Official NBA 2k8 Information/General 2k8 stuff Thread

[CelticBalla32]

CB32, thank you for this info - I read you on the 2kforums but those are a mess, so this thread is a haven.

Unfortunately, I have the red ring of death right now.

Yeah that place is an absolute disgrace. A bunch of repulsive 12-year-olds freaking out at each other and misspelling every word in their post.

I feel bad for you about your 360 though, that's terrible timing. Think you can get it fixed within 24 days?

[bostonfan23]

No. I've heard it can take a couple months, I'm thinking about just picking up a new one and selling my broken one when I get it back.

[tb727]

Hey just a question- does anyone else find it really annoying that you can't trade players from teams in Season Mode of Live 07 or Live 06?  Am I missing something obvious on that?

That in itself, is why I will be trying 2K8 this year.

[galen]

No. I've heard it can take a couple months, I'm thinking about just picking up a new one and selling my broken one when I get it back.

I've had two 360's bite the dust.  If your quick about  calling and setup a repair/replacement, and send it in as soon as you get the box from microsoft, it only took me between 3-4 weeks to get it done.  Good luck though, I can't believe how poorly made they are.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Wow, 2 weeks till 2k8. Don't know if I can wait that long.

[CelticBalla32]

Wow, 2 weeks till 2k8. Don't know if I can wait that long.

Yeah, I know man. October is going to be a GREAT month. You've got NBA 2k8 coming out on October 2, then 4 days later, preseason begins. I think that song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is extremely fitting right about now.

Semi-Off-Topic: I just had an OUTSTANDING game in NBA 2k7. I played Cleveland, we went into 2OT, but it was a serious nail-biter. LeBron murdered me, he scored 44-46 points.

At the end of regulation, in order to force OT, I nailed a baseline jumper with Ray. Cleveland called a timeout and inbounded from halfcourt. They got it directly into LeBron, who luckily bricked a 17-foot fall-away at the buzzer.

With 32-33 seconds left in the first OT, I got to the basket with Rondo and forced LeBron to commit his 5th foul! I was still down by 5 though, so after I sunk both free throws with Rajon, I forced Big Z to throw up a ridiculous hook shot as the shot clock expired. I swiped the bound with KG, pushed it up-court with Pierce, then dished it to a wide open Jesus Shuttlesworth in the corner... bang, nailed the 3 to tie it up. Then Cleveland comes back and nails a 3 in my face (Sasha).

So I'm down 3 with 1.0 seconds left. I sub Eddie House in for Rondo, inbound the ball to him off the curl, and let his quick released jumper fly from about 28 feet.... SWAP! Forced a 2nd OT, E-House saved the day.

In 2OT, I just dominated. I ended up winning 153-144 (the most I've ever scored in a single game in 2k7). Some of my stat-lines were ridiculous though:

KG - 36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Ray - 32 points and 12 assists
Pierce - 24 points, 5 boards, 7 assists
TA - 18 points off the bench, 7-7 FG
Perk - 10 boards, 2 blocks
Rajon - 8 points, 4 boards, 3 assists
E-House - 12 points, 5 dimes
Posey - 11, 4, and 3 with 4 steals

Man, I had to write all this out. I'm pretty pumped right now, and a game like that just got me more pumped for 2k8 than ever. Two weeks, man...

[BigAlTheFuture]

Wow, 2 weeks till 2k8. Don't know if I can wait that long.

Yeah, I know man. October is going to be a GREAT month. You've got NBA 2k8 coming out on October 2, then 4 days later, preseason begins. I think that song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is extremely fitting right about now.

Semi-Off-Topic: I just had an OUTSTANDING game in NBA 2k7. I played Cleveland, we went into 2OT, but it was a serious nail-biter. LeBron murdered me, he scored 44-46 points.

At the end of regulation, in order to force OT, I nailed a baseline jumper with Ray. Cleveland called a timeout and inbounded from halfcourt. They got it directly into LeBron, who luckily bricked a 17-foot fall-away at the buzzer.

