Customer Reviews

NBA Street

5 star:		(143)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Remember NBA JAM? Remember how many hours you spent playing it until you were finally sickened by it? Are you thinking that this is just a JAM clone? WRONG!

NBA Street is nothing like before. It is a 3-on-3 street-ball, no rules and clock (except for a shot clock), style game. Like regular street ball, you play up to 21 by ones (2's for long range shots) and you have to win by two, which makes it work like the "deuce" system of other sports. Here I will talk about each aspect of the game.

--Graphics

The graphics are not the best the PS2 has seen, but it certainly is awesome. The animations are really fluid and life-like. There is still some of the "plastic-ish" feel of EA Sports games, but that's not really anything of importance.

--Sound

There's Joe The Show talking mess the whole time, and it doesn't get repetitive like most sports games either. The background music also suits the "Street" playing style a lot

--Control

This is where the game is awesome. There's basically four turbo buttons, which are the four shoulder buttons L1 L2 R1 and R2. Using a combination of the shoulder buttons and the "trick" button will make players do different "tricks," like slip-and-slide where a player rolls down while bouncing the ball. If a "trick" is done properly it can knock the opponent's player down to clear a path. However, not all players can do these advanced tricks. If you have a player with low ball-handling ability (like Shaquille O'Neal), the player will lose the ball easily.

To perform dunks, you use a combination of the turbo buttons with the shoot buttons. There are a variety of dunks you can perform, but you need a good dunk rating to perform the advanced dunks. You get points for doing dunks.

Then there's blocking. While this wasn't important in other b-ball games, in NBA Street, knowing how to block is essential and very fun. With a tall player, you can have lots of fun swatting shots, but it requires timing and skill.

Besides tricks, dunks, and blocks, you also get points for other stuff like steals and picks, and doing combos and alley-oops add even more points. But what are points good for? There is a "Gamebreaker" bar for each team. It fills as you have more trick points. When the gamebreaker meter is filled, you have a limited period of time to shoot or dunk the ball, and if you make it (usually you will since gamebreakers make your shooting and dunking ability much higher), not only do you get your point (or two points for a long shot), you also TAKE OFF the same amount of points from the score of the other team. Gamebreakers are very cool, especially near the end of a match when the score is close, a 2-point gamebreaker can create a 4-point difference.

--Gameplay

There are two modes in NBA Street. First, there is a city circuit mode. In it, you tour through all the NBA teams and 6 "Street Legends." You start out with one NBA team of 5 players and a created player. When you beat an NBA team, you can choose one of their 5 players or you can choose to get points to enhance your created player (note: you only get one created player per user ID). You can increase his/her height, weight, and different skills (2-point, 3-point, dunks, power, blocks, steals, handling, and quickness). At the very end of the circuit you play Michael Jordan, who can be quite a challenge. Then you get to pick a player from a secret team. You can go through the circuit again for created player points and NBA players you didn't get the first time through (for example if you want to get both Shaq and Kobe, then you have to play twice to get them if you didn't start with the Lakers).

The second mode is the "Hold the Court" mode. In it, you play on courts you have unlocked in the city circuit mode and have to get a certain winning streak and total number of trick points in each to clear the court and earn new create player clothes, faces, shoes, and points. You can also play with TWO-PLAYERs on opposing teams in this mode.

A lot of people complain that Street is too easy. This is actually not true. The game sets the default on easy (there's easy, medium, and hard), which is very easy. But once you play on medium or hard, the game is quite challenging. But as you get monster sized players (like 7'11" or 8'), the game becomes less difficult since you have super blockers. This tells you to start fresh with a new ID and starting team and work towards another winning squad!

--Value/Replayability

Playing the circuit alone warrants 30+ games. The Hold the Court mode requires another 40+ games. Finally, there is infinite replayability for two-player mode.

In sum, this is a must-buy. GET NBA-Street NOW!

Bored with the run-of-the-mill hoops game? me, too. That's why you should check out EA's NBA Street, a totally new take on the street game that also happens to be one of the most fun basketball games we've ever played. If you thought NBA 2k1 was cool wait until you see this game. It looks like the game should offer a lot of extra incentive to play it solo. In addition to being able to unlock lots of codes and other secrets, the single player mode has a really cool arrangement where you get to steal a player from the roster of the team you beat and you face a boss-like team after beating a string of regular NBA-based teams. It sounds like a lot of fun and should make playing the game all by your lonesome much more rewarding than it would be without all the cool bonuses. NBA STREET RULESS CHECK IT!!

