Street Hoops: King of the Court

October 23, 2002

Platform: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Reviewed by: Alkaiser

Gameplay: [8] Graphics: [8] Audio: [7] Replay: [8] Overall: [8.8]

Ah...pick-up basketball. The purest form of basketball...no marketing, no shoe contracts, no videos...oh, wait, never mind. At least there's none of that stuff where I play.

Apparently, companies have now decided that there just might be some money in marketing to the basketball crazed members of our society who go out and play, sunup to sundown, who hone a different set of basketball skills, ones that don't get you to the NBA, but you'll still get mad respect.

With AND1 releasing their MixTapes of the best playground hoops out there, and an increasing rise in the marketability of the best street ballers out there, EA Big found it in their best interests to release NBA Street last year, and Street Hoops follows up on it.

Initially looking at this from the commercials, that run every Tuesday when ESPN2 broadcasts the AND1 Mixtape Tour, this looked like garbage. Everything looks gritty and squashed for some reason. I thought this game was going to suck, but I've got love for the game...both street ball and video games, so I had to check it out for myself...and Blockbuster didn't have NBA Live 2K3 in stock, even though it was supposed to be guaranteed. Punks.

In NBA Street, the NBA was apparent, you chose from NBA teams with NBA players, and played a street ball game. In Street Hoops you get a bunch of created playground players, and you can unlock the stars as you win matches. In both games you could create your own characters and build them into a legend of their own as time went on.

If you really enjoy street ball you're in for a treat. The intro has some guys doing some CRAZY moves. By which, I don't mean "dunks". Dunks are far overrated when compared to some of the trick dribbling some of these guys do. If you don't find this to be the case, then you're probably just one of the guys waiting to get humiliated in the next video. And if you're familiar with the scene you'll see some of the "marquee" names like "Hot Sauce", "The Main Event", etc., etc.

You've got 4 modes of play to choose from. World Championship mode and Lord of the Court are both progressive modes that will record your progress. You've also got half and full court pick-up runs that you can play for fun.

One of the bad things about World Championship and Lord of the Court modes is that you have to play a game of 2 halves, minimum of 5 minutes a half. I would much rather be able to switch this from a timed game to a full court game to 21 or 11 or something. 5 minutes a half is just too long! I mean, it was taking long enough for me to beat NBA Street in all those games to 21, and I won all of them. I think I've played a total of 14 games, 4 World Championship matches, and I've stayed on the court for a while in Lord of the Court mode. I don't know how much further I have to go, but it looks like I have a ways.

As you unlock courts and win matches in the various modes, you'll pick up cool stuff...video clips! Damn, it's about time! The PS2 had been using DVD for its games for how long? Where are all the extras?! AND1 loaned out its footage from the Mixtapes so as you progress, you'll unlock highlights from the first 3 tapes, and every time you unlock a player you'll get their own little video montage.

Also on the topic of not skimping, there are 21 different full tracks for you to listen to as the game goes on. Most of the tracks aren't too great. The only ones I remember playing at all are DMX's "Who We Be", some Cypress Hill track, an old Xzibit track I remember, and some lameass "Y'All Don't Wanna Do That" song, the lyrics of which follow:

"You don't wanna really do that. (Nnn-nnn!)
Y'All don't wanna do that. (Uh-uh!)
You don't wanna really do that. (Nnn-nnn!)
Y'All don't wanna do that. (Uh-uh!)"

Then the music goes, and it repeats. I could vomit into a microphone and come up with something I'd want to listen to more. Unfortunately, you can't just select the songs you want to play, you're limited to a random selection, constantly playing one track, or no music at all. Fortunately the 3 big tracks mostly make up for the horrible ones. Also, if you let the game roll at the start screen for a while, you'll be treated to the full video of the Cypress Hill song. (See, bonus stuff! This stuff is COOL! And it's not like you game companies were doing anything with that extra space, a half-full CD costs as much to print as a full one.)

One area that the developers should have skimped on was the announcing. Don't put announcers in these damn games. The problem is that their commentary repeats. And Big Boy (DJ for the one of the local hip-hop stations in the LA Area.) didn't come up with anything new after the 3rd time down the court, none of it is particularly funny either. I shut him off rapidly as his insights of:

"Elevation celebration!"
"Have you ever seen them come down the court, and, and not score?"
"I don't know what I liked more, the dunk or the celebration."
"It seems like they score every time they get the ball."
"People don't wanna see no layups!"

became tiresome quickly. If he were a guest on Sprockets, 2 seconds would be him talking and the rest of the show would be Dieter declaring he was tired of him, and making a half hour of Sprockets in which they dance. Big Boy vanished after game 3, and has not been heard from since.

Now that I've gone everything else in the game, it's time to talk about the controls. R1 will activate your "Juice", and if you hit it and Square at the same time you'll pull off a dribble trick, same as in NBA Street. You can select character move sets to choose from so your team will perform a different repertoire of tricks at each position.

R2 and L2 launch shots from behind halfcourt, so don't hit those buttons. X passes, and O shoots. Triangle creates space for you without breaking any ankles.

As you perform tricks, dunks and the like, you'll see a little momentum meter at the top. If the meter catches fire, your team's on fire for the next minute or so. If you have a decent 3 point shooter, they'll hit every shot that isn't blocked while your en fuego, and it's a really good tactic for building a lead. So, tricks will do a lot to ensure your victory.

The replay system is one again, nearly flawless. The only thing I can ask for is the ability to sink into the ground a bit, to get an angle from below...that makes that jam shots looks a lot more emphatic. But, aside from that, top notch replays. Unfortunately, that's when you'll see stuff like the defender's arm clipping into your players neck. Graphics look pretty nice, I think NBA Street had them better, but Street Hoops has 4 more players on the court. So, pick your poison.

I'd have to say that it's been a while since my initial opinion of a game has been so incorrect. I totally thought this game was going to suck...a cross between Street and NBA Live that looked like a train wreck. I was pleased to see that it played well, and far surpassed my expectations, and the extras in the game show that they were really out to provide as much value as they could. If you like Street Ball or basketball games in general, pick this up, as you're in for a treat.