Street Hoops : Web Wombat: Games

The latest - and possibly the greatest - in the field of basketball is here. Street Hoops brought to you by Activision is all new on the PS2, and boy-oh-boy does it "got game!"

Tackle the street basketball league known as 'the blacktop' that spans across the USA, or create your own player and trade your way into a team: The choice is yours - but either way you're gonna cop some serious attitude.

Unlike your more 'professional' type games like NBA Live 2002 where you play as a team in the NBA, in Street Hoops you play on the street with different rules, and a whole lot of different options.

To start with, you can change your outfit that will vary from a proper looking strip to a pair of baggie jeans and a 'Bonds' top.

You can give your players all types of clothing, jewelry and even tattoos! So before you even hit the court, you can at least assure yourself that you look the part.

Now, all of these unique options come with a cost. So, you have to earn money. Through winning games, and certain competitions, you can earn prize money. However, the real cash comes from Marge Simpson's favourite hobby: gambling.

The graphics and gameplay combine well

You can place a bet before each game for the half time leader, the winner, most 2 pointers, most 3 pointers, most dunks, and all of the other offensive and defensive statistics.

The odds are at 2:1 so the best you can do is double your money. That is of course if you place it all on the line in which case you could loose it all... It makes sense to place your bets sparingly and wisely.

Along with these customising features, there are several game modes to choose from: Apart from the typical quick start where you skip all the crap and get straight to the point, there is the 'full court/half court pickup' mode where you choose your team and opposition for a single game, hone your skills, and 'pickup' money if you're lucky.

'Lord of the court' mode is where you defend the home teams at their courts all around the country, and you can unlock new courts and ballers along the way.

Now, the main mode that makes the game, and incorporates all is the World Tournament. In this mode, you travel across the USA to take on all the teams at their home courts. You can unlock the best of secret players and courts by winning, or sometimes paying money.

There are a total of eight 'real' street players that can be unlocked, one of which you can choose in your team at the start of the competition. You can also trade players with other teams, however depending on a player's statistics this can be a fairly expensive exercise.

Booyakashaka!

The graphics in Street Hoops are nice. Considering that you have ten buff guys running around on court with the occasional supporter, the quality of each player is fairly high.

The textures for their 'six packs' are slightly over the top, but who's complaining? Well, not them anyway.

But all things considered, when you can add tattoos, jewelry, and all kinds of outfits to the player models, the graphics can be seen as pretty good.

The motion capture is awesome too - from the simple two pointers, to the long-bomb fade-a-way, to an alley-oop, the realism is quite believable.

Personally, I've longed for the return of NBA Jam so we can see some 3D dunks blown way out of proportion, but from what Street Hoops presents you, I'm not complaining.

The sound effects are all that you would expect from a basketball game, but instead of cheers from giant crowds (as there are none) you get attitude form the players.

From psyching each other up, to common sledging, you're bound to get a kick out of their language. But the real feature seen in the sound is the music. The game is filled with hip-hop tracks from some pretty bug artists like Ludacris, DMX, and Xzibit. You can also unlock music videos like in the Tony Hawk series.

This game ain't half bad - it's certainly not half-baked. Worth a look for the sports-game fans who are after something new, I would still recommend it to most gamers. With tons of options and customisable features, no one should get bored of Street Hoops in a hurry.

Game: Street Hoops
System: PS2
Players: 1-4
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Black Ops
Distributor: Activision

Rating: 90%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

Street Hoops is on the shelves now.

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