With 32-33 seconds left in the first OT, I got to the basket with Rondo and forced LeBron to commit his 5th foul! I was still down by 5 though, so after I sunk both free throws with Rajon, I forced Big Z to throw up a ridiculous hook shot as the shot clock expired. I swiped the bound with KG, pushed it up-court with Pierce, then dished it to a wide open Jesus Shuttlesworth in the corner... bang, nailed the 3 to tie it up. Then Cleveland comes back and nails a 3 in my face (Sasha).

So I'm down 3 with 1.0 seconds left. I sub Eddie House in for Rondo, inbound the ball to him off the curl, and let his quick released jumper fly from about 28 feet.... SWAP! Forced a 2nd OT, E-House saved the day.

In 2OT, I just dominated. I ended up winning 153-144 (the most I've ever scored in a single game in 2k7). Some of my stat-lines were ridiculous though:

KG - 36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Ray - 32 points and 12 assists
Pierce - 24 points, 5 boards, 7 assists
TA - 18 points off the bench, 7-7 FG
Perk - 10 boards, 2 blocks
Rajon - 8 points, 4 boards, 3 assists
E-House - 12 points, 5 dimes
Posey - 11, 4, and 3 with 4 steals

Man, I had to write all this out. I'm pretty pumped right now, and a game like that just got me more pumped for 2k8 than ever. Two weeks, man...

Was this superstar mode? Or Hall of Fame?

[CelticBalla32]

Superstar, 10 minutes per quarter. That's how I play, and I get very realistic results.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Superstar, 10 minutes per quarter. That's how I play, and I get very realistic results.

did you change any of the ratings or play with the default?

[CelticBalla32]

Superstar, 10 minutes per quarter. That's how I play, and I get very realistic results.

did you change any of the ratings or play with the default?

All I did was lower the steal slider/success for myself (not the CPU though), because it's too easy to intercept and pick pockets.

Some ratings were released, guys!

http://www.gametap.com/home/read/article/8a25090115182c4a011519c6c74a0c45

Top 25 Point Guards

1. Steve Nash: 96
2. Gilbert Arenas: 96
3. Allen Iverson: 93
4. Baron Davis: 93
5. Jason Kidd: 92
6. Chris Paul: 91
7. Deron Williams: 90
8. Tony Parker: 90
9. Chauncey Billups: 89
10. Kirk Hinrich: 85
11. Leandro Barbosa: 85
12. Mike Bibby: 84
13. T.J. Ford: 84
14. Jason Terry: 83
15. Andre Miller: 82
16. Raymond Felton: 82
17. Mo Williams: 82
18. Sam Cassell: 80
19. Stephon Marbury: 80
20. Jamaal Tinsley: 80
21. Steve Francis: 80
22. Mike James: 80
23. Brevin Knight: 79
24. Devin Harris: 79
25. Rafer Alston: 79

Top 25 Shooting Guards

1. Kobe Bryant: 98
2. Dwyane Wade: 97
3. Tracy McGrady: 93
4. Ray Allen: 92
5. Joe Johnson: 89
6. Michael Redd: 88
7. Caron Butler: 88
8. Rip Hamilton: 87
9. Manu Ginoblili: 87
10. Jason Richardson: 84
11. Monta Ellis: 84
12. Brandon Roy: 82
13. Ben Gordon: 82
14. Kevin Martin: 82
15. Larry Hughes: 81
16. Mike Miller: 80
17. Richard Jefferson: 80
18. Jose Calderon: 80
19. Jamal Crawford: 79
20. Jerry Stackhouse: 79
21. Raja Bell: 79
22. Cuttino Mobley: 78
23. Juan Carlos Navarro: 78
24. Anthony Parker: 78
25. Marco Belinelli: 78

