<s>
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
98	I-Application
is	O
a	O
basketball	B-Application
video	O
game	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
National	O
Basketball	B-Application
Association	O
and	O
the	O
fourth	O
installment	O
of	O
the	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
EA	O
Sports	O
in	O
1997	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
,	O
while	O
also	O
being	O
the	O
final	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
game	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
NES	I-Application
,	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	O
version	O
introduced	O
support	O
for	O
3D	O
acceleration	O
,	O
utilizing	O
3dfx	O
's	O
Glide	B-Operating_System
API	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
PC	O
,	O
and	O
Saturn	B-Device
versions	O
feature	O
Ernie	O
Johnson	O
Jr.	O
as	O
studio	O
announcer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Play-by-play	O
commentary	O
is	O
performed	O
by	O
TNT/TBS	O
color	O
analyst	O
Verne	O
Lundquist	O
in	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
PC	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
98	I-Application
is	O
followed	O
by	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
99	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
it	O
is	O
set	O
during	O
the	O
1997	O
–	O
98	O
season	O
,	O
Chicago	O
Bulls	O
superstar	O
Michael	B-Application
Jordan	I-Application
is	O
not	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
because	O
Jordan	O
was	O
not	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
National	O
Basketball	B-Application
Players	O
Association	O
and	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
licensing	O
his	O
individual	O
name	O
and	O
likeness	O
for	O
video	O
games	O
was	O
approximately	O
$15	O
million	O
a	O
year	O
,	O
beyond	O
the	O
total	O
budget	O
of	O
most	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
difficulty	O
levels	O
are	O
available	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
new	O
Superstar	O
difficulty	O
level	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
improved	O
AI	B-Application
with	O
smarter	O
players	O
and	O
more	O
accurate	O
stats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
release	O
received	O
mostly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
praised	O
the	O
detailed	O
player	O
graphics	O
,	O
new	O
animations	O
,	O
interface	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
full	B-Application
motion	I-Application
video	I-Application
sequences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
assessed	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
across-the-board	O
improvement	O
over	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
97	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Jay	O
Boor	O
of	O
IGN	O
found	O
the	O
dunks	O
were	O
not	O
as	O
dramatic	O
as	O
they	O
should	O
be	O
,	O
but	O
still	O
concluded	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
98	I-Application
to	O
be	O
the	O
best	O
basketball	B-Application
game	O
presently	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
makes	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
easiest	O
basketball	B-Application
game	O
I	O
've	O
ever	O
played.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
his	O
three	O
co-reviewers	O
were	O
more	O
laudatory	O
,	O
with	O
Kraig	O
Kujawa	O
summing	O
up	O
,	O
"	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
97	I-Application
was	O
easily	O
the	O
best	O
basketball	B-Application
game	O
last	O
year	O
,	O
and	O
now	O
Live	O
98	O
has	O
done	O
it	O
again.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
97	I-Application
,	O
critics	O
reported	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
port	O
to	O
have	O
much	O
lower-resolution	O
textures	O
and	O
jerkier	O
frame	O
rate	O
than	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
where	O
the	O
action	O
can	O
be	O
hard	O
to	O
follow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
also	O
found	O
the	O
absence	O
of	O
play-by-play	O
commentary	O
in	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
port	O
a	O
severe	O
shortcoming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kraig	O
Kujawa	O
and	O
John	O
Ricciardi	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
,	O
who	O
both	O
rated	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
a	O
9/10	O
,	O
gave	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
a	O
5.5/10	O
and	O
6/10	O
respectively	O
,	O
with	O
Kujawa	O
remarking	O
,	O
"	O
Obviously	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
a	O
quick	O
and	O
easy	O
port	O
that	O
was	O
paid	O
very	O
little	O
attention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
and	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
,	O
while	O
noting	O
that	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
port	O
retains	O
strong	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
original	O
,	O
judged	O
that	O
it	O
compared	O
unfavorably	O
with	O
NBA	B-Application
Action	I-Application
98	I-Application
,	O
another	O
Saturn	B-Device
basketball	B-Application
game	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gary	O
Cutlack	O
of	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
summarized	O
,	O
"	O
Live	O
'	O
98	O
is	O
n't	O
that	O
bad	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
just	O
unfortunate	O
for	O
EA	O
that	O
Sega	O
are	O
releasing	O
their	O
better	O
NBA	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
98	I-Application
was	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
1997	O
"	O
Sports	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
Baseball	B-Application
Mogul	I-Application
and	O
CART	B-Application
Precision	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
in	O
a	O
tie	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Editors	O
called	O
NBA	B-Application
Live	I-Application
98	I-Application
"	O
the	O
latest	O
and	O
best	O
 [ ... ] 	O
in	O
EA	O
's	O
awesome	O
action-oriented	O
"	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
