GAMING REVIEW

NBA Street Homecourt

RATINGS Quality Geekness

NBA Street Homecourt is one of those games that makes me glad that "next gen" is now the standard. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of NBA Street Homecourt are identical visually and--except for the lack of sixaxis rumble--in terms of gameplay. And both are, in a word, spectacular.

NBA Street Homecourt takes all the "wow" elements of basketball and makes them standard. Sure, you can dribble, pass, and shoot; but in Homecourt each element is spiced up. It's three-on-three action with the emphasis on action. It's one part Harlem Globetrotters and one part cyborg robots, with a dash of RPG--plus there's a banging soundtrack, as long as you like hip-hop.

Point the right thumbstick in any direction and the ball will dribble in that direction automatically, just as in other basketball titles. Meanwhile, mashing the X (square) and Y (triangle) buttons will bring on a series of remix moves, which allow front and back crossovers, let you pass to yourself in between an opponent's legs, and even bounce the ball off your opponent's head.

There is some amusement to demoralizing and embarrassing your opponent, but--for the single-player mode at least--it would be largely pointless unless you get your jollies out of teasing pixels. Instead, NBA Street Homecourt makes these trick remixes integral to gameplay. As you perform a series of tricks, the trick names and point totals splash at a furious pace at the top of the screen, while a power meter grows in white there. Score and the bar becomes solid green or red, depending on whether you are playing as Shirts or Skins. If you turn the ball over, however, your progress goes away.

Once your meter or your opponent's fills all the way to the center of the screen, a ball will start spinning and the bots will start calling for a Gamebreaker. Press Y (triangle) at center court to trigger the Gamebreaker. The ballholder will seemingly toss the ball away, while the screen changes colors and the music goes crazy. Once the ball returns, the other team loses a point and it's up to the Gamebreaker to--you guessed it--break the game wide open.

When you're in a Gamebreaker, mash X (square) and Y (triangle) to unlock different, sweet trick remixes, some of which knock your opponent down. Again, your goal is to raise your Gamebreaker bar, but this time additional tricks will boost your scoring potential. There's no guarantee that your opponent won't steal the ball away and trigger his or her own Gamebreaker, so you'll want to pass it around and eventually take a shot. I was able to get as high as 6 points, but it is possible that others can do better. Most times I played conservatively and just tried to get positive points without turning the ball over, since every Gamebreaker is already a two-point swing.

Passing is slightly juiced, but not much beyond what you'd expect in real-life street ball. You can do standard passes, throw behind the back, or kick the ball out with your legs. It's not amazingly innovative, but it does look pretty solid.

Shooting and scoring turn this title up to 11. There are at least dozens of different scoring possibilities, all given exciting and fitting names, such as "The Executive Producer." Close-range shots are typically worth one point, while long shots ("three pointers") are worth two points. Sometimes a dunk is just a dunk or a reverse, but you can significantly up the "wow" factor by pressing B (circle) in the Gamebreaker mode. Even in the standard game mode it's possible to do some jaw-dropping dunks, including some double-dunk two-point slams. And this is street ball, so you can also use one of your buddies for a boost, or get really creative and use your buddy's back to get up in mid-air and then alley-oop it to a third teammate. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

There's an awful lot of offensive firepower, but it's somewhat balanced by strong "D." Press B (circle) for offensive and defensive boards when you control the ball and to go up for monster blocks. The longer you hold down the button the more impressive your block is. And they jump really, really high. Watch out, though, because it's possible for you to slam your player's head into the bottom of the basket. Your players won't get tired or be worse for wear, but it will leave your basket wide open.

Given all the trick remixing, I try to go for steals nearly the entire time I'm on defense. Press X (square) for a swipe and you'll possibly be able to take the ball away from that show-off. You can also shove the player you're defending by pressing Y (triangle).

All this makes for a great single-game experience, but the title adds depth in the Homecourt Challenge Mode, which is basically a Create-a-Player and career mode in one. In this mode, users start by choosing their looks, playing style, name, and hometown, and then follow the career path from homecourt nobody to legend status. Most different playing styles and body types are there, from Jason Kidd to Shaq and everywhere in between.

You start out with a few talents, but are an otherwise ordinary player. The Shaq clone, for example, is worthless at long shots and is deathly slow, but is able to shove just about anyone into giving up the ball. Meanwhile, the Jason Kidd clone can barely rebound a ball stopped on the ground, but can sink long shots and hit the white lines like a suicides drill.

Every game gives players an opportunity to advance their clone, even in losses. You face off against real-life ballers such as Yao Ming and Carmelo Anthony, in dunks-only, shots-only, and standard 11-, 15-, and 21-point pick-up games. You also play against a half-dozen WNBA players, but--relax, parents--they wear sports bras on the Skins team.

After each game your level proceeds upwards, somewhat like an RPG. In the same way, skills you use over and over gain more points; for example, my Jason Kidd clone went from average to outstanding in steals because I kept on hitting X (square). When you level up you gain experience points and unlock courts, shoes, and outfits. Shoes and outfits make you level up faster.

Conclusion
If the question is, "Should I play this game?" then the answer is a resounding yes. You can't go wrong with either the 360 or the PS3 version, and if you happen to play both you'll notice the buttons and graphics are identical.

Buy the 360 version if you want the achievements. It took me a while to get all the offline achievements (900/1000), but the gameplay is so addictive it never felt like I was slogging through, even about 10 hours into the session. It's just one of those games that you get into and can't put down. I'm sure other gamers could get weeks of gameplay out of NBA Street Homecourt if played at a more leisurely pace or if played with a buddy.

Buy the PlayStation 3 version if you own a PS3 and are looking for a quality sports title that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's the best looking game I've seen on the system.

Ratings Defense
For Quality, I gave NBA Street Homecourt 4 Geekheads out of 5. This title was nearly perfect on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. I dropped one Geekhead because it's possible to get burned out playing it. After fully leveling one character and getting a second player to level 10 in order to get all the offline achievements in the Xbox 360 version, I wasn't as eager as I'd otherwise be to see if the PS3 version stacked up.

For Geekness I gave NBA Street Homecourt 3 Geekheads. The graphics are far above average, and sports titles that add in D&D-style RPG elements definitely knock the Geek factor up a notch.

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