Nba Street Vol. 2 - Bigger than life moves ! ( PS2 - Review ) by Raunak Rai
Introduction :
The deodorant stick , the skyscraper,back 2 papa , backbreaker , the hangman.What the hell am I talking about? Isn't this supposed to be a basketball game review ? Well it is.And these are just a few of the moves that you can do ,or should i say just the tip of the iceberg .
But this isnt a wrestling game. What moves am I talking about ? Now , first of all , this isn't any usual basketball game . Its NBA street i.e.street rules or should i say no rules . No fouls , no out of bounds.Just score and win but,while doing that throw in a few tricks or should I say "bigger than life moves" and add insult to injury . And do all of this on America's authentic street courts . Sounds like fun ? You Bet !
Gameplay :
Simply awesome . First of all everything is smooth and really fast . Three players make a team . 21 points to win . No run down clock here . The first team to get to 21 points wins the game . Simple ? Well , hell no . Now , before you score how about you show us a couple of tricks (actually a few more won't hurt),pass it to your teammates a couple of times and then fly into the air for a spectacular dunk . Now the more spectacular your moves the better it is , because it earns you trick points and fills up your gamebreaker meter . Once full , You do perform gamebreaker and you not only get points for it , but take off some from your opponents score as well . And to top it all off , these moves are amazing .
Controls :
This is where the game is amazing . Everything is so simple yet so much fun . As a matter of fact , it is so much fun because it is so simple . You have a button to pass , shoot and do a trick . Also when you dont have the ball in your hand , you have one button each for switching a player , blocking and stealing .
Now put in 4 turbo buttons , And everything takes on a whole new meaning .The four turbo buttons when pressed with the others make every move i mentioned above so much cooler . Also , the more turbo buttons you press the more complex your trick or dunk is . Also pressing it in different combinations lets you do different moves . So , overall its easy to learn and master and no difficult combinations here .
Features :
This game has got some excellent moves . You basically can do dunks , shots and tricks . Now there are different levels of these dunks and tricks . Higher level tricks are ultra cool and so earn you more trick points and help you get your all important gamebreaker faster . But if you players stats are low on dunks then you wont be able to pull off a level 5 dunk . Same goes with the tricks . So , the best thing to do is make a team in which you have a player who is a specialist in one aspect other players who are specialists in other aspects . So you can pull off anything . The tricks and dunks are all unbelievable . You better believe me.Imagine this - you bounce the ball off your opponents head so that he's dazed and then you run past him and slam it in the basket .
As you perform more tricks , you earn more trick points which fills up your gamebreaker meter . Once its full you can perform the cool gamebreaker or save it . If you save it , you can do 2 things . The first would be to cancel an opponents gamebreaker . But otherwise you could fill up your gamebreaker meter once again and perform the ultra mega super cool level 2 gamebreaker . This earns you more points and takes off more points off your opponents score than a level 1 gamebreaker . But there is also a downside that the opponent can cancel out your hard earned level 1 gamebreaker if they had saved theirs .
Also , when you block your opponent or steal the ball from them it take off their trick points.
When EA sports makes a title you can bet all the big names are in it . From old school to new school you have everyone here (well almost ) . New school boasts of "Kobe Bryant" , "Allen Iverson" , "Shaquille O' Neal" and many others. Also Nba Legends like "Julius Erving" , "Walt Frazier" to name just a few . And of course there's "Michael Jordan" . Also 28 teams from "The Atlanta Hawks" to the "Washington Wizards" . All the legends have to be unlocked . But its great . Because each legend has his own signature moves which once unlocked can be used for your own created player .
This game boasts of eleven different courts . From Greenlake at Seattle,WA to Uptown at Manhattan,NY to many more . Each is distinct but does not affect gameplay in any way . Also there are courts in which you play only at night and there is also an indoor court . Most of the courts have to be unlocked .
In "Pick up game" you just pick up a team and get on the court . However , you can select the rules here and make up different matches like trick point challenges , dunks only ,no gamebreakers ,normal NBA scoring,etc. But this is a little boring but adds to variety in the gameplay . However ,the street scoring style is definitely the best .
