Now for the downside – NBA 07 just doesn’t play a good game of basketball.
The shooting system is great, but that’s about it for the plus side of things.
The game uses a timing-based halo system in which the ball goes from red to
yellow to green and back again as you hold the shot button. The key is to
release the shot when the ball is green to give you the best chance of making
it. Unless you’re trying to shoot a three point basket that is. For some reason
the game has made it darn near impossible to hit a three, even with a player
known for his outside shooting prowess. The computer doesn’t suffer the same
handicap though, and in fact seems to hit an unrealistically high percentage of
its shots from beyond the arc. The computer also gets an unfair advantage on
defense. It is way too hard to work the ball inside on the computer, especially
since your teammates refuse to move when you have the ball. Even the player
you’re controlling can give you problems – your players have a maddening habit
of picking up the ball for no reason, often leaving themselves in spot where
there is no shot to take or man to pass to. Picks are impossible to pull off
because the computer can switch off defenders in an instant and block your path
before you can even get around your own man. Crossover dribbles don’t work well
at all, sending your man through a slow animation that takes him away from the
basket as the defender just watches without losing his ground. This all makes it
hard to recommend the game to a true basketball fan or in fact anyone without an
abnormally high tolerance for frustration.
It’s good to see a portable sports game packed with so many modes that work
so well for games on the go and the Conquest mode is pure genius, but why is the
basketball itself such a mess? Hopefully the developers spend the offseason
overhauling the basketball in the game. If they do then NBA 08 will certainly be
a game to look forward to playing.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
68%. A ton of gameplay, a ton of issues. 
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