|
Video gaming
is an odd thing sometimes when you think about it. Personally, I
despise watching the NBA and NHL in "real life". But when it comes
to gaming, I have a totally different viewpoint. I remember the
first basketball game that hooked me was Double Dribble on the NES.
Konami produced one of the most addictive and fun sport games ever.
Since then, few games have ever captured my attention in regards to
basketball. Probably next in line would have been the NBA Jam
series; which was one of the first "extreme" games to come out on
any platform (console or coin-op).
When NBA Street came out, I rented it and thoroughly enjoyed
it. The original had so much potential, and when the sequel was
announced I anticipated that it would fill in the holes that the
first overlooked. For the most part, my expectations were met...
The mindset
Without sounding like a middle-class, pocket-protector toting geek;
to fully enjoy the Street series, you have to get into a certain
frame of mind. You need to put aside the structure of organized
sports, linguistics and a "working" mentality. The ambience of
Street simply oozes at the seams of street lingo and urban
catchiness. I'll admit that I'm not 100% in tune with the
in-your-face sub-culture, so understanding the basic premises took
me a while to catch on.
But, once I put aside my "zeroes and ones" thinking and put on my
urban hat (tilted to the side, of course), I was
bling-blingin' with the best of them.
The "meat" of the game (in my opinion) has to be the "Be a
Legend" option. While many reviewers will tend to favor the "NBA
Challenge" which is a bit more linear. The "Be a Legend" option
seems so much more robust than the "Challenge", so I don't see why
many would prefer that mode over the other... Nevertheless, the "Be
a Legend" is something that ALL sport games should mimic. You
start off by creating your character, setting physical attributes as
well as customizing your abilities to the hilt. The end result makes
up for a very personal character, with the stats that are
realistically portrayed.
Once you create your baller and name him or her, it's time to hit
the streets. This is where Street truly shines. Starting off
with little to no stats, your character teams up with two other
players and you begin your quest. At first you have only two courts
available, but as your build your reputation (by winning games
and tournaments) you can unlock dozens of courts across the
country. As your reputation increases, so can your stats. Points are
awarded and you can spend them on different abilities (like
power, dunking, stealing, etc.). No matter which mode you
choose, you are also awarded credits that can be used to unlock a
variety of extras (like jerseys and players).
The game is especially rewarding as your reputation increases. To
put the cherry on the sundae, about halfway through the Legend Mode;
your created character will earn a nickname. Very cool stuff and the
nickname truly fit the created players play style. My first
character was big, burly and rough; and eventually earned the
nickname: "The Judge". From that point on the announcer would
call my "name" and include it in his color commentary.
Lastly, as you win games you have the opportunity to pick-up players
from the opposing teams. Most of the time the team you punish won't
have anything better than you and you'll usually skip it. However,
after tournaments you can recruit the "boss" guy/gal from that area.
These characters have extreme stats, and have very individualistic
attributes. Most of these "bosses" are more novelties than ballers;
but it's still fun to have them on your team.
If you ever have a chance to break-away from the Legend Mode, dive
headfirst into the NBA Challenge. I was less enthused by this mode;
however it does provide a ton of entertainment. In this mode you
simply choose your favorite NBA team and duke it out with other
teams across the league 3vs3 street style.
I also advise heading to the training area before playing the game.
The training was quite unique and you are trained by an old school
baller who will show you the ways.
Off da heezey
Ok, so I don't really know what that means, but this is the
best way to explain the gameplay. Imagine taking SSX and put
it in basketball form. The crazy gameplay should come as no surprise
if you are even vaguely familiar with the EA Big line up of
games. If you can imagine it, it can probably be done. Pulling off
amazing moves is as simple as using a combination of the
"turbo/power" buttons in coordination with another button. As you
experiment with different combinations, the variety of moves becomes
jaw dropping. To give an example, let me give you a quick
walkthrough. The opposing team scores and I pass the ball inbounds.
My "point guard" bounces it off the defenders head as my big man
lays a sweet pick. I do a quick give and go to my point man as he
bounces the ball off the backboard. In perfect timing "The Judge"
soars above the rim grabs the ball, gives it a good pump and slams
it like it's no ones business.