This is the best basketball game out for the PS2. I didn't even buy NBA Live after playing it a few times, but this game is a keeper.

As soon as you play this disc, you'll see great graphics and smooth control play that made EA Sports Big's other game, SSX, such a great hit. This game allows you to do the funkiest moves and plays that you only would see on tv. You know that Nike commercial with the montage of mad dribbling skills? Reproduce those moves with the players in NBA Street.

You get to play on great courts with cool characters in addition to NBA players. There are many things to discover in this game on your own. Multiplayer is even better as you try to outfake your opponent. Don't expect realism in this game. It wouldn't be fun if it was. Just expect doing major things you only wish you could do on the court. Overall, a game worth buying and playing over and over. Well worth the money.

Hey everyone listen up. I don't usually write these reviews, but I do check them out before buying a $50 game. This is by far and away the most original, fun and all around best basketball game I have ever played. I used to love going down to the arcade to fire my quarters into the NBA Jam machine. This game, while somewhat similar is very different. The graphics are incredible, the game play is very easy to pick up and the all around layout and setup of the game is outstanding. This game is easily the best ps2 game I've played yet and this is coming from a die hard football fan who loves Madden too. EA Big really did an outstanding job on this one. Stop reading these reviews and get down to the local video game store with your $50.

NBA Street is basically what basketball games should be. I hate to be cliche and compare this to NBA Jam, but it's unavoidable; NBA Street is basically NBA Jam on steroids, with less catch-phrases.

The graphics really are awesome... If you're a basketball fan, it will be really easy to recognize players in the game. It looks like they actually spent time on the player models individually... Nice touch.

If you're going to play the game, I highly reccommend going through the tutorial. It's really helpful and informative, and it shows you everything you need to know. A lot of the gameplay is based on using the top shoulder buttons to perform super-dunks, and fancy-pants moves to fake out defenders. It's really fun once you get the hang of it, and it becomes second-nature faster than you can imagine. The whole system really makes it a ton of fun.

But, the game has a few things about it that weren't so great. First off, the load times. Holy CRAP this game loads a lot. It takes a full 5 minutes to get this game loaded, then it loads when you choose a mode, loads your profile, loads the teams, loads the courts, loads the players, etc etc etc. I really think there could have been a way around this, but whatever.

The only other thing about this game is that once you beat the single-player mode, you're basically done with it... There's really no reason to keep playing by yourself. However, this is an excellent party game, so if you've got people to play with, this is a safe bet.

Overall, this is a game for any basketball fan, and anyone that likes a great party game. It's got a few hiccups, but it's definitely worth the money.

from the second I put the cd in I was blown away. The intro music/ video is unbeliveble. the game lets you choose from two game plays, city circuit and hold the court. you play street style, no goaltending and up to 21. EA could not of made a more street like game. in addition to actual basketball there is trick points so its like combining nba live and SSX. Then there is the gamebreakers, after pulling off sick alley-oops and huge blocks you get a gamebreaker, kind of like going on fire in nba jam. after gaining the ball back you make ur dunk or your shot the player does his dance and you get a huge amount of trick points. trick points are huge when it comes to create a player. the more trick points you score the more skill points you get for your created player. in all other basketball games you hit the shot+turbo button to dunk and the game does the dunk for you. in nba street you have control of the dunks with the four turbo buttons allowing more variety, in addition to dunking you can also do fake out moves with the turbo button. going down the court is like the nike commercial that everyone has came to love.the play by play is by joe "the show", his comments are great... the last thing i have to say is MJ, thats right Jordan is staring in his first b-ball game prob since one on one with larry. he is on every team in circuit mode and his abilitys are awesome in this game. everything about this game is good. buy it or your gunna miss out!!!!!!!!!1

This game is the best arcade basketball game on the market, hands down. It's rare to find a game that is both fun and funny, but NBA Street covers both of those categories. First, let's talk about the pros of this game.

Pros:
Great graphics and player motions
Hilarious commentary from Joe "the Show" Jackson
Cool bonus players and street courts to unlock
Good balance between skill levels
"Street School" mode to help you learn how to play the game
Michael Jordan!!
Real NBA players
Hilarious things happen in the game (doing fancy trick moves to make opponents fall, messing up on an alley-oop pass and it flies off of the backboard all the way to the other side of the court, packing someone, knocking people on their back when they are 10 feet in the air)
Unique codes (beach ball, soccer ball, authentic or casual uniforms, explosive rims, tiny players, big heads)

Cons:
A little too short
Too easy at times
Gamebreakers are good, but sometimes give more skilled players an unfair advantage

As you can clearly see, the pros greatly outweigh the cons. This game is the NFL Blitz of basketball, and it is much better than other arcade basketball titles such as NBA Jam or NBA Showtime.
I am a basketball fan, but I don't think you'd have to be one to enjoy this game. A must Buy!

