NBA Street V3 Hands-On
We have hands-on impressions of this game.
The NBA Street series will soon return for a third run on the asphalt with NBA Street V3. We recently sat down with a preview copy of the game, along with the title's producer, to get a feel for how the latest entry in the urban-basketball franchise plays both on and off the court. The game, now well along in its development, looks to focus on creating a unique experience for the player both in the single-player mode and when taking the game online.
All current NBA teams and rosters are included and up to date (yes, New Jersey Nets fans, Vince Carter is on your team in V3), but the game also includes familiar NBA legends such as Bill Russell, Joe Dumars, and Spud Webb (who makes his debut in the series). Nearly as important as the roster, however, are the addition of real-life street courts from all over the world, including the Hawk in Pittsburgh, the Cage in NYC, and even Brighton Beach over in jolly old England. NBA Street V3 includes day and night environments for several courts, such as Venice Beach, Oakland's Mosswood, and others.
While the development team at EA Sports Big toyed with the idea of two-on-two and even one-on-one matchups for the third entry in the franchise, it decided to stick with its strengths and keep the familiar three-man teams in the latest version. What has changed, however, are the physical appearances of the players. Gone are the caricature-style models of the first two games, replaced with a more realistic look. Familiar NBA faces are immediately recognizable on the menu screen and even on the court.
Another big change found in NBA Street V3 are the new trick mechanics, which are now completely controlled using the right analog sticks and trigger buttons on the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube controllers. This allows you to build combos on the fly, and it feels much more organic and, for lack of a better phrase, "in the moment" than the mechanics in the previous games. As you string together moves by moving the analog stick in a particular direction and combining it with one or more of the trigger buttons, you'll see that particular trick played out onscreen. In addition, each particular move is recorded in a combo meter found in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Press the analog stick down, for example, and you'll see a down arrow on the combo meter. Combine it with a trigger button or two, and that down arrow will change colors to indicate a different move type.
As you combine moves, the combo meter fills up, and if your shot is successful, you'll earn combo points that will go toward your "gamebreaker" meter. Fill the up the gamebreaker meter and you'll execute the familiar stylish dunk animation. In NBA Street V3, however, you have more control than ever over your gamebreaker dunks, as you'll be able to string together moves in the air--and even pass the ball off to both of your teammates in succession--to maximize your point haul.
While the game includes a number of special moves available to all the players, certain special moves can be used only by created players, and even then only once the moves are unlocked. This feature allows you to more fully customize your created baller, especially when you take your player online to face off against other human competitors. To prevent opponents from blocking your favorite moves by peeking at your combo meter, you'll be able to rename and remap your set of unique tricks.
EA's NBA Live 2005 isn't the only game in town with a dunk contest anymore, as NBA Street V3 now has one of its own. The dunk contest be taken online on both the PS2 and the Xbox, and it features three layers of complexity--the dunks themselves, ball tosses, and props. While dunks and tosses are self-explanatory and are executed using standard analog-stick game controls, the use of props is a new twist. Place a table at the free-throw line, for example, and the degree of difficulty of your dunk--and thus the points earned upon successfully completing it--goes up dramatically. Add into the dunk mix an off-the-backboard ball toss and a string of in-air moves as you leap over the table, and you have the recipe for a truly impressive slam. The contest judges will grade your performance not just on execution but also on creativity, so try not to repeat yourself once your feet leave the floor.
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