NBA Street Vol. 2

"Developers were "on the ball" with NBA Street Vol. 2"

Introduction:
Brilliant is the first word that comes to mind when I reminisce on NBA Street Vol. 2. There are certain aspects that NBA Street holds that set this game apart from any other basic Sport Game. The most obvious of them is the whole ''street'' idea. It is far from professional basketball but instead stripped down rules played in out of league games. However, the most predominant aspect of NBA Street Vol. 2 is that is has character. Character is a word that doesn't coincide with the term video game very often but NBA Street gives off these old school vibes that make it all the more fun. You see this through the combined efforts of the music, cell-shading, and even the splashes. The loading screens are poses of old school ballers, and the courts themselves are committed to the traditional style. It is with this character idea that gives NBA Street Vol. 2 seem like a culture. It actually gets you into it, and of course, the game play is fantastic.

What My Eyes Thought:
The graphics in NBA Street Vol. 2 are first-rate and of the balance of the textures and cell-shading are almost perfect. The polychromatic spectrum of colors was phenomenal. It's rare that I will compliment a game on its ''colors'' but this was plain old cool. The blue and orange filters during Gamebreakers put a smile on my face and the courts and characters are colored without flaw. This also attributes to why the cell-shading looks so good with NBA Street Vol. 2. The basketball itself looks very cool as it is primarily cell-shaded as well.

What My Ears Thought:
The music chosen to fit NBA Street Vol. 2 was both catchy and not driving enough that it got annoying and repetitive. A lot of it is beat-based old school rap and rap itself. There is also some DJ work but mostly rap. For those who don't enjoy the rap genre, the music doesn't phase you. It is well chosen and beat oriented so even the metal thrasher will enjoy this game. The one downside to what my ears heard was what my ears could of heard. As we all know E.A. developed the game, they didn't push their limits or spend the extra penny to throw in customizable soundtracks. NBA Street Vol. 2 is the type of game where the idea of customizable was built upon. It is really a shame that they left this out. It was little things like this that E.A. did that made my only give this game 9/10. If they had taken that extra step, this game would have been legendary. Despite this flaw, again, the music is good. The actual SFX are good and the court sounds are pretty life-like.

What My Hands Thought:
Control in NBA Street Vol. 2 is just fine and easy to use. Some have commented that performing the 'supermoves' or the highest difficulty of tricks is difficult as you are pressing the three special three buttons and your trick designator at the same time, however, shouldn't the most difficult of tricks be the most difficult to pull off? The rest of the controls are fairly simple and I was quite content at how accustomed I was to them. The only actual control flaw was when you were inside the opponent's foul line as it occasionally was difficult to 'get' the player to dunk or take a shot. Other than that, I was more than pleased with the control.

What My Brain Thought:
The gameplay of NBA Street Vol. 2 was its shining moment. It is just so addictive and fun to pick up the controller and play a game or two. The small teams and trick timed combos make it fast paced and constantly intensive. The fully customizable players and teams provide endless replay value as well as both the NBA and Be A Legend Modes. The 21-point game is the perfect timing and as of yet, if you play properly, the AI is fine. The primary problem I had with the AI was when I would always pick a key player to constantly block and offensive shot and leave him as the only real defense. This meant that the computer at my end would spend what seemed like forever, taking a shot, having it blocked, and catching the rebound. I than learned the importance of stealing and the game was flipped upside down and I absolutely love it. I again, wished that E.A. had taken the extra step to bring Online Play to NBA Street Vol. 2 (on Microsoft servers of course). The two modes are both fun and well thought-out and the difficulty levels are very versatile and cover a wide range of players. All in all, the actual basketball play of the game is well done and since it is street, it is heavily based off of cool tricks and dunks which look fantastic. I have nothing to say against the gameplay of NBA Street Vol. 2.

Conclusion:
NBA Street Vol. 2 is a force to be reckoned with. It combines the addictive playability of today's sports games with the style and character of old school street basketball. It looks, sounds, feels, and plays exceptionally well and scores high in all areas. I was truly happy with NBA Street Vol. 2 and would easily recommend it to anyone -- basketball fan or not.

The Gist
Visual - unblemished - 10/10
Audio - superb - 9/10
Control - outstanding - 9/10
Gameplay - impeccable - 10/10
Overall - not an average - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/03, Updated 06/01/03