When I first saw NBA street I thought it was going to very similar to NBA Jam but I was wrong. Although there may be some impossible dunks it involves much more strategy then NBA Jam. You pick a NBA team and pick 3 players of that team play for you. You play three on three games against other NBA teams. If you beat a team then you get to take one of the losing team's players. But you must select the player carefully. You must find a player who will help you against the next team you are playing. The teams will compete in a city circuit in many different cities including New York, Chicago, and Oakland. There are six cities in total each of which has a boss who you must defeat. At the very end you go one on one with MJ. There is also a "do or die" mode similar to that in Tekken where you fight until you lose. In this mode winning can giver you different options in the marvelous create a player mode. Games are played to 21 and points can aslso be scored by doing great moves or spectacular dunks. The courts that you play on have a spectacular and realistic view of the cities they are in. This game is made by EA BIG the franchise that also produced the hit SSX. Anyone who likes basketball will like NBA Street.

If you haven't realized just how great of a game this, just go to your near by park. Now look at the b-ball courts, you'll notice that hey are packed,now go buy the AND 1 mixed tape tour and watch the crazy things they do, then finaly go buy NBA Street and you'll realize why street ball has made a huge come back and why you'll be playing it alll summer long. It combines great graphics, good sound, and amazing gameplay to create a game you can't put away.

Modes- 9.0 - There are two basic modes: City Circuit & Hold the Court. City Circuit has you take a NBA Team through all the divisons in the NBA. Every time you win a team you can take 1 of their players and add it to your roster making your team a unstopable killing machine. Hold the Court is just what it sounds like, break the winning streak for that court and the trick point total for the same court.

Graphics- 9.0 - You'll love how EA BIG has borught to life places like Rucker Park and The Cage in NYC. The NBA players look just like their real life selfs. I think that maybe the overall look of the game could of been brought up(i.e. texture, resolution etc.)

Sound- 8.5 - The only real drawback here is the lack of real songs, the generic beats really aren't that amazing considering how good the soundtrack in Live and Madden were. The commentator even though way over entergetic gets the job done.

Replay Value/Fun Factor/Overall- 10.0 - You'll be playing NBA Street for a long time, and you'll keep coming back for more. Just like SSX this game will go with the elite PS2 games that gave you a reason to go for Sony's next generation console. Buy this game and if you dont own a PS2 buy one, you won't regret it.

Video game basketball falls into two categories: arcade and simulation. Simulation games almost universally stink--largely because passing the ball around among five players can be a daunting challenge by itself, much less keeping up with everyone. In contrast, arcade games narrow the playing field down to three, two, or one player per team, simplifying the game and increasing the fun.

For those who may not know, Electronic Arts practically invented the arcade-style basketball game (we will ignore Atari basketball) with its landmark title One on One. Licensed players (Dr. J. and Larry Byrd, to be specific), instant replays, shattered backboards, and fouls were all seen for the very first time back in the days when Michael Jordan was playing for the University of North Carolina and not for Bugs Bunny.

NBA Street is essentially three-on-three, low-rules, street ball. Goaltending is legal, charging is legal, but Harlem Globetrotter moves such as pantsing your opponent are still forbidden. Your team is rewarded with trick points for each special move you accomplish, and with enough trick points you can pull off a "gamebreaker"--a high-percentage shot effectively worth double the normal amount of points (it adds to your score and subtracts from your opponent's).

Like EA Sports Big's other title, SSX, NBA Street is a triumph of style and of substance. The graphics, sound, and overall presentation are strong enough keep you intrigued until the smooth control and addictive gameplay hook you for good. The control scheme is intuitive, and rewards skill and timing without making the game impossible for the clumsy.

My friend Ed, who has a notoriously short attention span, played NBA Street for seven hours straight a few weeks ago. Sure, he never really got any better, and I could embarrass him easily, but even at his pathetic skill level he loved the game. Loved it.

The only flaw in an otherwise outstanding game is the tutorial mode ("Street School"), which feels like it was programmed haphazardly, frequently and infuriatingly interrupting the game with pop-up windows of instructions during the session. This could have easily been corrected.

That misgiving aside, NBA Street is the finest basketball game currently available for any system-and a must-have if you've ever had fun playing the real game or a videogame of the sport.