| NBA Street |
| February 25, 2002 - One part your favorite NBA all-stars, one part well-polished gameplay, and three parts attitude. This is Electronic Arts' recipe for one of the most satisfying arcade-infused basketball videogames ever created. It's name: NBA Street. Originally created for the PlayStation 2, the GameCube version sees its release nearly eight months later with several notable improvements in an all-around more polished package. For basketball enthusiasts NBA Street is definitely worthy of your attention, offering up trick-based controls, impressive visuals, tight three-on-three matches, and a rewarding multiplayer mode. Features Over-the-top arcade style action brings sweet moves and a rough game to the court. Create-a-player option lets you design and refine your own character to perfection, so you'll be able to stack up against the likes of even Shaq, M.J., or Kobe Based off EA's SSX snowboarding control scheme offering up the chance perform amazing trick combinations Link up colossal dunks, fancy dribble moves, and other glamorous tricks into combos for big points allowing you to unlock new players, courts, and rack up create-a-player points Burn through the City Circuit mode, taking on rough 'n' tough teams from around the country on courts ranging from the glowing neon blacktops of Miami to the cold, snowy schoolyards of Philadelphia Pick out your favorite court and take on team after team of big ballers with Hold the Court mode where you can unlock new outfits, tatoos, and other look styles Motion captured players provide smooth animations for added realism Using your elbows and shoulders to bowl over other players is encouraged Build your "Gamebreaker" momentum with dazzling alley-oops, steals, and fat combos for a show-stopping performance. The "Gamebreaker" is a special on-fire type effect that can alter the face of the game Two players can go head-to-head for the ultimate multiplayer game of b-ball Joe "The Show" Jackson doesn't hold back anything with his in-game commentary to put players in their place The first extreme style basketball game available for Nintendo GameCube All-new "The Paint" court exclusive to the GameCube version Brand-new C-stick pick function Updated rosters to January 4, 2002 Improved load times A pumping soundtrack from the DJ crew Ninja Tune Gameplay You'll need a bit of a history lesson to fully understand the motivation behind NBA Street. Electronic Arts started it's "Big" label of extreme, even to the point of fantastical sports titles with the release of SSX snowboarding at the PlayStation 2's launch on October 26, 2000. Thanks to its unique controls and exaggerated gameplay style it was an instant hit, receiving critical acclaim over most of the other PlayStation 2 software available at the time. GameCube owners are probably more familiar with its offspring SSX Tricky, the even more blown up sequel which released for the new Nintendo console near its launch. Using the fantastic game engine, EA with the help of developer NuFX gave the world of basketball a much-needed injection of trick-based controls and pure attitude. The result is NBA Street, a game that throws out the nearly all the rules of basketball -- bar travelling -- to bring the exact opposite of a simulation to gamers. This is why it's called NBA Street. Imagine the games that take place in schoolyards, shady courts, and on rooftops of inner cities. Now envision this already overstated setup with gravity-defying dunks, head-cracking elbow swipes, and a furious pace. You'll get a glimpse of what NBA Street is all about. The big top three-on-three baller features modes including City Circuit, Hold the Court, Create-a-Player, and Street School. The latter, Street School, is simply a training mode. The announcer Joe "The Show" walks you through the control mechanics and rules in real-time. It's quite a handy training session because if you're walking into NBA Street blindly there's a definite learning curve there to fully understand how to take advantage of the tricks system. You even get a reward for completing Street School, making it well worth your while. It's a setup that makes the experience all the more intuitive. Once you adapt to the control scheme -- and it won't take that long (especially if you've played SSX Tricky) -- you'll probably want to head right into the City Circuit. This is the single-player mode where you slam your way to the top, travelling to different areas of the country to take on the NBA teams and three of their best players. There are a total of 13 courts hosted in the dark streets of Philly, under the glowing neon lights of Miami, and on icy afternoons in Boston. There were only 12 courts in the PS2 version. NuFX has added in Washington, D.C.'s "The Paint" court, which is quite lovely, we might add, with its verdant foliage and vibrant graffiti. Thankfully, City Circuit is not just a mindless quest to become king of the street. As you move along and defeat teams you can draft any one of the three NBA players for your own custom squad. Or, if you have created your own player you earn skill development points based on how high of a trick score you garnered. To give the circuit a bit more of street quality, you will face off against rough 'n' tough teams from each region. For example, a large British fellow by the name of Biggs, a 6'9" beast with a few talented friends to help him steamroll a path to monster dunks. Of course if you rock Biggs' world, you'll be win him for your custom team. The layout all adds up to a very rewarding single-player experience and thanks to three excellently balanced difficulty settings you can find the perfect challenge for you. |
| Presentation 8.0 Graphics 8.0 Sound 8.0 Gameplay 8.0 Lasting Appeal 8.0 OVERALL SCORE 8.6 |
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