Top 25 Small Forwards

1. LeBron James: 97
2. Carmelo Anthony: 94
3. Paul Pierce: 91
4. Vince Carter: 90
5. Rashard Lewis: 89
6. Ron Artest: 86
7. Josh Howard: 86
8. Gerald Wallace: 84
9. Luol Deng: 84
10. Josh Smith: 84
11. Andre Iguodala: 83
12. Peja Stojakovic: 83
13. Rudy Gay: 82
14. Ricky Davis: 82
15. Stephen Jackson: 82
16. Tayshaun Prince: 81
17. Corey Maggette: 80
18. Bonzi Wells: 80
19. Kevin Durant: 80
20. Grant Hill: 80
21. Danny Granger: 79
22. Bruce Bowen: 79
23. James Posey: 78
24. Shane Battier: 78
25. Wally Szczerbiak: 78

Top 25 Power Forwards

1. Tim Duncan: 98
2. Kevin Garnett: 97
3. Dirk Nowitzki: 95
4. Elton Brand: 92
5. Chris Bosh: 92
6. Shawn Marion: 92
7. Pau Gasol: 91
8. Carlos Boozer: 90
9. Jermaine O'Neal: 90
10. Al Jefferson: 89
11. Zach Randolph: 87
12. Lamar Odom: 87
13. Rasheed Wallace: 86
14. Antawn Jamison: 86
15. Andres Nocioni: 82
16. David West: 82
17. Al Horford: 81
18. David Lee: 81
19. Udonis Haslem: 79
20. Nene: 79
21. Nick Collison: 79
22. Al Harrington: 79
23. Andrea Bargnani: 78
24. Boris Diaw: 78
25. Charlie Villanueva: 77

Top 25 Centers

1. Amare Stoudemire: 95
2. Yao Ming: 92
3. Dwight Howard: 91
4. Marcus Camby: 88
5. Shaquille O'Neal: 87
6. Emeka Okafor: 86
7. Mehmet Okur: 85
8. Ben Wallace: 84
9. Tyson Chandler: 83
10. Alonzo Mourning: 82
11. Greg Oden: 80
12. Zydrunas Ilgauskas: 80
13. Eddy Curry: 80
14. Andris Biedrins: 80
15. Chris Kaman: 78
16. Samuel Dalmbert: 77
17. Brad Miller: 77
18. Andrew Bogut: 76
19. Chris Wilcox: 76
20. LaMarcus Aldridge: 75
21. Nenad Krstic: 75
22. Etan Thomas: 75
23. Joel Przybilla: 73
24. Michael Doleac: 73
25. Spencer Hawes: 73

I will be editing these rosters a bit. Here are some noticeable problems:

1. Paul Pierce has been a 94 and 93 for the past 2 years, why did he drop to 91? He's the same player he was 3 years ago, except smarter.

2. Paul Pierce is certainly a better all-around player than Vince Carter.

3. Ray Allen is up there, but I wouldn't say he's a better all-around player than Pierce.

4. Jose Calderon all the way up at 80.. eh... and at SG? What?

5. Every Warrior listed is overrated, except Al Harrington.

6. So Michael Doleac at 73 and a top 25 center in the NBA? No Kendrick Perkins?

7. Nash all the way up at 96, but Kidd at 92? How do you figure? ESPECIALLY when talking about overall skills/ratings.

8. Arenas up at 96 may be a little excessive, especially considering the fact that he's 5 up on Pierce. No...

9. Older players' ratings should start to decline. Stack could drop a point or two. Cassell and Hill shouldn't be in the 80's anymore, and Zo shouldn't be all the way up at 82. Zo's rating goes UP this year? How?

10. Barbosa is too high at 85.

11. Skip is a little too high at 79.

12. Vince should be at the 2, Jefferson should be at the 3, and Jefferson should be a little higher than 80, especially if Stephen Jackson is up at 82.