The "Street School" is where you learn everything you need to learn in this game . Its easy and "Stretch Monroe" instructs you and by the end of it the game becomes very easy . After this you just have to experiment with different turbo button combinations . On finishing the entire exercise you earn yourself a trophy .
The " Be A Legend " mode is the best part of this game . At first you make yourself a player in the create a player section . Now the options available are limited so don't expect a create a player mode like the "Wwe : smackdown series" where "if you imagine it you can create it". But , you can create a decent player . Now you can select outfits , shoes ,etc. All the legend jerseys have to be unlocked . And you have to purchase the outfits , shoes ,etc by playing through this mode .
And , the most important part is where you edits your skills i.e. your stats . With this , you can slowly keep improving your players statistics and become better . This is absolutely necessary to pull off the level 3 and level 4 moves and also as the game gets tougher later on. You can make a well rounded player or concentrate on one aspect and max out on it . However , you can set the gold standard on any one aspect of your game . This is a nice feature .
And of course , you also can edit your moves . As the game progresses you unlock newer ,cooler moves .You can add these to your arsenal of moves .
Now , once you create your player , you select your teammates and make a team . Your teammates are basically like you i.e. they have low stats . Now you start playing against local teams . As you progress , you get better . Also , you face tougher opponents . You also have the option of selecting a player from the opponents team if you win . So , you can keep improving your team in this way .
As this goes on you enter different tournaments . The tournaments have different formats . Also there are different street challenges . These street challenges have their own set of rules . As you play on , you unlock different cities which have their own teams , tournaments , street challenges and legends .
When you start off you are a nobody (Literally).As you go on,your rating improves and you become a Rookie,Baller,All-star,Supersta
In "Nba Challenge" mode you select a team and then a region . Now you play against all the teams in that particular region .Finally when you finish off with that you play against a legends team . Each region has a different legends team . And once you beat them you finish off a region . When you finish off all the regions you get a trophy .
Rewards:
This game has tonnes of rewards . Nba legends , street legends , courts , jerseys and developmental points to improve you created players stats . Also there are trophies for completing each section of the game and another trophy for finishing the entire game .
Graphics :
The graphics are good . Now , they are not perfect . But they are really good . In fact i guess its made like that on purpose . Everything is really colourful and slightly cartoonish ( only slightly ). However the players look real and you can easily differentiate between players because each and everyone is distinct . Also this is Nba Street . So , no dress code . Throw in as many styles as you want - different types of clothes , bandanas ,etc . The courts are all very nice . And the crowds are OK . There are no actual crowds . Just people standing around watching some street basketball . But this is strictly OK. Some courts have no crowds . But this is how it was and its good because these are not official games in stadiums , just street games .
The cut scenes are basically the gamebreakers . These are also ok just like the other graphics. But the replay cutscenes are nice . More or less similar .So overall the graphics are good .
Sounds :
The sound effects are nice . The sound of the ball bouncing is real . The sound when you dunk is real. When you pass the ball around the sound is fine . So overall the sound effects are good.
Crowd Sounds : As i mentioned earlier there are no real crowds here. So don't expect much .When you score there are a little screams from the crowds but thats about it.
Commentary : Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. DJ Cucumber Slice is a bomb . Well actually he is the commentator for this game and let me promise you he is great . You make a mistake and he insults you like crazy . But then again you do great and he can't stop praising you . This is definitely one of the highlights if the game .
Music : When you play the game there is just background music . No lyrics . And when a replay comes on the music is totally different . But in the menus you can here the songs properly . You got Nelly and a few other big names .The music isn't great but, it is good. Well , thats my opinion but , basically depends on your taste .
Replayability : It isn't all that great for single player unless you want to earn yourself another nickname. But drag a few friends and you'll never stop playing this game . Upto 4 players can play at once . So you are guaranteed to have an amazing time . However , there's no online play.
Final Recommendation : A must have for a basketball fan . Even if you are not one ( like me ) , the game is great and all the more better with a couple of friends . Definitely worth it .
Final Score : 4 / 5
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