Street Hoops (Playstation 2)

by Black Ops

Product Details

• ASIN: B00005YVTO
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,138 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #87 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Sports
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Street Hoops is like the kid who shows up on the first day of school decked out in brand-new, brand-name duds, trying really hard to be cool and laid-back, while his rival (in this case, NBA Street) effortlessly oozes hip, relaxed charm. It's not that it's a bad game--it's that it could be so much more, if only it wasn't trying so hard, and in the most shallow ways.

Everything about Hoops is overly complicated, with no real payoff. The players can be personalized and stylized--you get to pick haircuts, jewelry, tattoos, and clothing. But instead of being a cherry on top of an otherwise great game, this decoration is in some ways more interesting than the actual court time. This issue of mixed-up priorities really takes root in the mechanics of the game. Considering there's no tutorial, the overly designed controller configuration gets in the way of just starting up and playing the game for the fun of it. In another example, unless you assign controllers to teams in the opening menu, the game mysteriously starts playing itself.

The music is great, with songs by mainstream hip-hop artists. But the abundance of tie-in deals seems like overcompensation for poor play. Hoops sometimes feels like a catalog, heavy with ads for clothing, sneakers, and sunglasses. In a spectacular example of the obtrusiveness of this co-branding, gamers can get cheats by buying real-world Sprite (vending machines for the soda are also littered throughout the game maps). Still, there's a fair amount to recommend Hoops--mainly the presence of real-life street ballers. The opening cinematic of inspired tricking makes you want to invest the time to make this game pay off. Anyone who just wants to play a little ball with their friends--a pickup game instead of a tournament--would be better off looking to the unmatched NBA Street. --Jennifer Hauseman

Pros:

• Options like taunt and intentional foul evoke true baller bravado
• Hip-hop soundtrack includes "Da Rockwilder" (Method Man and Redman), "Who We Be" (DMX), "Make Em Say Ugh" (Master P), and "Rollout" (Ludacris)

Cons:

• More development time was spent on partnership deals than gameplay

Product Description

Street Hoops is like the kid who shows up on the first day of school decked out in brand-new, brand-name duds, trying really hard to be cool and laid-back, while his rival (in this case, NBA Street) effortlessly oozes hip, relaxed charm. It's not that it's a bad game--it's that it could be so much more, if only it wasn't trying so hard, and in the most shallow ways.

Everything about Hoops is overly complicated, with no real payoff. The players can be personalized and stylized--you get to pick haircuts, jewelry, tattoos, and clothing. But instead of being a cherry on top of an otherwise great game, this decoration is in some ways more interesting than the actual court time. This issue of mixed-up priorities really takes root in the mechanics of the game. Considering there's no tutorial, the overly designed controller configuration gets in the way of just starting up and playing the game for the fun of it. In another example, unless you assign controllers to teams in the opening menu, the game mysteriously starts playing itself.

The music is great, with songs by mainstream hip-hop artists. But the abundance of tie-in deals seems like overcompensation for poor play. Hoops sometimes feels like a catalog, heavy with ads for clothing, sneakers, and sunglasses. In a spectacular example of the obtrusiveness of this co-branding, gamers can get cheats by buying real-world Sprite (vending machines for the soda are also littered throughout the game maps). Still, there's a fair amount to recommend Hoops--mainly the presence of real-life street ballers. The opening cinematic of inspired tricking makes you want to invest the time to make this game pay off. Anyone who just wants to play a little ball with their friends--a pickup game instead of a tournament--would be better off looking to the unmatched NBA Street. --Jennifer Hauseman

Pros:

• Options like taunt and intentional foul evoke true baller bra

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Street Hoops Is Coming!!, July 20, 2002

By 

IceScorpion (Baltimore Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Hoops (Playstation 2) (Video Game)

Oh my god I cant even begin to explain how hot this game will be. I agree with you when you said when you first saw screenshots of the game you werent sure.Recently I got a demo of this game and I have not stopped playing it!This game is gonna be so real you get to make your own baller from a list of namebrand clothes,jewlery,you own haircut and what not? It is going to be sooo much better than Nba Street.You get to bet Virtual cash on new gear.Plus, its got a hot soundtrack to play with and it supports up to five people.This is truly gonna be a good game for parties so you can dominate your friends in the game even if you cant do it in real life.Truely,after playing this game i dare say this game makes Nba Street look like a bunch of grade-school newbies playing against highschoolers...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little bit of everything, October 17, 2002

By 

RatFink617 (Attleboro, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Hoops (Playstation 2) (Video Game)

Thisa game is awesome. I was a little weary of buying it at first, but once I started playing it, I couldn't put it down. My wife isn't a big fan of it, and I get an attitude from her when I try to show her the cool videos they have of the streetballers. I love it. Unlock the videos on the game, and sit back and enjoy some talented basketball players. People compare it to NBA Street, but I think these are two different games. NBA Street is a little too "cartoony" for my taste. The only drawback on Street Hoops, is the announcers. I just turn them off.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Game, September 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Street Hoops (Playstation 2) (Video Game)

THIS GAME IS PHAT. THE HIPHOP MUSIC ALONE MAKES THIS GAME SOLID. THE CONTROLS ARE THE SAME AS TO NBA LIVE, THE GRAPHICS ARE DECENT, NBA STREET IS BETTER. NO NBA PLAYERS BUT YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR SQUAD INCLUDING NAMEBRAND CLOTHING, BUY JEWELRY, AFROS OR CLEAN SHAVE, NO SHIRT. THE COMPUTER IS TOUGH, YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND AND DUNK IT VERY TIME. HOWEVER, BLOCKING SEEMS TRICKY TO MASTER. U CAN SHOVE, PUSH PLAYERS AND THEY WON'T LOSE THE BALL. YOU CAN MAKE BETS ON YOUR GAMES. GREAT GAME TO PLAY WITH OTHER PLAYERS, BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND RENTING IT FOR A WEEK FIRST.