NBA Street V3

Added March 16th, 2005 by Kisan Parikh

Introduction:

NBA Street V3 is the latest edition to the NBA Street series. The idea behind the series is to provide an alternative to the simulation style sports games through its fast paced and arcade style gameplay. This is what makes the game so appealing to both the casual and dedicated sports fan. NBA Street V3 hopes to build on the previous version of the game by providing several new features and gameplay tweaks.

Gameplay:

The core gameplay of NBA Street V3 is essentially the same as the previous version. The same fast paced gameplay with outrageous moves makes a return in this version of the game, and I think fans of the series will be happy with that fact. This year, however, there is a whole new way to pull off dribble moves. Using the Trick Stick in conjunction with the turbo button, gamers can negotiate a variety of jaw-dropping dribble moves. By stringing these moves together with pump fakes, passes, shots, and/or dunks, gamers can earn trick points easily.

Along with earning easy trick points, this helps build the Gamebreaker bar quickly. Once the Gamebreaker bar is full, a completely outrageous dunk can be performed. After taking off with Gamebreaker activated, various air tricks can be performed with the Trick Stick. Also, double and triple dunks can be done by passing the ball around in the air. Not only does Gamebreaker look incredibly cool, but up to four points can be added to your team and one subtracted from the other team. The amount of points depends upon the difficulty of the dunk, but be careful not to do one too many moves. This will result in zero points added and zero subtracted.

The new single player career mode is titled Street Challenge. In Street Challenge, you create a player to captain your team. This player can be either male or female, and you can either choose a preset player type or design your own custom player. The entire appearance of your player can be adjusted and customized to your liking. You can provide your player with everything from a cool hat to customized shoes. After designing your player, you also need to create a home court. Different surfaces, line types, logos, and banners can be added to make your court exactly to your liking. After this is done, you are presented with the task of gaining as much “Rep” as possible in 10 weeks’ time.

In your first game, you are allowed to choose your first two team players. With these two players, you are allowed to play a number of different game types. You have the option to play to a set number of points, a number of trick points, or to the first Gamebreaker. Also, by changing variants in the game, you can allow only long shots, only dunks, or all types of shots. Other special game types include tournaments and dunk contests. The dunk contests are actually not as satisfying as the dunk contests in NBA Live. Sure, you can perform more outrageous stunts and use props, but there is a lot more random flicking of the Trick Stick than there are actual planned dunks.

As you beat teams, you are allowed to pick up players from the defeated teams. The quality of players gradually changes from unknowns to NBA Legends. The game features a wide variety of players from Street Legends like Phat and Takashi to NBA Legends like Larry Bird. The variety of players is quite astounding. There are also modern day players ranging from Kevin Garnett to fan-punching maniac Ron Artest. Although many players make an appearance in the game, some well-knowns didn’t make the cut. The most notable of these missing names is Michael Jordan. This being said, the variety of players is enough to keep most anyone happy.

As well as unlocking different players, you also unlock different courts as your Rep increases. From Venice Beach to the Trandy Center, these courts are all fantastic and feature a short cut scene that describes them before a game. Also, by raising your rep, you have the ability to join an NBA Street Team. This team is part of a league of all NBA players, and by playing in this league, your Rep increases much faster.

The Street Challenge Mode is actually deeper than you would expect. There is a lot of decision making involved. You definitely don’t want the team morale to fall. If this happens, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant may get in an argument about playing time. This is why you must carefully select your lineups prior to games. Many customization options are featured in Street Challenge. Your players’ skills can be built up; you can create custom shoes; modify your Trick Book; get a haircut; and purchase various items for your players. Upon reaching the end of the 10 week Street Challenge, an assortment of store items, court items, and players are unlocked.

Overall, the gameplay of NBA Street V3 definitely exceeded my expectations. At first seemingly too simple, the game fools you, but really becomes incredibly fun and addictive. The Street Challenge mode of play was an outstanding addition to the game, and I feel that many gamers will enjoy it. It provided much more depth than expected, and it was very fun to watch my team develop.

Graphics:

The first thing I noticed in NBA Street V3 was the visuals. The game stays away from the previous version’s cartoon style. This time around, player models look very realistic and detailed. All of the big names are easily recognizable. The courts feature an incredible amount of detail as well with the new lighting system. The animation is definitely one of the game’s strongest areas. Every fancy move pulled off on the ground and in the air is incredibly smooth. Even when the ball is passed a bit late to someone going for an alley-oop, the appropriate animation runs without being choppy because of a barely noticeable slowdown. This slowdown is perfectly implemented and prevents any choppiness. I also liked the great visual effects that were featured specifically during a Gamebreaker. The lighting change and signature signing effect used during Gamebreaker definitely makes the Gamebreaker seem much more important than a normal dunk.

Audio:

The audio is unfortunately the game’s worst area. The soundtrack isn’t all that bad at first, but slowly it becomes more and more repetitive. Hearing Hey Bitty by Nitty and Ladies and Gentleman by Shells over and over just may drive someone insane. Luckily, you can use the options menu to choose which songs to turn off, but I recommend turning the music off and listening to your own. The announcer during games is also highly annoying. With all his singing and screaming of “Word…Word”, I can almost guarantee that you also will turn the speech volume off. The in game sounds are basically what you would expect, and they do not add or take away anything from the game.

Controls:

The control scheme of NBA Street V3 is perfect for the game. It is so simple to learn and becomes second nature in a matter of minutes. The Trick Stick is perfect for its use, and helps the user feel more in control of the ball. There are tutorials for newcomers to the game, but chances are that a quick glance at the game manual is all that is really necessary. For veterans of the game, the option of switching to the Classic control scheme is there, but that is basically the only change allowed when it comes to controls.

Replay:

NBA Street V3 offers a ton of replay value because of the way it is so addictive. The Street Challenge mode offers anywhere from 20-50 hours of gameplay, and chances are, you will play it more than once. Other game types include Practice, Pickup Game, and Dunk Contest. Practice mode allows you to try out the trick stick and become acquainted with the game. Pickup game allows you to choose a NBA team and select 3 players to use. This mode is very fun to play with friends, and it can lead to hours of entertainment. One of the best modes of play is Xbox Live mode. On Xbox Live, you are offered with another type of career mode. You create your own player and go head to head with other people, building your player as you go. I had very little lag on Xbox Live, and I felt that NBA Street V3’s Xbox Live experience is solid overall.

Summary:

Overall, I feel that NBA Street V3 improves upon the previous version a great deal with the addition of Street Challenge and Xbox Live play. The gameplay is as fun and addictive as ever, and the visuals were some of the most impressive I have seen in any sports game. I would have loved a better soundtrack and announcer, but by using my own music, this issue did not subtract from my experience too much. I think that this game is a must buy for any basketball fan, whether they be casual or hardcore.