NLSC Your source for basketball video games.
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at Own the Paint in NBA Live 08.
Post play is an aspect of offense that not all basketball video games have been able to satisfactorily represent. Early hoops titles in particular were limited in this area, owing to a lack of animations and physicality. It wasn’t until games could feature a variety of moves, and the ability to properly back down and otherwise interact with defenders in the post, that we could really enjoy feeding big men down low. Even then, movement and controls could be clunky, which made posting up far less enjoyable (and viable) than simply driving the lane or taking jumpshots.
NBA Live 08 sought to improve upon post play with Own the Paint. While the name may sound gimmicky now – and certainly drew a few sceptical eye-rolls back in 2007 as well – it was a genuine and admirable effort to expand upon player control in post-up scenarios. I first experienced Own the Paint at the NBA Live 08 Community Event, and was immediately impressed by the new moves that we could pull off. Even after playing NBA 2K games with better post play mechanics, I still appreciate Own the Paint. Let’s take a look back…way back…