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1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08

1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08

With Michael Jordan turning 60 today, it seemed only appropriate to celebrate His Airness with a basketball gaming video! As a fan of MJ since I got into hoops, his biggest triumphs are among my fondest basketball memories. However, I also loved learning about and watching his achievements that came before I was hooked on basketball, such as his iconic showdown with Dominique Wilkins in the 1988 Dunk Contest.

One of my all-time favourite NBA home video releases is Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers. It featured a segment recapping every NBA Dunk Contest to that point, which included the 1988 clash between Air Jordan and The Human Highlight Film. For a while now, I’ve had the idea of taking the audio from that segment, and re-creating it in a video game. Since I have some assets on hand thanks to a work-in-progress Ultimate Jordan mod, NBA Live 08 PC ended up being the title that I chose. Enjoy this re-creation, and see how it compares to the original segment!

One of my goals for 2023 is to get around to some articles, videos, and modding projects that I’ve been mulling over or keeping on the backburner for far too long now. Again, I devised this idea as a possible Wayback Wednesday feature some years back, so it’s extremely satisfying to finally put it together! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel, as Dee and I will be uploading plenty of content in the days and weeks to come.

The Friday Five: 5 Worst Aspects of My Favourite Modes

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five lists the five worst aspects of my favourite modes across years of playing various basketball video games.

When it comes to the quality of basketball video games, gameplay is paramount, but modes are still crucial. Deep modes can’t be enjoyed without great gameplay, but the gameplay won’t be nearly as interesting and engaging long-term without modes that keep us hooked. Fortunately, the modes in basketball games have come a long way. They’ve gone from a basic single NBA season – or just three rounds of the Playoffs – to comprehensive multi-season franchise modes, career modes with connected online team play, and card-based team building modes.

Of course, whether you’re talking about gameplay or game modes, perfection is an impossible goal. As is the case with the experience on the sticks, ideally the franchise, career, card collecting, and other modes will be relatively bug-free and enjoyable, but for a few quirky issues or missing features here and there. Although I was a long-time franchise gamer after the concept was introduced, over the past decade I’ve branched out into other ways to play basketball video games. I’ve had literally thousands of hours of fun with my favourite NBA Live and NBA 2K titles, but reflecting on those fantastic experiences, these are some of the worst aspects of my modes of choice.

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The Friday Five: 5 Overlooked Drawbacks of Awesome Features

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of five drawbacks of awesome features that tend to be overlooked.

Even though I’m an advocate for deep and detailed critique, I would agree that it’s possible to veer too far into the realm of nitpicking. That doesn’t mean that it’s wrong to criticise minor annoyances, but perfection is an unrealistic standard. However, I don’t think it’s unfair to point out that some of the most awesome features we’ve seen in basketball video games have had drawbacks that we’ve overlooked. They may not be immediately apparent or a problem for everybody, but they are issues that we’ll end up noticing, and may stand out as weaknesses in aspects that we otherwise really like.

Again, despite the title that I’ve used for this article, I don’t want to come across too negatively here. After all, something we can take away from each of these examples is that the drawbacks in question didn’t prevent the features from being awesome! They are drawbacks nevertheless though, and it’s important to be able to recognise that even our favourite modes and features aren’t perfect. It’s how we constructively criticise games, and suggest ways that the experiences we enjoy can become even better. With that being said, here are five drawbacks that ultimately didn’t prevent features from being awesome, but still caused some frustration or held them back in some way.

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25th Anniversary of NBA Live: NBA Live 2005 Retrospective

25th Anniversary of NBA Live: NBA Live 2005 Retrospective

To mark the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re taking a look back at every game in the series with retrospectives and other fun content! This also includes re-running some features from our 20th Anniversary celebrations, with a few revisions. Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with NBA Live and are keen on taking a trip down memory lane, or you’re new to the series and want to learn about its history, we hope that you enjoy celebrating the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live here at the NLSC! Today, it’s a retrospective of NBA Live 2005.

