NBA Street

UPC: 014633143102

Platform: PlayStation 2

Publisher: EA Sports Big

Developer: NuFX, Inc.

Category: Sports

Style(s): Basketball

Synopsis: The second game released under the EA SPORTS BIG label, NBA Street follows in the footsteps of 1993's NBA Jam, combining the seemingly no-holds-barred world of street basketball with off-the-wall characters and the ability to perform superhuman moves. Players will be able to choose three NBA stars, each rated in abilities such as dunking, three-point shot, steals, and so forth. There is also a selection of street legends and 12 courts varying in location. Players can try to unlock additional characters, including Michael Jordan, who will drop by occasionally to give you hints and tips on your progress and playing style (his actual voice is used). The street game follows the rules of 21 -- the first to reach 21 points (and two points over the opponent) is the winner. Solo gamers can control one player on defense and offense. The teammates are controlled by computer and will help set up picks and alley-oops. Performing fake outs, jump shots, and a variety of basketball skills earns you trick points. The point value can be further multiplied by stringing different tricks together into a combination or combo. The overall score increases the Boost Meter at the top of the screen, and once full, you can pull off a "Gamebreaker," allowing you to make a show-stopping dunk. NBA Street has multiple play modes, including a tutorial session by Joe "The Show," a City Circuit mode allowing you to unlock hidden players and customize your team with NBA players and street legends, and Hold the Court, which focuses on obtaining trick points to unlock items such as apparel that can be used in the Create Player mode. Individual profiles as well as statistics, such as winning percentage, points scored, and overall trick points, can be saved to memory card. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

Package Contents: Registration Card

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

The included manual features a move list and complete explanation of the game modes. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

The 3D players are well detailed and animate smoothly, and the backgrounds look great. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

A take on NBA Jam's arcade-style hoops action, NBA Street plays by "street" rules, which abandon most of the conventional NBA regulations other than out-of-bounds and shot clock violations. The game is basic enough for anyone to pick up and play, yet it offers enough incentives in the form of hidden characters and options to keep experienced players interested for more than a few games. The basic controller configuration has a button for shooting, blocking, passing, and for turbo boosts, but players will be able to execute more advanced moves such as tip-slams, picks, and elaborate dunks. Your team AI is also surprisingly sharp on offense and defense, so it's easy to call a pick and set up an alley-oop as well as perform just about any other trick you can think of. While there are only two primary modes of play (the single-player City Circuit and the multiplayer Hold the Court), both are engaging. City Circuit has you traversing the nation competing with street legends as well as other NBA players while at the same time unlocking new courts and characters. Once a team is beaten, you can add someone from that team to your roster or take points that will boost your custom character's stats and appearance. At first customizing your character seems surprisingly limited with few apparel and physical characteristics available, but more options can be unlocked by playing the Hold the Court game mode. Hold the Court focuses more on earning trick points and functions as the game's two-player mode. Once you've unlocked everything in the City Circuit mode, this is where you'll be spending the majority of your time. NBA Street is at its best when playing against a friend. While it survives on its own as a single-player game, NBA Street encourages competition by saving profiles of you and your friends that keep track of overall statistics and the number of rewards received. NBA Street could use some improvement, however. For example, Michael Jordan is too easy to unlock, and most people are going to use him to quickly advance through the single-player mode. You can breeze through the City Circuit with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jordan on your team, and although your motivation for doing so is to unlock all of the street players and courts, it still can get boring. Defense can also be extremely easy with the right players; take control of Shaq and position him near the net and you'll average around 20 blocks a game. Also frustrating is the fact that on defense you can only toggle between the two closest players to the ball, often leaving a third and vital player completely out of your control. NBA Street is still a fun game to play, and those who fondly remember pumping quarters into NBA Jam will immediately enjoy this one. The game also has codes that can be entered before each game, allowing crazy additions such as exploding nets and big heads -- another nod to NBA Jam, which featured an almost identical code system. The graphics in this game are in the same league as SSX, the sound is crisp and clear, and all of the secrets will take hours to reveal. While it's disappointing that only two people can play simultaneously, NBA Street is nonetheless a great choice for arcade-style sports fans. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

There's plenty of teams, players, and other secrets to unlock -- even snowboarders from SSX are playable in NBA Street. The single-player mode will keep you busy, but Street really shines as a multiplayer game. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

Joe "The Show"'s commentary never gets tiring, and the sound effects perfectly complement the over-the-top gameplay. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

The two-player mode is addictive, but the single-player game may grow tiresome if you're not interested in unlocking additional characters or courts. Only buy this if you're planning on playing with friends. ~ J.C. Barnes, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.