Street Talkin'
Well...
The game is pretty good for a current-gen system.. I will review this game without thinking about how addicted I am to the 360's power.
For one, the game plays like the old street hoops but with a better swagger thanks to better looking player models and a better updated engine. The moves will take some getting used to because the IBall controls are something new. I spent about an hour in practice mode and I have it somewhat down. The crowd ambience is pretty on point. You get a feel of being at an and 1 game with the dj pumping and the crowd acting silly. The crowd isn't as interactive as I would like but it still gets the job done. The game framerate is pretty solid with a couple of hiccups when you pull of a breakdown move but its not a constant thing and doesn't kill the gameplay. The defense is a little suspect but then again, if you watch And1, defense is not really a focal point as is. I only played the game for about 3 hours because my lady needed some attention but from what I played so far, its a pretty good game and will take you away from the NBA Streets over the top style of play. You can play a good game a basketball but you have to pull off tricks to impress the crowd and get those mics. I appreciate the fact that you can activate "hot" on demand instead of the old 3 straight baskets like nba jams and such. The create a move function is a nice addition but there appears to more to it then just point and click, it seems that only certain moves can tie into others which is cool but I didn't really get a chance to dive to deep because I kept getting denied certain moves because I assume they weren't compatible with others. I did manage to put one together and it functions pretty cool. It does allow you to create your own flavor and I am sure within a few weeks, I'll be banging out some craziness...
Graphics.. 8
good player models and nice gear to play in.. Something about being able to play in tims that just makes me smile..
Gameplay.. 7
I would have like for them to nail some of the animations better. I don't like the fact that if you are defending a player and he does a breakdown move, your player can be 5 feet away and still fall to the ground but the fact that you can switch off to another play while the animation is in motion offsets it.
Replay Value.. 8
Plenty of action to keep you playing for a while..
Overall.... 8
I was a street hoops fan and they added a nice amount of content to keep the game fresh but not to difficult to learn..
Pretty good game and you can't go wrong for 40 bucks..
One!!!