In my NBA Live 2004 retrospective, I summed up that game by calling it a tough act to follow. That’s what makes NBA Live 2005 so impressive, as it met the standard of its predecessor and raised the bar even higher. Many would call it the best game in the NBA Live series, or at the very least, rank it somewhere in the top five, if not the top three. It’s a reputation that’s well-earned, as it improved upon NBA Live 2004 in just about every way possible, and still holds up extremely well over a decade later. It had a few issues of course, but it was still a great release, and remains a personal favourite of mine. Let’s take a look back at another milestone game in the NBA Live series.

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Wayback Wednesday: The Dunk Contest in Basketball Games

Tens in the Dunk Contest (NBA Live 2005)

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the Slam Dunk Contest in basketball video games.

The Slam Dunk Contest is the main event of All-Star Saturday Night, and with the notable exception of the 1998 All-Star Weekend, it’s been a fixture of the festivities since 1984. Although not every contest has been better than the last – and indeed, some years have been downright disappointing – it’s still provided us with many memorable examples of spectacular aerial artistry. It only stands to reason that we want to take part in the dunk contest in basketball video games, and fortunately for us, several titles over the years have afforded us that opportunity.

Implemented in a variety of ways over the years, the dunk contest has proven to be a fun mini-game to jump into whenever it’s been available to play at any time. Along with the Three-Point Shootout, it’s also deepened the franchise and career experiences by representing the most prominent events of the All-Star Weekend. The main event of the NBA’s midseason classic has an interesting history when it comes to the virtual hardwood, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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The Friday Five: 5 NBA 2K Features I Want To See Return

The Friday Five

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five is a list of features that I’d like to see return in future NBA 2K games.

While many of us do have our gripes with recent NBA 2K games, for the most part the series has been very solid for a long time now. Unlike NBA Live, it hasn’t been set back by frequent changes in direction. Instead, it’s continued to build upon its established foundation, and the quality of the experience has been fairly consistent as a result. The depth of the modes and the assortment of features and options have gone a long way in making NBA 2K successful. From robust single player experiences to different modes for online play, to roster editing and customisation, there’s a lot for basketball gamers to sink their teeth into.

Unfortunately, some features have fallen by the wayside over the years. There are various reasons for their absence in recent titles, from technical issues to design choices. Thankfully, we have seen some really great features make their way back into the game, such as the “Start Today” option in MyLEAGUE and MyGM. However, there are still some other features from past NBA 2K titles that would make a deep and well-rounded product even better, if they were to return. These are the five features that spring immediately to mind for me.

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Wayback Wednesday: NBA All-Star Weekend in NBA Live

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content.

The 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend is almost upon us. While not everyone is a fan of the midseason classic, I’ve always enjoyed watching the pickup atmosphere of the Rising Stars game (in all its various formats), the drama of the Three-Point Shootout, the creativity of the Slam Dunk Contest, and the stars going head to head in the All-Star Game itself (though it’s sadly no longer as competitive as it used to be). I know that I’m not alone in my enjoyment of the All-Star Weekend’s main attractions, and for many years, a lot of us wished that those events were playable in basketball video games. Then, along came NBA Live 2005.

In featuring the All-Star Weekend, NBA Live 2005 boasted one of the most significant additions in the history of the series – not to mention basketball gaming in general – and the mode was a lot of fun to play back in the day. It’s well worth reminiscing about, so let’s take a look back…way back…

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20th Anniversary of NBA Live: NBA Live 2005 Retrospective

NBA Live 2005 Retrospective

To mark the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live, we’re posting content for every game in the series, including retrospectives, patches, countdowns, and more. Whether you’re a long-time basketball gamer who grew up with the NBA Live series and would like to take a drip down memory lane, or you’ve only recently started playing basketball games and would like to learn a little about what they used to be like, we hope that you enjoy the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content here on the NLSC!

NBA Live 2005 is considered by many long-time basketball gamers to be the best game in the NBA Live series, or at the very least, somewhere in the top five. Personally, I’d fall into the latter category. It was a great game in its time and definitely a high point in the series, but it has a few issues that are glossed over a little. It’s still capable of providing a fun sim-oriented experience however, and is obviously significant as the first game in the series to feature All-Star Weekend mode. Let’s take a look back at the second game in a trilogy of strong releases for NBA Live.

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