

The menus are a bit overdone, but the constant scratching and low-level funk in the background is always nice, and the soundtrack is full of all sorts of hip-hop we've never even heard of. He even gives you a funky nickname after a while if you play well enough.Įlsewhere the presentation is some of EA's best yet. Pretty much the entire game is commentated on by a memorable chap called Bobbito Garcia (one half of the best hip-hop radio show of all time according to The Source magazine), who lends the game all sorts of 'cred' and does a fine job of 'calling' the 'plays' and so on.

Of course no BIG game would be complete without EA's trademark glossy presentation, and Volume 2's incessant funk and 'street' stylings are nothing less than we expected. And by allowing you to use players all over the game - whether it's developing your own legendary baller for use in a multiplayer game, or unlocking new characters for your NBA Challenge team - the game feels a lot more open-minded about our play habits than its predecessor. What's more, unlike the original Street, Volume 2 lets you play the game either by nurturing your own original player, or by guiding a pre-rolled or custom team through the various courts of the US, soaring past all manner of Afros, baggy shorts and upside down ball skills.
NBA STREET VOL 2 VS VOL 3 FREE
And as you gradually unlock the vast roster of NBA legends past and present, you'll be able to adopt their signature moves for your own ends, like Michael Jordan's slam dunk from the free throw line. Throughout Volume 2 you're given a mixture of development and reward points, which can be spent on improving your custom player, or your custom team. Just as we'd restart the Elysium Alps stage of SSX hundreds of times just to get the maximum possible point total from the first massive cliff drop jump, we found ourselves navigating the streets of New York, Seattle and LA in particular ways, questing for an even more audacious string of passes and shots than the last effort.Īnd as with EA Sports BIG's other successful titles, the game lets you do more and more as your skills guide you further into the game. This SSX-style performance enhancer not only encourages you to do more tricks, but it also encourages you to line them up. Heck, you can even strip your opponent of his Gamebreaker if you're suffering at his hands. Once the Gamebreaker meter is full, you can opt to unleash the move, which is an almost guaranteed three points and light show, or stow it away and continue building up the bar to try and finish on a totally unstoppable level two Gamebreaker.

Once you've gotten the hang of the basics of dribbling (bounce, bounce, bounce), passing and shooting, you'll start to tackle the tougher, button-combo based moves like Off The Heezay (a psycho-out move where the ball is played off an opposing player's head), Back 2 Papa (passing to yourself or a team-mate off the backboard) and all manner of dunks - and the game rewards you for it.Īs you play, your Gamebreaker meter gradually fills up with each successful trick, and it'll fill up faster if you can manage to string several together and finish on a slam dunk. EA Canada has concocted a game that caters to everybody, from those who ignore basketball in its entirety to those who know the difference between Michael Jordan in 19 - just two of the different versions of the man waiting to be unlocked via the game's two main single player modes.īut what makes it so good isn't the constant stream of unlockables (players, shirts, shorts, shoes, courts, etc), nor the vast array of play modes (Be a Legend, NBA Challenge, Pick-up, Street School, two-on-two multiplayer, edit mode, etc), but the way things unfold on the court. James Worthy, Darryl Dawkins, Rick Barry, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Earvin Johnson - who are these people? The point is that it really doesn't matter. Why? Because the artistry of a truly brilliant arcade sports game can slam dunk apathetic ignorance without breaking a sweat.
NBA STREET VOL 2 VS VOL 3 TV
And yet SSX, Tony Hawk and NHL are all games that all grace my TV screen with indecent regularity. I have absolutely no interest in snowboarding, skateboarding or ice hockey.