13. Lewis is a little overrated, I'd drop him to 86 or 87 tops.

14. Josh Smith is not a better basketball player than Andre Iguodala.

15. Tayshaun Prince should be higher, and above the likes of Jackson, Davis, Gay, and Peja.

16. Marion should be listed as a SF, and down a couple rating points.

17. I love Big Al, but I think 85-86 sounds right. It's funny, because if he didn't make the headlines as a guy who got traded for KG, he'd be at 84-85.

18. Randolph is overrated. 85 at best, because he's a black hole and plays zero defense... always out of shape, and a questionable character.

19. I think I might take the overall ability of a guy like Jeff Green or Al Thornton over Wally Szczerbiak.

20. Amare might be able to drop 2 points or so.

21. Kaman is better than Biedrins.

22. Aldridge is a natural 4, and should be labled as one with Oden in town. What were they going to do, have him come off the bench in the game? I also think Aldridge is a better player than Bogut, with more upside as well.

23. Etan Thomas improved this year, huh? Hmm...

24. It's so filthy I have to say it again... Michael Doleac a top 25 center? At 73? And no Kendrick Perkins listed?

I'll be tinkering a bit this year...

Oh, by the way... for all XBOX 360 owners, the NBA 2k8 demo is coming out tonight (technically Wednesday morning) at 2-3 am!!! I stay up until that time every night, anyway, but it may be until 4-4:30 tonight. Heh.

[bball831]

CelticBalla, you've done a terrific job with this thread.  Just amazing.  I rarely use the TommyPoint system and haven't given out any true TommyPoints (most of them just for the hell of it).  This one is well deserved.  Thanks for the great info. 

[CelticBalla32]

CelticBalla, you've done a terrific job with this thread.  Just amazing.  I rarely use the TommyPoint system and haven't given out any true TommyPoints (most of them just for the hell of it).  This one is well deserved.  Thanks for the great info. 

Thanks a lot, bro.

Alright, wow. I'll start by saying that this is the most unbelievable video game I have ever played in my life. Everything about this game is ridiculous (in a good way). I guess I'll break down the pros and cons:

NBA 2k8 Demo - Pros

First off, the crowd is unbelievable. It really does it for me, it makes it feel so... real. Everybody moves, and everybody moves differently. There are no duplicates (in each section or two, anyway). They really come alive and make the atmosphere feel like you're watching a game on TV.

The graphics have made a big jump since 2k7. Not only the player faces, which are great, but the body types, court, lighting, and extra features on the court (such as camera-men, fans, mascot, etc.). Some of them looked like crap last year, kind of stick-figure-like. Not this year.

Detail: wow. From the lining on the jerseys to the faces, facial hair, shoes, fans, etc. You name it. The detail is outstanding.

Player-by-Player Animations/Models: As I mentioned above, the graphics took a big leap, but each player's animation is incredible. Not just their body type or face, but their movement... their dribbling style, their rebounding style, their passing style... For example, they got LeBron down perfectly. When he grabs rebounds, he slaps it against his other hand, and he bends his knees on the ground as he comes down. He leans forward and taps the ball. He makes a lot of skip passes. He menuevers like himself in the lane (layups, in-air movement, and dunks especially look like the real LeBron James). Player celebrations, as well. Very realistic... for example, LeBron leans down slowly and holds his hands out, then quickly slaps his teammates hand on the way up. Duncan does his little two-step jog. Duncan complains to the refs... Even each players' shot animations have improved.

Drawing Fouls: You'll notice that LeBron slashes to the basket often and draws contact, while guys like Larry Hughes won't get to the line often.

In previous games, the point guard is the only one who brought the ball up. In 2k8, it's realistic in the sense that LeBron will bring it up sometimes (especially when Gibson is in the game), as will Ginobili.

The post game has improved. You can up-fake in traffic and under the basket, the moves/spins are much more crisp, and you aren't able to score at will in the post with any player you want anymore.

