Customer Reviews

NBA Street V3

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After 2 years since Volume 2, E.A. releases a very worthy successor, NBA Street Vol 3 is definitely worth your hard earned money.

Overall, Vol 3 is a must have for hoops fans, both casual and hardcore. It has enough new additions to warrant a buy even if you have volume 2.

The first thing I noticed is the upheavel in graphics. This game, putting it mildly, makes Vol 2 look like old school. The courts, the new dunk animations, the new motion captured moves, the teriffic new courts, and the best lookin' b'ball game I've ever layed my eyes on. Vol 3's grittier, darker look may be a downer to some, but one could never knock the time spent on it's graphical prowess. But the game's visual is not without faults however... For still some strange reason, Vol 3 does NOT support HD Tv's, widescreen is implimented thankfully, but HD support should be standard for every XBOX game, E.A. seems to be waiting for XBOX 2? Hmm, maybe next year. But even without HD, it still looks great, and most people with regular TV's will also be right at home.

The gameplay is a bit similar as last year, with the exception of a few minor differences. The big addition for XBOX is the addition of online play with XBOX Live. Collectively, you can play up to 5 other players online or 3 if you have 2 buddies to play at home with. 3 on 3 with each person controlling every player is quite a feat. Although it's early on, and I expect things to get busy online at first, I didn't notice extreme lag, but I did not play it at a peak hour so no final word how this game will really play online. NBA Live 2005 seems to continue to have issues online, so I was surprised how this game played a bit better with no lag.

Don't have XBOX Live? No problem. You can play up to 4 players with 4 xbox controllers. How cool is that? Multiplayer is where it's at and this game has it all for everyone. And don't think the game won't keep you busy, the street challenge mode will keep you busy for months.

Gone away is the "freestyle" stick, but don't let the game fool you, it's still there, they just changed the name to "trick stick". However, the trick stick allows you to do certain moves not while just dribbling, but also on defense, while shooting and dunking, passing, and even blocking shots. The more you use the "trick" stick the more points you score. Some killer moves like throwing the b'ball at opponents head, off of backboards, between their legs and even off spectators in the crowd. And never threat, the infamous "GameBreakers" are all back only this time you can change a dunk on the fly while the gamebreaker is interacting with the trick stick. With all new dunks and player celebrations, you're going to fall in love with this game from start to finish!

The game also seems to have a "home field advantage factor." The game requires you to create your "home court" in the street challenge mode. I noticed my players seemed to be more "in the zone" when I was playing on my home court I created compared to playing on other playa's turf. Speaking of courts, vol 3 offers 12 realistic courts (indoor and outdoor) from actual locations throughout Europe and the U.S each with their own unique feel. Each can be modified with countless changes like court time, location, colors, spectators, lights, etc, all can be completely customize to your liking. Even better, all courts can be played at different parts of the day including night and eve.

If the game disappoints, it's the absence of Jordan and Barkley. This is a big knock for some, not as much for others, but the fact is, the greatest player that ever played the game is not in the game and it truly is a disappointment. I'm sure you'll come across others that you were hoping to see along with Jordan, but there are certainly some other big names missing too. I understand it has to do with licensing issues but weirdly enough, Jordan was in NBA Street Vol 2, very weird. But although missing the greatest player in NBA history is a big strike, the lineup is still amazing as a whole. Spud Webb, Walt Frazier, Kareem, Magic, Bird, just to name a few.

To earn the dozens of old school ballers, you have to take your created baller and your amateur teammates (that you chose at the beginning of the game) through a virtual season in street challenge mode. Take your baller all the way to earn your rights to play the best players today in the NBA and the old school guys too. You earn the rights to earn new players and of course earn your shoes. The game still lets you customize your player (boy or girl) to-boot, jeans, baggy shorts, nba sweats, sweatpants, jean shorts, tank tops, NBA jerseys, shoes, socks, loaded with tons of customization. Change your hairstyle, change your eyebrows, nose length and width, ear size, chin, etc...

Word of warning, this game requires some serious playing time to get the items and attributes you want. It seems to take an eternity to earn skills and points to improve your player and get new ones. It took me a few games just to buy a new pair of shorts and shoes! As you keep playing, you can give more power and ratings to your created player too as the competion gets more fierce and eventually you'll run into NBA Players which really heats up the challenge.

New to the game, is the "morale" factor of your teammates. Do they get along, are they battling it out after hours? The morale factor keeps you updated between games on how your players are getting along. If you mix Rasheed Wallace and Reggie Miller on the same team, you might be more at risk for troubles. When the morale factor is low, players don't play as a team and it might be time to get a new roster to keep the fire low.

There is so much good about this game, I really can't say anything bad about it. I really think the two years off since Vol 2 is for the better as I consider this one of the best multiplayer games I've ever played. Definitely pick up some friends or go at it online, because this is the best street ball ever and I can only see the series getting better as time goes on. It's definitely worth your money.

When I purchased this game for X-Box, my decision was based on the enjoyment that I got out of NBA Street 2 for PS2. I figured that the 3rd installment would be at least as good as the 2nd. Believe me, it's better. The graphics are very unique, much more three-dimensional than the previous version. I know that there are a lot of people that are disappointed that Michael Jordan is not included as a bonus player, but there are many bonus players, courts, items, etc. that keep the game fresh and as unique and original as possible. So if you're in the market for a fun game that isn't too difficult to get the hang of, then this game is a great choice. It only takes a few pick-up games to get the hang of the controls, and the game just gets better and better after that. The only drawback that I have found with this game is the lack of camera angles. The available angles are either too close or too far away for my tastes, but I have gotten used to.

