pavona21's Full Review: NBA Street Vol. 2 for GameCube
Intro: Who said that a video game can't spark a pop culture revolution?
Ever since NBA Street hit the PS2's of millions of gamers ready for the next "NBA Jam", America seems to have become much more interested in the favorite sport of the streets. Since then, we've seen the "And 1 Street Tour" on our sports channels and in our local gyms, we've watched an MTV documentary showcasing the biggest yearly tournament of the sport at Rucker Park, and we've even seen other games of the same genre, such as "Street Hoops". One thing that has remained constant though is that there has been no substitute for NBA Street. That is, until now. In late April, Electronic Arts released the second installment of their signature EA Big cash cow. The game, simply entitled NBA Street Vol. 2, was supposed use the basic groundwork set by the original and add a whole new flavor to the series. Did EA succeed in their endeavor by making NBA Street Vol. 2 "a legend"? Or should this game be sent back to "street school"? Read in to find out...
Features that may be key
-Choose from a massive selection of 145 NBA players, 25 NBA Legends, and 6 Street Legends.
-The stakes are higher and the fun gets more intense when you play 4-player multiplayer.
-For the first time in a basketball game, you can be the Oop! There's nothing like jumping to the rim and catching a pass from your teammate for the big alley-oop.
-All new Level 2 Gamebreakers dish out twice the punishment, with twice the style.
-Play in some of America's most renowned street courts including Rucker Park, The Cage, and Mosswood.
-Deeper pre-game options allow you to spot your opponent a few points, or play a trick point challenge. Play the game the way YOU want to play it.
-Widescreen and Dobly Pro Logic II support.
-No progressive scan mode.
-Requires 7 blocks on Gamecube memory card.
Gameplay
For those that have never experienced the original NBA Street for any platform, it’s important to note that this is a different breed of basketball. Instead of playing 5 on 5 ball, you play 3 on 3 ball. Instead of playing a timed a game, you play up to a certain point total, typically 21, and by one and two pointers as opposed to two and three pointers. There’s no need for referees here, because there are no rules, written or unwritten, or even moral implications. The object of the game is simply to do whatever it takes to beat your foe to that point total, and to look damn good while doing it. So throw out the basics and bring out the most creative moves, dunks, and passes that you have, because this is Street ball at it’s finest.
I realize that it has been said before,(by me, mind you) but a sports title is only as good as its game modes. Sadly, one of the few gripes that many journalists had with the original Street was that it wasn’t quite bulky enough to satisfy the “street hunger”. It did feature a moderately deep NBA Challenge mode, and it did have many extras to unlock, but it was pretty consensus that what NBA Street was really missing was one more real, complex game mode. Thankfully, EA Canada has tackled that problem head on in Street 2 by adding an all-new “be a legend” mode. Not is only is this new experience the extra feature that the predecessor lacked, but it also ends up being the most time consuming, challenging, and entertaining aspect of the game. The premise behind it is quite simple actually; you begin by creating a player of your choosing,(“Pav” in my case of course) setting him up with merely the most basic of equipment and skills, that being whatever you can afford, and choosing a couple of other ballers for your character to run with.
At this point, it really isn’t pretty. My “Okemos Ballers”(which is nearly an oxymoron) were small, generic looking, and sub-par in their skills. But as my team advanced through the mode, I was able to take players from teams that I had defeated to build up a powerhouse squad, and use the many reward points I had earned in every game to make my player a legend. Before I knew it, Pav’s skills were almost maxed out, and I was ballin’ with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tracy Mcgredy, and a couple of the game’s signature street legends. What’s best about this “Be A Legend” mode though is that it almost works like an RPG. As you travel from historic court to historic court, beating your opponents down in pick up games and street challenges, you use the reward points that you earn for gaining huge trick points, and dropping “gamebreakers” to level your character up. This time around, each of your character’s abilities(shots, dunks, steals, ect) are measured in bars. 5 bars will max out any one attribute, and you’ll even be able to buy a 6th bar for one attribute of your choosing.
Finally, to keep players hooked into the Be a legend mode, an extra amounts of variation and realism were programmed. On the variation side, each one of the many street challenges that gamers will encounter poses a different challenge. On one street challenge you may need to score 12 points only by dunking, while in the next only gamebreakers will count, and in the next you may have to play the Las Angeles Lakers to 50 points using NBA Style scoring.(2’s and 3’s) Also, street enthusiasts will be happy to see historic street courts such as Rucker Park, The Cage, Greenlake, and Mosswood. Finally, once you reach a certain level you’ll even be given a personal nickname. I “earned” cosmic, because of the air that I got on every dunk.
Aside from the Be A Legend mode, NBA Street Vol. 2 also features a few familiar game modes. Among these is the “Street School” mode, where gamers new the series can learn of the basics of street ball, or where veterans can wipe off some rust and learn the updated tricks of the trade. Along with that is a completely revamped “Pick up Game” mode, which is now fully customizable and multiplayer friendly. This time around, you can choose one of the various types of scoring, including the aforementioned NBA style, Gamebreakers only, old school(no three pointers), and the classic first to 21. With that though, the other major disappointment that plagued the original NBA Street has been fixed. Now, up to four players, two to a team, can play at once. Not only will this add hours of replay value on to an already large game, it also adds an entirely different level of competitive rage to a game. Honestly, if you can get 3 buddies together for a night, emotions will run high, trash talk will be fluent, and final two pointers for the win will highlight each game. Finally, the “NBA Challenge” mode returns again to add the final layer of frosting to this monstrous cake. Basically, you’ll be able to assemble of your own team of NBA Players, NBA Legends, Street Legends, created players, or a mix of all of the above, and play all 29 NBA Teams. As you progress, you’ll earn points that you can spend to unlock more NBA Legends, or to buy developmental points for your created player.
