Basketball games are the original squad-combat format... really! Think about most of the other sports. Tennis and solo sports naturally convert well to gaming as player-controlled. Large team sports such as football, soccer, or hockey sacrifice the ability to control action by granting a player the ability to control one key player. The Madden format of calling plays ahead of time is a natural for a large ensemble sport like football. Basketball, on the other hand, contains just enough players to give gamers the illusion of full control. If presented correctly there can be a wonderful immersion and the impression of harnessing the power of a five-man team.

Presentation being everything, NBA 08 scores high marks. Every inch of the game is manicured with the exception of a few player models. Looking at some of the players makes you think that some guys missed the mocap session and neglected to turn in their headshots to SCEA or something. A few have striking models and others are less than spectacular. The nice details of each stadium are present and some extras like old jerseys from classic periods in each team's history help spice up the team colors. Following the action is easy with the stripped-down interface of NBA 08 and there are some nice touches like directional passing that doesn't require ugly icons above each player's head. You can use the icons if you like or you can just push the analog stick in the direction of the open player and hit him with a quick pass. A raft of mini-game options open the floor for some really different design choices and the development team made the most of this opportunity. Colorful backdrops, themed pinball games, and a bouncing-block arcade style game featuring weird bouncing basketballs instead of the familiar brick-bashing balls... add music from a nice soundtrack with songs by Sum 41, Gang Starr, and M.I.A. to get a pretty sweet feast for ears and eyes.

Is it possible to have too many features? Do basketball players make too much money? These aren't interesting questions and NBA 08 does nothing to address them. It just makes for a whole heck of a lot of b-ball. Every possible use for a basketball is accounted for in this game except possible culinary applications. Modes range from far-fetched carnival games with a basketball twist to a full season of play. Working from the ridiculous to the sublime, let the tour begin...

The best non-traditional game is Pinball, one of several "Carnival" games. The only problem with Pinball was a glitch that caused the game to sleep or shut-down at times. This was infrequent, thankfully. New skins for Pinball are available for download online through the game's Online menu, and new rosters are promised for delivery this way through every week of this year's season. Other casual basketball games include the block-breaking nod to Breakout, a skee-ball simulator, and a version of the small-booth, small-ball game present at fun fairs the world 'round. Paired with these truly casual games are slightly more realistic basketball mini-games that pit several players on the court in simple "shot vs. shot" contests like H.O.R.S.E. or three-point shootouts. No skills with the basket? Try dodgeball. No, really... dodgeball. After the novelty factor wears off, you won't find much use for the more obscure modes. Luckily, there is some great basketball action under the hood along with the space oddities.

The touted Block Party feature in NBA 08 consists of the mini-games in tandem with more serious fare, like an actual basketball game. Shocking to hear, but you knew you were going to have to play b-ball at some point, right? Playing Block Party is much like putting the entire NBA 08 game on "shuffle." You get some serious and some frivolous in the right dose and you get the experience of using real players. When this whets your appetite, you can jump into one of several game modes via the Quick Play option or select your mode of choice directly. The Exhibition Mode is a straight competition between two teams, as a one-off. This and the Pickup Game - think street ball and you're on track with the "pickup" concept - are the only full game modes available in wireless multiplayer. The mini-games are also available online or for ad-hoc play among some nearby friends. All-Star is available as a Quick Play game for one player, if Block Party is too much commitment for you... The big, 900-pound gorilla modes are Season and Playoffs. These involve some management features like trading and Free Agents, but there isn't a player-by-player management feature that feels like the Career Mode seen in other sports titles. The defining characteristic of both Season and Playoff Mode is depth of play. An NBA season includes 82 games; if you aren't up to that, you can select other options or you can simulate certain games in the schedule. The coolest thing for steady NBA fans in Playoff mode is the option to load last year's match-ups for play. Otherwise, this is just a slice of Season Mode for the instant gratification set. If all this sounds daunting, you can settle back in quasi-practice modes, Shoot Around and Free Throw. If this doesn't sound daunting enough, there is always Conquest Mode. This pairs up street-ball contests with a Risk-like format that has teams defending and expanding turf by "surviving" on the court. Instead of racking up points, each basket the other team sinks cuts your life bar until you eventually expire. Not in a gory way, since this game is rated E for Everyone, but maybe there's an unlock code for "Finish him!!" street-ball victories coming in a future download.

A.I. is the weakest link for NBA 08. The simple, layman's version is that opposing teams played by the CPU are either too hard or too easy. There is nothing in between, which makes for some cheap victories on both sides. The learning curve for controls is steep, since there isn't a true training as much as several practice modes. Practice may make perfect, but there's nothing perfect about the CPU players. Turning down the difficulty level and disabling some features like injuries that make the game more realistic is fine for filler. But what about when you want to play solo and feel like you're really "in the game?" Not happening here. Playing against other humans (assuming the reader is human) is way more fun and actually captures the strength of NBA 08. Online play is available, so let's hope the lobby is crowded. Most players will use the Block Party mode to kill time between multiplayer games and leave the solo play alone.

Back to the squad-based combat comment, NBA 08 does share some similar control schemes with games of that variety. Fast triggers for squad action, such as throwing a pick or running other plays, help suspend the disbelief inherent in any game based on a team sport. Players on your team actually follow orders and run plays. They do a nice job of catching the ball, as long as they are open and ready. CPU guard is incredibly sticky, so you'll rarely find a way around them even with all the tricky dribbling. The tricks while dribbling include the fake, across-the-body or between-the-leg action that looks great on the court. Sprinting with the ball or hanging back are available tactics and the passing action is smooth. Shooting, not so much. Taking a shot is purportedly about timing, but the timing is fiendishly hard to master. Be good at rebounding, because you'll miss more than a few shots. Playing for a while in the Shoot Around or Free Shot modes will help you master the timing, but it is hard, hard, hard. A targeting reticule above your shooter's head pulses yellow, green, and red as you take the shot. Waiting until red means you'll brick it, yellow gives you a chance to sink the ball, and green means a perfect hit. Green is rare, but over time you'll get better at releasing the button when you see the color change at the correct time. If the shot meter makes you feel nervous, you can tweak it along with other options, like injuries, backcourt violations, and player stamina. Some players also have special skills that you can use to help swing the game in your favor, if you can get the ball to them without it being swatted away.

The premise of NBA 08 - a current roster of players with downloadable content featuring oodles of real and pretend basketball action - sounds like a dream come true for fans. Certainly, this is a very respectable entry, but lack of enjoyable A.I. doesn't help the shelf life. There is also an absence of meaningful content relative to the PS3. Games on PSP need to start leveraging the big system or guys (like me) that couldn't splash out hundreds of dollars on a next-gen console won't develop a burning desire to own a PS3. The big pro of NBA 08 is in its presentation and depth, but the lack of strong A.I. makes this a one-sided affair. Still, NBA 08 is a great best-of-breed entry and a must-own for basketball fans that like the idea of playing through entire seasons with the players they know and love.