Street Hoops

"This game comes out of college with high expectations but trips and falls."

Personally I really looked forward to this game for months, I love the AND 1 videos and wear a lot of the gear associated with this game. But when I played a finished version of this game, I was displeased and bought NFL 2K3 instead. Here's why.

Graphics

The first impression this game gives you is not what you want if you are a fan of the sport. The graphics look to be on the level of First-generation Playstation graphics. The courts look good except for the low-adrenaline crowd complete with this dancing idiot on every stage. The animations are usually smooth but some chopiness and missing frames of animation can't go by without being noticed.

Control

The control layout is very simple, that is why it boggles the mind how the control is so unresponsive. Players shoot late, pass too late, run the wrong and other follies that just take away from the atmosphere. Trust me, after playing Sega's NBA games, this is rough on the hands.

Sound

Activision really dished out the big bucks to get an authentic street sound to this game. Big name rappers like Xzibit, DMX, Master P and Cypress Hill lend their voices to the soundtrack for the game. Don't like them? Use your own xbox's soundtrack! This is definitely the best part of the game. Never has a game had so many options to do with their soundtrack feature.

Playability

The modes in this game are surprising. Surprising in a way that you can get so many different ways to play street ball. There is ''Lord Of The Court'', where you defend your home court against all on-comers, ''World Tournament'' mode which is the staple of this game. You go around playing different teams, making money from wins, bets and the sort and spending the dough to get better players, gear, gold, haircuts and tattoos. Kind of cool to see the clothes I wear in a game. Big time companies used in this game include AND 1, Sean John and Pure Playaz.

Secrets

Many AND 1 MIXTAPE stars like A.O., Half Man Half Amazing and others are hidden in the game and they can be unlocked by winning games. Other secret characters like DMX and Xzibit can be unlocked by reaching other goals. For a streetball game this game is a little low when it comes to secrets.

All in all, the concept was good, it's just that it had been done perfectly a year ago by NBA Street. Too bad, I know a lot of people wanted this game. A rental at best.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/02, Updated 10/17/02