The Moves: Off the hezay
Before NBA Street 2’s April release it would have been sheer video gaming blasphemy to call the original NBA Street’s bag of moves and maneuvers lacking. But, Street 2’s new impressive selection of sick crossovers, dizzying dribbles, insane dunks, and finesse passes make the original’s list look minimal. At the forefront of this entirely upgraded moves list are the all new “Off the Hezay” and “Back 2 Papa” maneuvers. These allow gamers to toss the rock off their opponents heads, or to play boomerang by throwing the ball off the backboard and recovering it respectively, leaving opponents dazed in confusion with either choice. To go along with the “fake passes”, there are nearly double the number of dunks and dribble moves available, which includes all new signature dunks and moves from NBA old schoolers such as Magic Johnson, Pistol Pete, Larry Bird., MJ, and even Dr. J.
Possibly the most important of all the additional moves though is the all new “Gamebreaker Level 2” dunks and shots. Those familiar with the original Street should remember the “Gamebreakers”, which were earned by accumulating a large number of trick points. These moves changed the pace of the game by adding points to your score, and taking away points from the opponent’s score. Now, to go along with these, EA has added the option of working for a Gamebreaker level 2, which does twice the damage plus by adding 2 points to your score and taking 3 away from your opponent’s score. There is a certain amount of strategy involved in the use of these though. Once you obtain a level one gamebreaker, you have the choice to either use it, or pocket it en route to gaining a level 2. But, that pocketed gamebreaker is never safe, because your opponent can “cancel it out” at any time by using a gamebreaker they gain to negate yours. This process can become entirely intense, because when the game is on the line, a single gamebreaker level 2 can change the outcome of the street battle altogether.
Graphics: 9/10-The only way to see Rucker when you can’t ball and you live 1000 miles away
Although NBA Street 2 doesn’t feature the most graphically impressive visual scheme seen this year, it gets the job done by offering up a presentation that is sleek, fast, and colorful. Street 2 uses an interesting combination of 3D player models and cel shaded touches, which gives the game an impressive feeling of sports originality. The player animation is fairly solid, especially in regard to the models used for the NBA Classic legends. But, the real graphical enjoyment comes from the visually impressive and realistic courts. I can’t say, without lying at least, that I’ve seen and or been to each of the courts featured in Street 2, but the courts that I have seen before look quite realistic, and the ones I haven’t seen before are nicely detailed as well. Aside from that, the Gamebreaker level 2 animation is memorably rich, adding a vintage flavor of stars and red, white, and blue stripes. The game also features a re-toned replay scheme which actually allows players to set the amount of automatic replays seen, or choose to control replays manually. Finally, the game’s framerate is extremely and consistently fast, and slowdowns are incredibly rare. On the downside, the game doesn’t support progressive scan mode, which is unfortunate, but not detrimental.
Audio: 8/10-Joe the Show had to go, cucumber slice can’t come back either
As a whole, the NBA Street 2 audio package is great, but there are few(Read: one) individual audio aspects that bring the package down. On the positive side, the EA Trax library that has been added to Street 2 brings out the street, hip hop flavor very well by featuring some fairly famous rap artists. Also, the arcadish sound effects and random trash talk clips bring back the glory of throwing all of my allowance into the NBA Jam machine, quarter by quarter. Plus, Street 2 fully supports Dobly Pro Logic II surround sound, which is a big a plus for those of us with good audio systems. The commentary, on the other hand, isn’t as stellar. Oddly enough, I actually enjoyed the outspoken antics of Joe the Show in NBA Street,(which puts me in the minority) but I can’t stand the new commentary from Bobito “DJ Cucumber Slice” Garcia. I give him credit for keeping up with the fast paced action, but his attempt at commentary wit or humor is a failure. I have talked to people that do like his commentary though, so I suppose it’s just a matter of taste. Regardless, I’m thankful that you can always turn it off if you feel the need.
Overall 9.1/10
In closing, NBA Street Vol. 2 is my early favorite for sports game of the year. It essentially took everything to love about the series’ first installment and added a list of impressive moves, and hours of possible replay bulk. There’s really nothing not to love here.(with the exception of the commentary) The title features impressive graphics, entertaining multiplayer action, addicting single player modes, and a great arcade audio scheme. For those of you who already own NBA Street for any of the consoles and wonder whether this game warrants a purchase, have no fears. I’ve put over 35 hours into this one already, and it’s still in my cube as we speak. For those wondering which of the console versions makes the best bet, I can tell you that I found the Gamecube’s control scheme and graphics better than that of the PS2 version, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the 3 versions. Let’s just hope we’ll see an NBA Street Vol 3 before too long.
Thanks for reading,
-Pav
See how good you really are, when you face the greatest basketball players in the history of the game Select from 145 NBA players, 25 NBA Legends, and...More at Amazon Marketplace
Descriptions/Payment/Shipping:should be found easily. I try to keep it simple. All listing include my own photos. I do not use stock photos. In any ca...More at eBay
The streets have been swept and a whole new ballgame is coming to town. Take your skillz to a new level and challenge the greatest basketball icons to...More at Walmart
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.