The year was 2001, and everything was going right in the world of basketball. I'm sitting at E3 waiting for the Lakers to finish their basically unopposed romp to their second championship in a row. The Clippers are the biggest "buzz" in all basketball, and I turn the corner at E3 to see NBA Street about to be released. Ah, life was good.
Now it's 2 years later. The Lakers are pushing for a 4th straight title, the Clippers have once again settled into a position at the bottom of their conference, and NBA Street Vol. 2 is on the streets. Life is not quite as good, but EA Big's street ball title still is.
For the Rookies
Think NBA Jam meets SSX. This style of basketball is completely unrealistic, but is kind of grounded in realism in that some of the moves might actually be possible. The standard rules of basketball don't really apply. There is a shot clock, but no goaltending, fouls, carrying over, or out-of-bounds.
First to 21 wins the game, and scoring is done by 1s and 2s. The shoulder buttons will give your player "Turbo", but mostly they're used in different 4 button combinations to allow your players to execute dribble tricks and dunks to get themselves open and build up the Gamebreaker Bar.
The Gamebreaker is a shot that will net you the standard amount of points, and also take some away from your opponent. (Remember what I said about the standard rules not applying?) So, expect a lot of high-flying, carrying-over, ball-kicking, AND1 video inspiring basketball, only with NBA players and legends involved.
What's New in Vol. 2
EA has reworked a lot of the moves and such to give you a lot of new ways to humiliate your opponent and build-up trick points. In addition, when creating your character, you can choose from a variety of moves from 3 levels. Simply reassign any 2, 3 or 4 combination of the shoulder buttons and now you've got the turbo move of your choice. There are also little videos of the moves being executed so you don't choose something that looks totally stupid as your trick of choice. The same is true for the dunks and shots. You'll also unlock "boss" moves as you defeat special players in the little "Challenges" on the various different courts.
There's also a new level of Gamebreaker. After stylin' your way to a first Gamebreaker, get the ball back on offense, and hit Select. This will "pocket" the Gamebreaker for later use. Once you replenish the bar again, you'll have a Level 2 Gamebreaker ready to drop. The Level 2 Gamebreaker is different than the Level 1, in that it cannot be blocked. It can also be executed basically anywhere in your team's half court. The amount of points taken away from the other team makes it worthwhile to save up for the GB2, even though your team earns the same number of points as a GB1.
Also, if you're trying to prevent your opponent from firing off a GB2, simply build up a GB1, and you can use it to cancel his "pocketed" Gamebreaker. Not only is this strategic, it's also a really good way to tick someone off.
Both GB1 and GB2 flavors of the Gamebreaker only have a limited amount of time before you lose them (losing a level 2 Gamebreaker loses you BOTH levels you built up, not just 1.) so "Gamebreaker killing" also comes into play during the game.
EA Big has allowed for 4-player mayhem this time, something I thought they should have added in the last version. I was about to go to the store and buy a multitap until I realized that Street only supported 2 players. This was one of those games that just begged for 4-player action, and I couldn't understand why it wasn't included. Well, now it is.
There are also a lot more legends included in the game. Pretty much, if you were an All-Star in the late 70's-early 80's you got yourself put into the game. Dominique Wilkins, George Gervin, Moses Malone, David Thompson, Magic Johnson, Dr. J, all the stylin' folks that inspired the street style of street ball. I haven't seen Anthony "Spud" Webb in there yet, and if he's not in the game, I'm not sure why EA Big felt the need to include a bunch of little guys who can dunk, but not include the most famous dunker under 6 feet ever.
The Circuit
Two ways to play this, as it was in the last one. You can create your own guy, and make a name for yourself in "Be A Legend" mode, or you can take to the streets with your favorite custom-built NBA team. The game's not as easy to walk through as the first one was (I don't think I ever lost in that one.) so it might be a good idea to build your character up a bit in "Got Game" difficulty before heading on up to "Mad Game".
As you play through the game, you'll unlock secrets and goodies like new outfits, new signature moves, and NEW SHOES! You can also build up your character with the development points you earn after each victory so you can create the mad baller you always dreamed about being.
Gripes
1.) Bobbito Garcia. Who the hell is DJ Cucumber Slice? I thought Slice was supposed to have the great taste of LymonTM. Granted, he doesn't suck as bad as Joe "I Blow the Show" from the last version, but still, I had the most fun with this game when I switched music modes so I didn't hear him anymore.
2.) Really stupid text errors. I'll never understand why the folks at EA Big can't fix this. It's the simplest thing to test and fix in a game. In the move list you'll see the move "Psyche". Execute it in the game, and it suddenly turns into the "Physche". Also, Dominique Wilkins' most used nickname isn't "'Nique". It's "The Human Highlight Reel", possibly the most creative nickname ever given in basketball. Why is he just 'Nique? Why is Michael Jordan "MJ" and not "Air"?
3.) You did WHAT to that song?! Take for example, "The Choice is Yours" by Black Sheep. Here's what some snippets of what that song sounds like in NBA Street, with the original radio version in parentheses.
"With a yo." (With a ho.)
"Any time capacity was filled, tried to rock it. Anytime capacity was play, tried to knock it."
(Any time capacity was filled, tried to rock it. Anytime a honey gave us play, tried to knock it."
"Cross the fader......hardly a traitor, and you can get a scoop later."
"Cross the fader, Black Sheep can play like the Sony Innovator. Hardly a traitor..."
The radio version of that song was aired, probably 10 years ago. I think nearly everyone should be able to handle that, and if they can't they can shut the damn songs off in the menu. Now we've got the Pat Boone versions of rap songs. It's FAN-tastic.
Overall
The game's just as fun as the first. Almost exactly as much fun, come to think of it. The new features add something to the game, but the fact that we've been here, and done this before negates those new bonuses, so it's essentially a wash. It's a solid, solid game, but EA didn't change enough in my opinion. They left too much alone. We need some new courts, a few more than the handful of songs that we get, and definitely some more variety in the Gamebreaker Level 2s.
Still, with 4 controllers, there isn't a more party-conducive basketball game that you can ask for. Big fun from EA Big, just a little lacking on the innovation.
