Solid Single Player Experience, Solid Multiplayer, Solid Online, If you don't normally like Basketball Games, Avoid
With that being said when the second one came out, I figured why not. My girlfriend of all people simply LOVED the original and since she has a PS2 I figured why not how different can it be?
Generally my BIGGEST complaint is the loading times which drive me insane they are among the worst I have experience with any PS2 game thus far, but once you get past them the gaming experience itself is pretty solid, aside from the basketball which is pretty well the same (Both graphically and from a gameplay stance) as the original and start to look at some of the added features its pretty good. The free roaming mode in the "shopping" district is a neat little add on, doing side quests to get credits so you can buy whatever your heart desires. The aspect that you can buy shoes, shirts and shorts etc that add to your various skills are pretty interesting, but I am disapointed that if you wanted the Vest that increased 3 point shooting by 12 it ONLY came in green which did not go very well with my Red shorts that add 10+ to Dunking and 8+ to Ball Handling, but thats a minor aspect.
Generally all the little things added as well as a very lengthy storymode (perhaps twice that of the original) make it a worthy follow up to the original and one that I would very much recommend for any fan of the original, the controls are simple enough that even if you are starting with Phenom you will have little trouble learning the ropes,
Graphically I will have to say that even the original was not all that impressive and all the Phenom offers is more of the same, they have added a series of new clothes and other such things for your baller but other then that it really is more of the same, which is why I am so puzzled by the loadtimes being so long, because its not really different?
From a sound stance, the soundtrack is good is you are into R&B and Hip Hop, but I find that more then anything the commentary often melts away into the background because thinking back I cannot really recall anything that was said, but I know that something was said. For a game of its kind it has a really deep soundtrack, and the voice acting is what you can expect sort of cheesey but enough to get the job done.
From a Value Stance, Its really a tough call.
The single player mode is awesome and a good time but for those who are looking for a multiplayer its solid, but you really can tell the difference between a baller who has played 10 minutes and one who has played an hour, its really easy to suck at this game.
Online is pretty good, except that midday on a Saturday there were seven people in the East Coast gaming lounge so the quality of talent online is suspect but generally its what you should expect now with PS2 winding down,
Overall, if you like sports games and you want something thats a little twist on your standard NBA game this really is worth a look, but for many gamers I could see this game as being more of a one time rental then anything.
-Z