Contact: When you're driving the lane, have a tough defender on you, weaving through traffic, posting up, etc... you feel the contact, and you can't just run right through opposing players/referees. Players bump into refs sometimes, and the refs lose balance. Like you saw in the trailer as well, players grab the ref's shoulders and attempt to menuever out of the way. On rebounds, you can't run past a defender and just jump for a rebound... now it's realistic. You have to have position and really work to get in front of/around him.

The lock-on defense feature is pretty cool. You can use it whenver you want, but like the descriptions say, just because you're locked onto a guy doesn't mean he won't get by you or stick a jumper in your face.

There is a "Get Open" button (B), and the way players get open is outstanding. They move away from their defender off the ball, cut, run behind screens, curl, etc. to get themselves open. When you think they are in a good spot, you press their icon to pass it to them. I love this feature.

Better free-throw camera angles. They aren't always below/behind the guy anymore, they actually keep it on the gameplay angle so it feels/looks more realistic. I love it.

No more button-mashing!!! On jump-balls in 2k7, you had to press X as fast as you could like 20 times in a row to win a jump ball. Not anymore, not you realistically just press Y and time your jump.

Differentiating Speeds: How many times in NBA 2k7 did you catch up to Tony Parker on the break with a center like Kendrick Perkins or Shaq? Not this year. The quicker players will smoke the slower ones.

Cut-scenes & Presentation: The player cut-scenes have improved. In previous games, a cut-scene will show a player running full-speed at halfcourt, but when it was over, the player was really stationary at the other end. This year, what you see on the cut-scenes is how it is on the court. For presentation, the look of the graphics for lineups/substitutions are 10x better. Instead of showing 2 pictures on the side of who subbing in/out, they have a new "On the Court" screen, and it shows all 10 guys on the court (and it even has a cool little picture replacement animation for when players come in/out). Replays look better, as well, and aren't as annoying/irrelevant (for example, if you hit a 10 regular foot jumper with Bowen, they won't show an unnecessary replay of it like they did last year).

The CPU seems smarter. They won't throw you as many "gimme's" as far as easy lead passes to intercept. It seems better defensively, and they are really tough on the glass. Cleveland and San Antonio are good rebounding teams as it is, but it's MUCH tougher to get position (which you have to do this year) and grab a board.

Overall feel of the game: It's so [dang] realistic. You don't feel like you're playing an arcade game, you don't feel mis-timed, you don't feel like it's moving too fast. The speed of the game has settled down for the CPU, and it's realistic to the point where you feel like you're watching an actual game on TV (except controlling the players). The movement is so real and smooth... It's really truly amazing, I'm not exagurating one bit.

NBA 2k8 Demo - Cons

There's no commentary in the demo. Obviously, it's in the real game, but it kind of sucks that it's not in the demo.

I don't they they allow you to use Off-Ball Movement in the demo. It's listed in the controlls as RB, but it doesn't work in the demo. Just the B button that gets a player open for you. But again, this is a non-problem, because it will obviously be in the real game. They just don't want to spoil it.

They only give us 2 quarters, 4 minutes each! Heh, that's actually pretty good, and double what Live allows, but hey I want to play more!

It comes out on October 2, so 13 more days guys! I'll be playing this demo quite a bit until then. If you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer them.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Did they just come out with the Demo today??

I've been looking for it forever now.

I gotta download it.


2 quarters at 4 mins each? Wow, that's a pretty long demo.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Anybody notice that Tim Duncan settles for way too many jumpers in the demo??

[lon3lytoaster]

Demo seemed pretty boring. Still going to end up getting the game, though. I'm just really happy that got rid of that stupid ball dying on the rim effect. That made me angry beyond all reasoning in 2K7.

The last time I went online with 2K7 about killed me. I was playing as the T'Wolves with KG and all of this kid's shots were falling so I just used KG and Ricky Davis all game. I ended up winning with KG scoring 43 points and getting 15 boards, then Ricky had 23 points... Rest of the team had nothing.