems, your blood pressure will likely rise to the point of extreme frustration, especially if you don't save often enough before being forced to hard reboot the Xbox 360.

Along with these seriously bad cases, the gameplay suffers as well. One of the most notable problems lies in the defense, or lack thereof. Unless you manually intervene, it is very easy for your D to get burned, because the computer A.I. isn't intelligent enough to play help side defense. In addition, you could be playing a great game, only to have the computer come back and beat you, or to just start blowing you out from the opening tip-off, even though you play the same as you did when you blew out the exact same computer team previously. Less notably, but still annoying are the things that happen off the court. The Menus (both in-game and out) are very slow to navigate and the controller doesn't seem to respond as it should. While annoying in the Main Menus, it can be extremely frustrating while trying to quickly make decisions during time outs and even more so during actual gameplay situations.

On the positive side...

No, that's not a typo. I meant for that to be blank. In all fairness, though, NBA Live 08 does have a few features that do add to its enjoyment. One cool feature is with the Hot Spots option. Here you can check out where your players can and can't shoot from on the floor, and can be checked both in the Menus as well as interactively while playing the game. Another great feature (when it doesn't crash the game) is the ability to step in and intervene with any simulated games, and the fact that the game warns you in tight scores, as well as momentous situations like when players are about to score big or obtain a triple double.

While there are different difficulty settings, I found myself almost immediately playing on Superstar Mode (the most difficult setting). For the most part, any seasoned player should not even bother with the lower settings, because even at its best, Superstar wasn't all that challenging. That's not to say, of course, that it is too easy to play Live 08. After all, you still have to factor in the unfair advantage that the computer takes once in a while, by making every shot they throw up and causing the human player to miss 90 percent of the time, even when the same shots would have gone down in a previous game session. The real difficulty comes in the restraint it takes to not throw your controller across the room and smash it into little pieces with all of the problems that this game has, both in its Artificial Intelligence (or lack thereof), and in its interface and usability. See below.

I can't help but think what great potential NBA Live 08 had, but was never realized. (Note to self: Funny, I feel like I've been saying the same thing about EA Sports games year after year, because true improvements have been seriously lacking; sometimes even taking a step backwards.) Even the controls piss me off this year. Previous years had the defensive right analog with better functions, in my opinion. You can no longer choose which hand to try and steal with, taking a charge has changed, and the stick in general is very slow and unresponsive. To reiterate, the Menu controls are also way too slow and unresponsive. I often felt like I had to push my thumb through the controller to get it to respond. As an afterthought, I'm surprised that I didn't get any blisters.

On offense, you can send an alley-oop to just about anyone, including small point guards, with a very high success rate, which is quite disturbing. Back on defense, I have to once again mention that there is no computer-controlled help when a player is driving to the lane, especially on a clear-out. Oh, and come on... I know Tony Parker is a good player, but in Live 08 he is virtually unstoppable. In one word: ridiculous. Animations aren't always triggered at the right time either. As an example, I had numerous times when I was making a post move to the inside, only to have my player speed out of bounds. Also, while going for a dunk or layup from a fair distance in front of the hoop, the result was to have my player try his shot after going under the basket a number of times, resulting in more turnovers. In relation to that, fast break passing isn't nearly as fluid as it needs to be, and getting it to the right man on a 3-on-1 situation isn't always perfect. Did I mention that it is 100 percent impossible to steal an inbounds pass and that the camera doesn't lead enough on fast breaks (or even replays, of all things), and results in you guessing where your players are? In one instance, the camera was locked in for one possession and I had no clue to what was happening at the other end of the court.

For the completely inexcusable, the intervening crash bug that I found was reproduced (unintentionally, but also unavoidably) a documented 6 times, but occurred plenty more than that. It's also worth noting that, unless I'm missing something, in which case the interface needs work, you are unable to call timeout on defense, both after you score and during dead ball situations. I also had many times when I tried to change my strategy or lineup during timeouts that didn't take effect when I was on the court. Finally, I don't remember EVER watching an NBA game where players let the ball bounce on the floor right in front of them on a rebound... almost every time, including free throws. To think, EA had the audacity to label the back cover by saying that NBA Live 08 is "A Whole New Game" because you can "Experience the most fluid and realistic 5-on-5 basketball game ever with all-new shooting, passing, and rebounding engines." Really? If that is the case, let's go back to the OLD engines because the new ones are hosed.

Unfortunately there is a long list of negatives associated with NBA Live 08... likely too many to even list here. Is this excusable enough to enjoy the positives and have fun playing Live 08? Only you can decide, but in the opinion of someone who has long-loved EA's sports titles, I can't fully recommend anyone to pay full price for such an unpolished title. Until EA does a better job of working on the gameplay of their IPs, you may want to either rent first, or go with the 2K franchises.