Could have been better considering EA Sports is the leader in sports games.
NBA Live 07 Review
EA Sports games has been making sports games for a long time and while there are other basketball games that do get released not many come close to the prestige that NBA Live has over their competition. Wither its licensed player names and teams not only set them apart but leaves them it an area where one can get complacent. Fair to say their only competition would be both the release from a year ago and 2K Sports offering.
Game play: 7/10
I am assuming that your knowledgeable in the game of Basketball and its terms. The game is setup with fairly easy controls to learn to play the game. Offense setup is fairly easy to learn as with the defence controls. All basics moves are there. Basic passing is not complicated as all you have to do is face the teammate to pass the ball to. Fancy passes can be done with a few extra button sequences. In harder difficulties you just have to be aware of the opponents in the way to force turnovers. Depending on the distance to the basket you have two types of shots to use to score. The same can be said for defence moves in stealing, jumping to block and intercepting the pass. With the use of each of the NBA teams, their superstars have certain moves that will help you score slightly easier. The rosters are updated to the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. I find the game play was a bit improved over the 06 release in terms of offence but the defensive controls remained the same. There are quick games, season mode and multi player options. In local multi-player the game allows you to have up to four controllers. I did not play this game much online and while it was enjoyable with a fluid game play with very little lag.
Graphics: 6/10
While the graphics look good, I found that it was not much of an improvement over the 06 release. The arenas are slightly better with the crowd looking more lifelike than 06. Most of the views remain the same. The player's faces look improved to the point where you can tell from their hair style alone.
Sound and Music: 6/10
I like the in game sound as you hear sneakers squeaking and the crow cheering with decent play by play announcers. What I found like most other sports games, halfway into a season most of the color commentary is the same. Seems like most sports games has real songs in the menu screens, the songs are good but get fairly boring with its repetitiveness and is easily turned off.
Difficulty
Very easy to learn the controls and to dive right into a match. Pulling off different style shots and dunks might get hard at first but can easily be mastered.
360 Achievements
I would say the most of the achievements (900) can be done within a few hours but one achievement called Online with 1,000 people seems difficult to get at the moment and would take much coordinating between hordes of gamers.
Final Thoughts:
With the yearly release of NBA Live games, helps reduce the price on older versions and 07 is no different. You can find a copy for very cheap and would make it a good valued purchase. Each yearly release I am hoping for a major advancement in the game but I didn't find one with this game. Just a passing overall grade.