While most shallow e-ballers are going to consistently dunk the ball
with the seemingly endless variety of dunks; I always prefer the
elegant lay-up or pump-fake fade-away. This is why Street really
keeps the pace of the game exciting. While many times it's tempting
to run over that showboat muscle head; many times it's just as
satisfying hearing the "swish" of the chain net. I also wouldn't
advise getting too comfortable in your jumper, for later in the game
it's darn near impossible in sinking these types of shots. This is a
blessing and a curse, in my opinion. Goaltending is perfectly legal
here, so you can simply grab the ball half-way to the rim at any
time. So, in a close game it's best to opt for the "nearly sure"
dunk rather than a jump shot.
To add another level of complexity in the game, EA incorporated a
feature called "Game Breakers". This "option" can dove tail,
depending on your strategy. For most games, the first one to 21
wins. When executing a Game Breaker, you get a point but it also
takes a point away from the opponent; thus the term "game
breaker". To pull off a Game Breaker, you need to do some "custom"
moves and a bar will fill up. Once filled to the max you'll go into
the "zone" and your next shot will put you into a very cool slow-mo
shot view. The whole effect is well done, and flows perfectly with
the game. If you choose not to execute the GB, you can
"pocket" it and wait for a level 2 game breaker. If you successfully
pocketed the first GB and you fill up yet another bar you'll then be
able to stun your opponent with a level 2 Game Breaker. Not only is
this shot unblockable, it gives you two points and takes two points
away from your opponent. You'll also be treated to yet another
brilliant slow-mo, multi-angled video clip.
For you basketball purists don't be deterred by the "extreme-ness"
of Street. There are plenty of fundamentals that really make the
game solid. Sure, most of it is all flash... but once knee deep into
the game you'll soon find out that it takes skill and talent to win.
Lookin' good my man
Visually, NBA Street Volume 2 was gorgeous to watch. I was most
impressed with the amount of detail put in to each court. From what
I've read, the courts were based off of real courts across
the country are darn near identical replicas. I also noticed the
other small details at different locations. A good example would be
in Chicago, and you can actually see the players breath as they
exhale. In the backgrounds (depending on your location) will
also produce a wide variety of spectators.
The player animations were also impressive. Moving your character
felt natural, and actually played more like an arcade game than a
basketball sim. While I'm not familiar with most of the current NBA
athletes; I am familiar with old school greats like Michael Jordan
and Magic Johnson. High kudos to EA Canada for making each
individual movement true to their real life counterpart. If there
was a low point in the game, it would have to be the commentary.
While no commentary is perfect, I also acknowledge that it is
probably the hardest part to develop for any sports game. At first
the color commentary (by a DJ Cucumber??) sets the pace
nicely, but soon his jokes made absolutely no sense. It
seemed as though EA just had him record anything you can think of
and most was completely off the wall.
For you rap enthusiasts, I think you'll be treated to some sweet
tunes. I didn't recognize too many of them (except for Black
Sheep), most of them still had some snazzy beats. Aside from the
onslaught of urban tunage, the sound effects were excellent. I was a
bit disappointed in the lack of "trash talking" and crowd
participation. It would have been nice to hear some street trash (a
la NFL 2k2). Even though the music was right on, it still became
quite repetitive at times. It seemed as though the same two tracks
played throughout the game. About 75% the way through a game, the
tunes would change in MTV style with the name of the artist and the
tune would switch. Still, I thought it was quite enigmatic.
66 Says:
I had the privilege of playing both the Gamecube version as well as
the XBOX version of Volume 2. Both looked nearly identical visually,
but the XBOX had two distinct advantages. First the button placement
was much more easily accessed on the XB controller. In order to
fully utilize the moves on the Cubed version, you had to use that
quirky "Z" button. That silly tiny button was just way too
hard to incorporate into mind spinning combo's. Secondly, the
Gamecube's load time was horrible. It's not as bad as the PS2, but
still noticeably slow. This is where the XB really flexes its
muscles. Whenever I play Street 2, I almost always go for the XBOX
version. This doesn't mean that the GC version is bad... it's just
that the XB version is better.
As much as I loved the game, it still lacked that special
"something" to make it a "10". It seemed many times (especially
later in the game) that gameplay relied too heavy on two things:
blocking and dunking. On defense the offense will
score; unless you block their dunk. And when on offense any shot you
took would be blocked unless you pulled off a powerful dunk. In all
reality, the "street" sense of the game was perfect, except for the
over-jumping abilities in regards to goaltending. I think if the
goaltending was dumbed down a bit; players could experience more of
the actual strategy surrounding basketball itself. Maybe in volume
three, EA Canada will see how absurd the goaltending actually is and
pull off the inevitable slam dunk.
|