I've played the predecessors of Street and honestly my favorite is Volume 2 but Volume 3 is quite fun and graphics are as good as they can be. Initially, I had a lot of trouble with the Street Challenge Mode but as I got a handle on it, the more dunkalicious fun I had. Highly Recommended.

I love all the NBA Streets series. Missing Michael Jordan but who cares this game is still fun as hell. The graphics are beautiful. I'm the King of this game, I rule this game. The best thing about is the slam dunk contest. So everybody get this game and don't try to challenge cause I will defeat you 21 (Me) to Zip (U).

This game is awesome its got TON'S of characters such as the beastie boys.I love this game.The only bad thing about it is that fruity dj cucumber...whatever everything else is good!





BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!(:

Graphics - LOOKS better, but the camera is worsened. Clipping still around.

Sound - 9 tracks, no custom soundtrack is a disgrace...if any other company pulled that I bet MS would strip their dev. kits. Oh yeah, the announcer is wack too. The surround sound is mediocre.

Control. There is no reason not to have 3 turbo buttons when there are free buttons on the controller. The trick stick is a nice idea though even though it takes a long time to adjust to it. This game doesn't have the casual appeal of the first two games.

Online play - VERY slow level system. In order to sustain interest people would have to play different types of games...well I'll tell you the only games you'll find that get played are normal ones. Besides that the community for this game is not big enough to hold the system EA has in place up. Most people will tire of the gameplay(which is worse, discussed below) WELL, WELL before they have any kinds of decent stats and simply quit. Also the way they have random players on your team makes little to no sense. Sure you have NBA games but it still is bogged down by poor gameplay changes.

Gameplay - For one, steals are too easy and it practically ruins the game. It's ridicoulous. Next paint camping is alive and well. Most people who make noise online have 7'5 players who just sit in the court all day. EA should of make a 3 sec. violation. Next belive it or not the games shooting isn't even right. It's almost random. One day your tall guy will sink 5/6 threes and then the next three games you'll skinny guy will make 2/15 threes. It's the same deal with dunks. The loft passes are stupid(getting the ball stolen right when you catch the ball is what made me sell the game) and the dunk contest is nothing more than a novelty. Finally, they changed the gamebreakers. Now strategy is goine, once you master it you can get the max points every time and the only way to stop it is mash on the steal button before they get to the paint.

So in the end avoid this game, you have been warned.

This game is fun, but as this is the 3rd installment I was a little disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. I recommend renting it first to make sure you like it.

Pros:
-Online play is fun
-Dunk Contests

Cons:
-New Trick Stick
-Poor Training mode compared to Volume 2
-Online play is 1 player per Xbox (no guests)
-Graphics aren't any better than Volume 2
-No Michael Jordan

this game is so cool and its better than street 2. it has cool graphics

True this game is similar to vol 2, however I can't decide if it's easier or harder than vol 2. I found that game play with the trick stick is alot more fluid than you'd imagine. It comes with more tricks as well since you get a different trick with all 8 directions of the stick (and that's without using the turbo buttons) But as easy as this is it becomes really difficult during game breakers as you have to pull off the moves yourself with this stick. If you try to do to many tricks at once, you simply fall and don't get you gamebreaker. You also have to remember to pass mid dunk otherwise your the only one that dunks the ball. Besides this flaw stealing is way to easy this time around no matter how good your handles are. Power also has a big impact on this version. If your not very strong I found it's more difficult to get a dunk off in traffic. The only other negative thing I can think of is that the street legend and earning skills took a turn for the worse. Vol 2 was easy to see where to go and what you had to do to get better. This time around your given a pick of different contests to choose from at various locations including your home court. I've found that choosing the wrong one doesn't get you hardly and "street credit" which is needed to play bigger events. You only have 7 weeks to earn street credit and build your attributes. I'm in the middle of week 4 and only have 422 street credit and avg. 40 points in most categorys and haven't lost a game yet (43-0). In Vol 2 you knew how many points you'd get before you started playing somewhere. Since I mentioned it before earning money for attributes was fine in vol 2 since it went fast and your player got up to speed with everyone else, but v3 only lets you buy 1 point at a time and since they range in value it incredibly difficult to max out any one specific category. Don't even bother buying shoes or anything else, since they don't help you in the long run you'll be wasting your time and money (did I mention that you have to buy players to add to your team and not just get them after you beat them, this gets way to pricy too). All in all the game play is really fun, sometimes repetative, but really fun. My only hope is that as I progress it gets better and easier. I guess I was simply expecting alot more and hoped they would change the broken parts (e.g. tricks, graphics) not the good parts too (e.g. game breakers, street legend, atributes). Here are my final thoughts:

Game play: 5
Graphics: 5
Learning ease: 2
Options (list can be overwhelming): 5
Overall value: $35 (not $50)
good changes vs. bad: 3

Overall I still give it a 5 simply because I'm a fan of the street franchise and I since I haven't beaten the game there's still hope for improvement. Definitely rent first...Enjoy

Pros: Much better at making players than ever before
Trick stick is cool
Dunk contest is nice but more could be done with it
genuine streetball feel I like the real courts like the inclusion of the dome in Baltimore and Brighton beach in England
Like the gameplay of steet challenge
Interactive gamebreakers
Phat

Cons: Where MJ? The greatsest player in bball history really should be included
Lacks the charecter of volume 2 more storyline would be nice, Street challenge should be shorter and more challenging
More variety should be available in cort creator