NBA Street Vol. 2

"Street balling at its finest - NBA Street is back, baby!"

The first NBA Street game totally rocketed the PlayStation 2 market, and shocked the world by surprise. Even non-Basketball fans would get a big chunk of excitement from the game. That's when EA 'Big' decided to bring out another title in the series, NBA Street Volume 2. Will this be an improvement, or will it be a let-down from the first game? Find out in my review of, NBA Street Vol. 2.

GRAPHICS
Simply stunning is just two words you can describe the graphics. The players, the crowds, the courts - everything. It all looks excellent. The players are modeled out very accurately and look ultra-realistic, which is a big improvement from the first, as a few of the ballers looked a bit 'No-No'. The people included in the crowd are even at their finest, even though their AI isn't exactly quite good, you will definitely think that they look superb. You'll play on many courts throughout the USA, whether it's in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia or even Seattle, every court and the scenery look fantastic. The mean streets of New York and Philadelphia look like real 'mean-streets', with graffiti and everything else you see in everyday life. There will even be slight rain on the court of Seattle, etc. It's just great. There are a lot more ballers to choose from in Volume 2, whether it be players in the NBA like Allen Iverson or Street legends like Stretch Monroe, and they all look excellent, too. Stretch will obviously have his huge afro, but even the slightest touches are all thumbs-up, as you will see skin shading and the slightest gray on a few people's hair. It's just excellent, and there is nothing more to say.

SOUND/AUDIO
Practically a big negative on the game is the commentary. Yes, he may be a (self-proclaimed?) street legend, but can be ultra-annoying at times. Bobbito Garcia aka. DJ Cucumber Slice (?) does the commentary in the game. Now let's be honest, the commentary in the first game wasn't perfect, but at least he won't shout out and annoy you while playing like Bobbito does. He'll say the weirdest things, such as ''ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM! WE ALL LOVE ICE CREAM!''. I mean, come on. What the hell does that have to do with Basketball? He will also say many weird lines like that one, too. It'll get you really annoyed while playing, especially in a tough-game that you have to win and be very concentrated on. Other than that, it's pretty good. The sound is stunning, as there is about 10 real Rap-kind of themes to choose from. They will play randomly while playing, though. One of Nelly's songs is the main NBA Street Vol. 2 theme. You can also choose which songs you want in, and which you want out. So, if you dislike a song which is in the database, you can turn it off and just include your favorite ones to play randomly. It's very cool, and some themes are quite good and fit the NBA Street theme very well.

GAMEPLAY
This is where the NBA Street series really shines. Forget about the other Basketball games, this will put you into the real Basketball seat and give you a very sweet experience. With many trick moves, dunks and other moves to perform, you will never get bored of the Gameplay. The controls are very easy to get used to. You use the shoulder buttons (R1, R2, L1 and L2) to have Turbo, which will decrease if you use it too much, you will have a bar under your team's name. The rest is simple and very effective. You press the Square button to perform some Trick moves, Circle to Shoot/Dunk and X to pass. It is awesome, and that's all I can say about the controls. You won't have a problem at all.

In NBA Street Vol. 2 there will be many modes to play through. You have the normal Exhibition match of course, but you will also get to play 'NBA Challenge' where you take control of a real NBA team and play against other teams in a region of your choosing. You will unlock many things (such as Jerseys, etc) when you play through this mode. If you're not really into the Street-balling and prefer your classic NBA style, this is the mode for you. This is what makes the NBA Street series tick, it has something for every Basketball fan.

There is also a 'Be a Legend' mode, which is ultra-ultra cool. You can create around 12 ballers, and get to guide them throughout the whole of the United States, gaining popularity as you progress and win matches. Throughout this, you will play many Street legends such as Stretch Monroe, and even get to choose players to join your team once you beat them. So, you can easily aquire Stretch to be on your team! Obviously you also gain 'Development Points' as you progress, which allows you to edit your baller and make him better, by giving him higher points for his stats (Shots, Dunks, Power, etc.). Tournaments, normal games and Street challenges are all included in this mode, and you will even get to see a magazine as you progress, mostly featuring the baller-boss you'll have to face next. What I also find cool is the fact that you can receive nicknames. If you do crap and lose every game, the fans and your team-mates may nickname you 'Loser'. I mostly get 'Straight-up', but there is many more to acquire. In this mode you can unlock new courts, new jerseys and a few other stuff. This is the 'main mode' of the game, where you will unlock the most items. It will take quite long to complete, as you gain around 3-8 points in popularity every game you win, and the target is 500. So if you have a popularity figure of 87 for your baller, he will be at 87/500. Simply superb, you won't stop playing.

The 'Create-a-Baller' mode is improved very nicely from the first game, as you have more controls over your character and more accessories to put on him/her. Gaining his stats up to maximum will be a very difficult task, so you will have to start out with low stats, but once you get yourself up the league you will gain more development points. Plus if you find it quite difficult to think up names for your ballers, you can simply quick on 'Random' when you create his/her name and give you a huge list on different first and last names. You just won't resist creating more and more ballers, as it doesn't take up more KB from your memory card, either!

If you're a huge Basketball fan, you will find this game ultra-fun. Hell, even if you dislike Basketball, you will even love the game. I must admit, i'm not a huge fan of Basketball, a small fan, yes. But NBA Street got me hooked on the sport even more, and i'm going to be buying each game as it comes out. It is very fun, and you'll have more enjoyment playing with friends, up to 4 of you at once. Very enjoyable. So as you can guess, the Gameplay is simply awesome. Keyword: awesome.

REPLAYABILITY
You will never get bored of NBA Street Vol. 2. Even if you complete all of the modes, you can always play a few Exhibition matches, and you just won't stop. You can create your own Profile which will list all your details (Points you've got altogether, dunks performed, etc) and there is no doubt that you'll want to boost it up further. You can play this game for all eternity, all the way up until NBA Street Vol. 3 releases.

BUY OR RENT?
A must-buy. You will not regret it. Basketball fan or not, this game will rock your world and you will be very pleased to have it in your PS2 collection. NBA Street got me hooked on Basketball more, so there is no doubt that whoever you are, you'll love it, too. As i said - Basketball fan or not, you will simply think NBA Street Vol. 2 is excellent. A 100% buy or regret it for the rest of your life.

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SUMMARY

Graphics: Excellent. 9/10
Sound/Audio: The commentary can be really annoying at times and may even affect your play, but no major complaints on the Sound. 7/10
Gameplay: Amazing - you will never get bored of the game and the Gameplay will just hook you for all eternity. 10/10
Replayability: You could play it all of your life. Even if you complete all of the modes, you will still continue to play the Exhibition matches over and over again. 10/10

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NBA Street Volume. 2 is a must-buy for everyone. Whoever you are, you will definitely love this game. Even if you dislike Basketball. The Graphics, Gameplay and Replayability featured in the game are just amazing, and NBA Street Vol. 2 will keep you hooked for a very, very long time. The commentary lets it down a bit, though. But it still won't affect your loveness for this game.
Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/07/03