NBA Street Vol. 2

"Best. Game. Ever."

You know, I always wanted to play a game that never gets old and most games do get old unless I'm playing Halo, Pokemon, or Fire Emblem. The thing is, I'm a sports guy and NBA Street Vol.2 happens to never get old. Other basketball games usually have big flaws in several areas of the game and it really hurts the replay value, like bad graphics, animations, AI, and cheap features. NBA Street Vol.2 is the total opposite of all of that garbage developers like EA Canada and Visual Concepts shoot out their booty hole to get a quick buck.

NBA Street Vol.2 happens to be more of a beefed up version of the first game instead of a whole new game itself. A lot more moves, a new graphical look, better commentary, licenced music, I mean everything is better compared to the last game. You remember how you could have a team of 16 people last time? It isn't like that anymore. When you play the career mode, you can only have 5 players on your squad and it's for the better because I rarely used all 16 players. I usually had like 5 or 6 favorites.

Graphics
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This game is just perfect in the graphics department. Photo realistic backgrounds, moving cars and people just add to the atmosphere.The collision detection is top notch and happens to be the best in any basketball game. When players collide, you can see it and feel it especially when you check the replay 50000000 times when you boomed the ball on someone's head. Little things really stand out in this game as well. Notice how the backboard shakes when you block the ball off it or brick a dunk. The net splashes when you dunk, and has several other animations. If you thought that red scarf was something on Shinobi, you have to check out this net. The jerseys are accurate as well as the player models. The game has the looks down and they will not disappoint.

Sound
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The sound is just crazy on this game!!!! Everything is on point in this department from the fans talking, the traffic going by, Bobbito screaming on the mic, I mean no basketball game has the atmosphere of a real streetball game down like NBA Street Vol.2 does. The soundtrack does get a little old, but when those instrumentals get popping off by Just Blaze, (Which is one of my favorite producers by the way) it gets you in the mood to bake some biscuits on the court. Some people say Bobbito is annoying for a commentator, but his lines are so corny that it's just flat out funny. He also likes making a lot of references to food products which makes me think he was pretty hungry when he was recording. He might say something like "He jammed the ball like peanut butter and jelly!" or "He mashed it like potatoes with gravy and a biscuit on the side!". Well almost every streetball announcer is crazy and it doesn't stop here.

Gameplay
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The gameplay is miles ahead of any basketball game currently out right now and it's because of one reason, the AI. The AI on this this game is so freking smart that you think you are actually playing a human opponent. For example, I could be using crossovers all the time, the CPU controlled team already uses the trick counter when I come in 2 feet of the player. Gamebreakers also add to the mix because it can distract you. You could be down 2 points and your opponent is 1 point away from winning the game and you decide to pull crazy tricks to get your meter up. The thing is, your gameplan has become so obvious that there's no chance of you winning the game now. Gamebreaker 2's are also a nice addition because they can cause a huge swing in the momentum. Just when you thought you had the game won, you loose 4 points and the game is tied. Gamebreakers encourage you to play smart basketball and not cheap basketball. You can play cheap against your friend, but bring your "A" game when you play the CPU.

Features
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The game has a few features like career mode, where you have to build up your player from scratch to be the best in the country. The mode can be abused easily because you get alot of points for gamebreakers, so if you dunk and use crossovers a lot, you can develop your player in no time. There's also a street school which teaches you everything you need to know about the game and then there's the pickup game and the regular NBA Tour. The game would have been a lot better if it was playable on-line, but hey, NBA Street V.3 is around the corner.

Controls
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The controls are basic, almost all of the normal things you can do in an actual basketball game, you can do on here. It's not as deep as NBA Live or ESPN NBA, but this is streetball, not a simulation. I prefer the PS2 controller over the Xbox since the moves are different on each system and the turbos are different.

Overall, this game is a 10/10

Best. Game. Ever.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/04