Street Hoops

Pros • They've really filled the disc with extra content (videos by the hip hop musicians on the soundtrack, videos of the players in the game, etc.) • Good variety of game modes • Good face-up defense scheme • Great block-outs • Some super cool animations (especially around the hoop) • Player creation/customization that will keep you playing with created characters even though they aren't as good (for a long time) as the players in the game • Unlock scheme keeps you playing	Cons • You need puppeteer dexterity to manage the control scheme (aspects of which could have been better considered--like for example a cross-over move that becomes a shoot move when you activate special skills, and vice versa) • Street players have none of the instant recognition of NBA players • Lack of team play • Uniforms look the same until you customize them • And why not use the same shoot button as everybody else instead of confusing the issue? And why not make it customizable? • Ugly gaming environments • Juke moves just randomly break down defenders • AI isn't great
Bottom Line More "Street Cred" than gaming cred, Street Hoops nevertheless has an entertaining take on basketball, and is worth the effort it takes to figure out the convoluted control scheme. Obviously unable to get the NBA license, but still wanting a piece of the lucrative virtual basketball market, Activision decided to do what they do with all of their sports games: stitch their buzzword to it--"Street Credibility" You won't recognize any of the players in Street Hoops; they are a collection of playground and semi-pro ballers who for whatever reason never made the big show. But, once you watch the excellent opening video and see their insane ball handling skills and sheer brash cockiness you'll be pumped to play and to experiment with their crazy moves. In fact, Activision has done a very good job of filling this disc with their so-called "Street Cred." There are tons of videos to unlock, and even available right from the get-go: videos of the big name hip-hop artists on the soundtrack, videos of the players, etc. They've included a player/clothing customization scheme that lets you spend your money on brand-name clothing, tattoos, etc., and the DJ commentary is more entertaining than most sports game commentators. And, the game shows promise. It is full of really spectacular animations, it has a good defensive face-up and block-out scheme, and has more special moves than Allan Iverson. It's a little too fancy for its own good though, as the control scheme is very difficult and will have new players screaming for mercy, and the fancy moves unbalance the play a little. Still, the game won over my skepticism with its fun, and with a little polishing (say two sequels down the road), expect it to be downright fabulous.

This game had me up and down like a yo-yo.

First, I was very skeptical of Activision's attempt to grab a piece of the basketball pie with their Street version of the game; I mean, why would anyone want to play with a bunch of second-rate playground misfits rather than the NBA stars (This was before they all got whooped at the World Championships by the Argentines and the Spanish to finish badly out of the medals.)?

Then, when I tossed the game in and saw the opening video, I was excited to try it. There are tons of videos in the game (many to be unlocked) of these players doing absolutely outrageous things with the basketball: dribbling with their knees, dribbling off of their defenders' faces, crazy passes and dunks, jukes and spins like you've never seen or even imagined before. The game has a great hip-hop soundtrack and includes a number of the performers' music videos. The whole "Street Cred," thing got to me and I was ready to pretend I was a playground hoops wizard.

Fumble, fumble, "Damn! Damn! What the Hell!" hurl, crash, "Crap, I broke another controller!" The controls are a nightmare. Besides the regular set of controls (pass, shoot, post up, juke, turbo, etc.), there are two sets of mad skillz that pull off extra fancy jukes and shots, and pushing the button to activate those moves often completely crosses up the controls: what used to be a cross-over move button is now a shoot button and you get all twisted up in your own fanciness and do something stupid; book open on your lap trying to learn what the buttons do, losing game after game after game after game.

And, as you lose, the bland gym and playground environments, the uniforms that look so much alike that you try to pass to players on the other team, and the occasional chop in the animation as you fumble and accidentally throw three weird moves together in a row, the fact that you couldn't make your own nickname, but had to choose from a pre-generated list, all starts to get to you and Street Hoops begins to look all packaging, no substance.

But, time out, take the time to go over the training videos and get back to fundamentals, learning one move at a time, you start to get the hang of it and to actually win games. You begin to appreciate the good face-up defense that you and the computer can play, you notice how well you can block out. You get wrapped up in customizing your created player's skills even though he or she isn't as good as the player you replaced on your chosen team. You start to purchase customized uniforms, you begin to unlock more cool extras, and to really enjoy the moves that unless you had seen the videos of these playground hoopsters pulling them off, you'd think were unbelievable and impossible.

Then, you start to win too much. You notice the poor AI--the computer is forever passing up wide open looks, the lack of good team play, that the juke moves are all too fancy and that none of them can be pulled without slowing down and letting everyone catch up, and that when someone is playing that tenacious face-up D on you, all you have to do is keep hitting a juke button (any juke button will do) until the defender, magically, randomly, steps on a banana peel, falls, broken off at the ankles, down. You'll also find that as a multiplayer game, it isn't great because unless your opponent has put his or her time in fighting to learn the controls, they have no idea, just as you did not when you first began, what they are doing and get spanked and frustrated fast.

Pump up the difficulty, unlock more videos, and more players, create more characters; you can and will still have a lot of fun with Street Hoops after you start to catch on to its flaws. It is definitely not as well balanced as the longer running basketball franchises with the NBA license, and could use some improvement. Defense is not as fun to play as it is in NBA Street. The graphics and AI could use some serious polish. Still, it's more fun than you might expect, and definitely worth a try (though the online play of the other NBA games this year still probably makes them more interesting). And, you'll definitely see some moves you'll want to try in the backyard, and who knows, they may even turn out to be less difficult to master in real life than the controls are in Street Hoops. I say, give it a try.

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