There are other games on the market that are more fun and exciting than Street Hoops, which has little going for it other than evoking the memories of those other superior titles.
Just recently, Activision issued a press release that warned their stockholders of lower-than-expected profits for 2002. Despite a gaming market raking in the billions, Activision's losses for the last year came as a major shock to the industry, with the company stating that it wasn't the market – but rather the games the company released – that were to blame.
If anyone had any doubts about that claim, playing a game like the recently released Street Hoops shows evidence of why the company had such a rough 2002.
This is an almost shameless rip-off of EA's NBA Street. From the wacky announcer who won't stop talking, to its collection of colorful urban courts from around the country, a collection of street ballers with incredible skills, and a trick meter that fills up for special moves.
Yes, there are some differences -- no NBA stars appear here, the actual gameplay is comprised of 5-on-5 action, and you have the ability to adorn your players with jewelry, tattoos, and different hairstyles. However, at its heart, Street Hoops is clearly an attempt at attaining the same market niche NBA Street capitalized on over a year ago, with many of the exact same game elements. The trouble is, Street Hoops can't hold a candle gameplay-wise to NBA Street, and that definitely isn't a good thing.
For game options, Street Hoops provides a serious case of déjà vu right off the bat.
The game's principal single-player mode, ‘World Tour,’ offers almost an exact replica of NBA Street's City Circuit. You start out by selecting one of the available teams, then progress to travel around the country, unlocking new players and their special moves, plus courts along the way (sound familiar?) as you take on new opponents.
‘Lord of the Court’ is basically the ‘Hold the Court’ mode found in NBA Street. You select a court and defend it from a bevy of challengers. In the process, you'll unlock goodies like music videos and other hidden characters.
‘Full Court’ and ‘Half Court’ "Pick-Up" modes enable you to play a little more open with 4-on-4 or 3-on-3 action, which will prove especially helpful for multiplayer battles.
Winning games in the Pick-Up modes also enables you to accumulate cash to apply to what is undoubtedly Street Hoops' sole defining characteristic: the ability to spend that cash in the game's stores. That's right, would-be hoopsters, you can pick up clothing at the Footaction USA store (choose from 16 different apparel lines plus headgear and other cosmetic goodies), grab a tattoo or two at the Parlor, buy grandma's necklace back at the Pawn Shop/Jewelry Store, score a new hairstyle at the Barber Shop, and -- if you're feeling really lucky -- place a game bet with the local Bookie.
These cosmetic elements distinguish Street Hoops from its urban hoop brethren, but the bottom line is that they don't alter the core gameplay, which comes as the title's most disappointing element.
While I hate to compare Street Hoops so much to games like NBA Street, you simply can't help but do so because the genre has been explored before, and to far greater success in countless other games. If you're going to go down the same road as titles like EA's hit, you'd better bring something to do the table we haven't seen before -- and that's a place where Street Hoops comes up well short.
The gameplay of Street Hoops is clunky, silly, and tedious. The default settings are for 5 minute halves, but even on this setting you may find yourself wanting to shorten the periods because the action is so repetitive (unfortunately, you can't).
Street Hoops just doesn't feel authentic in terms of conveying the gritty aspects of playground ball -- the physics are completely nutty (folks fly through the air like they've just seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), but what's worse is that the A.I. isn't sound or realistic. Unlike NBA Street, players don't seem to think -- instead, they often execute pre-determined plays (i.e. not going in for the easy deuce but throwing it outside for some acrobatic display of science fiction athleticism!).
Now, this wouldn't be so bad if the gameplay itself was fun. Street Hoops, however, is far from it.
The control scheme takes a long while to get used to and is too complicated for this kind of game, and while Street Hoops mimics NBA Street's "Special Move" meter (which fills up depending on how well you've executed plays, opening up extended turbo and other moves), it doesn't in any way feel as addictive as EA's game. The A.I. tends to sink easy shots left and right, while the act of shooting for your controlled team never seems comfortable. I've had open shots from the 3 point arc and missed continuously -- unless there's something I'm doing wrong, the engine just doesn't fair.
On the plus side, Street Hoops does incorporate a handful of actual urban hoop legends into the mix: guys with names like AO, Booger, Future, Speedy and Main Event. There are no NBA stars here, but at least having some of the real guys on-hand to make the title more authentic is a plus.
Street Hoops, much like NBA Street, includes a handful of real courts from locales around the country. You have New York's Rucker Park and The Cage, Venice Beach, a wintry Jackson Park in Chicago, Philly's 11th and Lombard, and Baltimore's The Dome, along with the rural Farmer's Park in French Lick, Indiana. Each is colorfully conveyed, but the settings ultimately are just cosmetic and don't factor into the actual game play.
Graphically, Street Hoops is pretty uninspired. The courts are better detailed than NBA Street (which was little more than a year-old PS2 port at the time of its release), but the player models and overall look of the game are pretty vanilla just the same.
On the audio side, the Pro Logic II-enhanced soundtrack includes tracks from the likes of Ludacris, DMX, and Xzibit, but is constantly undermined by an obnoxious commentary from jive-talkin' Big Boy, who gives the NBA Street announcer a run for his money as the most annoying play-by-play man you've heard in eons.
What more can you say about Street Hoops? This is a game in a genre that offers almost nothing new or revolutionary, aside from being able to go into pawn shops and place bets on your own team (on a side note, is that the greatest message to be sending to the young gaming audience that presumably is the intended demographic of Street Hoops?).
As far as the gameplay itself goes, Street Hoops pales in comparison with NBA Street, which is now available for the 'Cube at bargain prices. You'd be much better off saving some of your hard-earned cash for that tattoo you've been wanting, the diamond-stud earring at your local pawn shop, or the superior GameCube title Street Hoops wants so badly to be.
