For those unfamiliar with the series, or who took a year or two off, one thing NBA 2K8 does so well is the way it uses specific players and teams to make the game play realistically. It sounds obvious, but most sports games depend on a relatively common AI when it comes to choosing plays and playing defense and offense. You can count on the computer doing very similar things no matter what team you're playing and who their stars are. But in NBA 2K8, each team acts more like they would in real life.

That means when you play the Spurs, you'll be faced with tough defense from anywhere on the court. And they'll feed the ball to Duncan over and over again until you make them use someone else. Steve Nash and the Suns run all over the court a lot more than other teams, and when you play Miami you can count on two players shooting the ball most of the time. These things seem obvious, but apparently someone has spent a lot of time telling this game who's who, and it makes all the difference in the world. You don't have the option of teaching yourself only one or two ways to play the game because every situation is different.

The biggest change in the appearance of this game over last year's are the signature style animations. For passes, dunks, crossovers, even lay-ups, most of the game's most visible stars are animated like they move in real life. Baseball games have had signature swings for a while, and now basketball has the equivalent (along with shooting animations). The animations are also smooth and react to bodies around them instead of just plowing ahead once you hit a button.

The game plays a little differently because of some new features. There are now controls to call for a play or to get teammates to move without the ball. Some are simple, like setting picks, and some are more complicated plays involving two or three players. If you don't take an active role in getting them moving, they won't do much but hang out around the key or three point line. But the play calling controls work great, so there's no reason to run up the court and leave yourself only two decisions – launch it or drive. That's for lesser games (unless you have Kobe, Lebron or Wade). There are parts of the game that aren't perfect, like the fact that players miss far too many easy lay-ups. There doesn't seem to be any reason for it. Maybe the computer just sticks to a very strict shooting percentage and some players just have to miss sometimes. Whatever it is, it looks silly and gets annoying to see so many easy shots bounce off the rim.

Defensive rotation to the ball and through picks is still a little slow, but has gotten better. If you end up with a terrible mismatch, like a center guarding a point guard at the top of the key, the computer will figure it out and switch back. It just doesn't happen enough for our taste.

But both of those items end up to be minor annoyances. Unfortunately, what seems like the easiest fix still hasn't been. The game's menus remain some of the worst we've ever seen. You'll get used to them over time, and the rest of the game makes it worth it, but they are simply awful and make no sense. Hopefully we won't have to deal with them after 2K8.

The outdoor portion of the game is called Blacktop, and is very similar to last year's but now includes a 3 point shootout and dunk contest. The dunk contest can include up to four players, and you can choose from current stars or a pretty good selection of legends. Each dunk is made up of three parts: the gather (you can toss it to yourself, bounce it, etc), the in-air style (your pumps, windmills, tongue wagging, etc) and the finish. To finish strong, you only have to time the right trigger to a meter. These controls are completely alien at first, but once you figure them out the dunks look great.

Franchise mode is still referred to as the Association and this year has a few additions. You can negotiate contracts with no-trade clauses so you're stuck with your busted talent just like in real life. You can also assign roles to players, so they'll theoretically stay happier longer if you manage them consistently. They can be designated as stars, regular starters, and so on. The Association also offers online, multiplayer franchises with a draft, which should be required for all sports games.

And the graphics and presentation remain top notch. Player faces are the only complaint – some are just scary. But the rest, from the court to the stands, is gorgeous. And little touches like dance teams that get up and do their thing during timeouts make the experience feel that much more genuine.

With NBA 2K8, you're looking at the best of all worlds. What worked last year is still there, and some great improvements have been made. It's the most fun and realistic game of video basketball available, despite it's few flaws.