billservo's Full Review: NBA Street for PlayStation 2
Sometimes I know I'll hate a game before I even play it. Then something like NBA Street comes along and makes me question everything I know.
I hated basketball. In fact, the only good thing I ever got out of basketball was a pair of Air Jordans when I was a kid and that hilarious Destiny's Child booing during the last championship series- which I thought would tie me over for another 10 years. Now, just a few weeks later, I can add NBA Street to that list.
Probably the biggest reason I like NBA Street is because it isn't your typical basketball title. This is street ball- your classic pick-up game. And thankfully it isn't the same kind of basketball freak show that the NBA Jams games were. It's much more down to earth than those games, but does inject enough exaggeration to make it fun without going over the top.
GAMEPLAY:
Don't get me wrong, NBA Street isn't your usual basketball game. It has its over the top moments, but you're not going to see flaming dunks or players getting blown 20 feet across the court.
At its core, the game is a 3-on-3 pick-up street game. Games are played to 21 points, no fouls, and no out-of-bounds. The only rule in the game is that of following the shot clock- the only clock featured. Two main modes of play are featured. City circuit is the game's season mode of play- you travel city-to-city taking on rivals in their home turf. The other main game mode is "Hold The Court" where you pick a city and take on rivals on your turf until you lose. Then there's the 2-player game- pick teams, pick a court, that's it.
Teams are mostly made up of NBA players in addition to any players you create. Some cities feature local players- basically teams made up by EA, but the players actually look cool, and they're good. Lots of the local guys will play you ten times harder than the NBA players.
That's what's so cool about this game. While you have to play smart, you definitely have to play hard. The more aggressive you are, the better. NBA Street's offense is all about faking out defense with big trick moves to the point that you knock them on the ground then hop over them for the slam. Defense is about big blocks and hard steals. To pull all this off EA Big brought back the turbo system that they had in SSX. However, in NBA Street you don't have to charge your turbo, it replenishes by itself. The four shoulder buttons combined with your shooting or trick button pull of your moves. For example, a turbo fake will have your player do a Harlem Globe Trotter looking dribble between the defender's legs while you push him down and snag the ball. Like SSX, you need to get familiar with all the shoulder combinations and have the manual dexterity to make it happen. You also have to use a player with enough ball handling skill- use the wrong guy and you'll end up dropping the ball and falling flat on your back. Turbo moves aren't a total give-away. If you're good enough you can combine turbo moves up (like a fake and a slam). The game actually has two different point systems- the real game score and your trick score. Doing tricks and combos ups the trick score which has no bearing on the game but does unlock cheats and features. But the biggest benefit to doing all the tricks is getting your team into Game Breaker mode- your players are pretty much unstoppable until the next basket and whatever points you score are taken away from your opponent.
The game's only major disappointment is multiplayer support. Only 2 players are supported and you can only play against each other in a one match mode. Getting 6 friends together for this game could've been one badass event, but it's sorely missing. Create-a-player is cool, but plagued by the worst load times I've ever seen in a game. Switching from attribute to attribute incurs a load penalty. This isn't isolated to the creation process either. After players are picked for a match up the game seems to have trouble loading the data for those players. But tweaking your player is fun, and every game you play can earn you skill points to build your player up with.
Like real pick-up games, NBA Street games are fast-paced, but fun. Perfect if you want to get a quick game down and go. Its tricked-out style makes it worth playing for even the non-basketball fans out there.
GRAPHICS:
Once again, EA rules the sports genre in the graphics category. Models look even more real than in Madden. Body types are much more distinct and realistic. Even better are the animations- players have a swagger walking onto the court and have the kind of gestures you'd expect to see out in the city. It's the same kind of animations we've seen since NFL 2K, but much more fluid.
EA did take some artistic license in adding highlighting to the important parts of the game. Yellow swipes trail from arms when you turbo so you can be certain what you're doing. The ball even has some lighting on it just to make it easier to watch. Of course EA created a new player cursor which highlights your selected player and even has indicators showing you how likely that player is to make a shot from where he's standing.
Since I live just outside of Miami I was able to compare one of the game's courts to its real-life counterpart: South Beach. EA got the style down almost perfectly. Ocean Drive and the buildings in the background are authentic minus any signage. The only thing wrong with the scene is that there's no basketball courts on South Beach, just volleyball. But the announcer and spectators were dressed appropriately. Having also lived in Arizona I was able to compare the court there as well. While that court seemed to be purely fictional the backdrop looked perfect down to the trademark purple desert sunset.
While the graphics are good, the game seems to be pushing the machine too hard. In a 2 player game there were definitely refresh problems including dropped frames. I never saw this in a one player game, though.
SOUND:
Sound is very good, with a lot of voice work. I know Alkaiser wasn't fond of Joe The Show's voice over but I have to admit I liked it. There's a lot of trash talking and he ends up coming off as a Chris Tucker/Chris Rock hybrid.
Other NBA players have voice work, the most obvious being Michael Jordan. MJ was probably a little over done, but for the money it probably cost them I can't blame them.
Sound effects sound like they came straight from SSX, with explosion like sounds accenting big blocks and slams. Music is (big surprise) rap, but infinitely better than what's on Madden. It fits the game well, but it's hardly noticeable during actual game play.
CONTROL/CHALLENGE:
Control is tight, but the dependency on the shoulder buttons makes the game a little harder than it has to be. Blocks and shots are second nature though. The game doesn't seem to use the analog feature of the buttons, though, instead relying on duration. When you go up for the slam you hold the button down until you want to actually put the ball through. This works much better than relying on analog for this type of game since it's so intense you can't help but jam on the buttons. Passing is more accurate than other EA games, probably due to the fact that there's only 2 guys to pass the ball to, but it is better. Even executing alley-oops is easy. It's a good thing, too, because the actual game is tough. The default setting is Easy, but going to Medium requires a lot of practice. The same fakes don't work, opponents steal the ball relentlessly and block most of your shots. I recommend not staying on Easy too long just so you don't get too used to being able to make cheap baskets- that junk doesn't work in Medium.
OVERALL:
The fact that I like this game at all says enough. EA Big managed to turn a devout anti-basketball fan into an NBA Street addict. It's an obvious buy for basketball fans and anyone looking for a fast-paced sports title to add to their library.
You can hoop it up on courts constructed from pavement on NBA& Street for PlayStation& 2. Chalk lines and wire nets highlight the ultimate street bask...More at Dick's Sporting Goods
You can hoop it up on courts constructed from pavement on NBA& Street for PlayStation& 2. Chalk lines and wire nets highlight the ultimate street bask...More at Sports Authority
FOR PLAYSTATION 2 This auction is for a playstation 2 game. It comes brand new factory sealed.thanks so much!!! 1ST ITEM IS REGULAR SHIPPING COST, EAC...More at eBay
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.