NBA Street Vol. 2

"You gonna let him do you like that bro?"

This game is my favorite basketball game of all time. It just has everything you need for a down n' dirty street match up. There is decent multiplayer and it is just overall fun.

Block Party, everybody's invited. In my opinion this is the most fun gameplay in a basketball game ever. Instead of the normal basketball approach, this game makes you take the big dunks and huge tricks. Without fouls, goal tending, or traveling (to some extent) you know this game is going to be a little different. This game is the worst game for a nice guy because you will have to bring the pain to win.

The whole game is about trying to do sweet tricks in order to beat your opponent. There are many aspects to the gameplay. You can choose to take your team and play pros in the NBA in a 3v3 jam, or take an unknown baller and create him into the best there ever was. During the game you use your controls to try to build up your gamebreaker bar so you can take the best shot. To do this though, you have to trick out your scoring. Making combos by doing funky tricks, faking out the guy, then pulling off the turbo dunk, or the block, pick, pump fake, long range combo help out. Your game style determines how you play the game. No longer will the 3-pointer (2-pointer in Street) have an good chance of going in once it leaves your hands. The players can jump to superhuman heights and take the ball out of the air before you even touch the ground.

A game in street is played to 21, with a basket inside the arch worth 1 point, and a shot outside the arch worth 2. You can earn trick points by doing the various combos, and if you do enough good plays, you could even get the signature gamebreaker. The gamebreaker shows your success as it allows you to do a special shot worth extra trick points. Even if you have to throw the opponent to the ground to win, it's worth it. This is because there are sooo many things to unlock and use. From Street Legends to courts, your time will be well spent.

The music in this game is excellent. There are roughly 15 tracks that fit the game perfectly. If you turn off the music and are used to it, you will wonder what happened to the sound. That is because other than this music, there isn't much else to hear. Sure you can hear some phrases like, "is that your pride laying on the ground over there, because I'll pick it up for you", but once you've heard them twice you feel like telling DJ Cucumberslice (his nickname) to shut the hell up. The few sound effects are people cheering, grunts, and the swish and bang of the rim. It isn't much, but it suits the game just fine.

Yeah, I know the graphics have improved since the first one, but the aren't very good. If you use the create-a-baller option you can build a player that is very accurately put together, but once he is on the field, he just doesn't look the same. The heads and faces of most players are hard to differentiate from another's and if you are moving, the players of the same size look exactly alike except for obvious hair and jersey changes. This isn't too bad, but other sports game are better.

This game is a game you will play over and over again. This game has multi-player (which is best played 2-player) that makes the possibilities endless. You can choose to make your own rules for your match so that you do things your way. You can also create teams that have all your strengths. The many players and courts and jerseys in this game take a while to unlock, so you'll be playing for a while. Even some of the 1-player modes had me coming back for more.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/06, Updated 11/30/07

Game Release: NBA Street Vol. 2 (US, 04/28/03)