NBA Street Vol. 2

Tired sequel or reborn powerhouse? After almost two years on the sidelines, NBA Street?s high-flying hijinks are rattling backboards once again.

This latest round of streetball focuses on new ways to play and stylish new trappings. Street has great atmosphere, absolutely pegging the streetball vibe with cool touches like high-flying but authentic jams and slams, as well as a killer roster of legendary NBA greats. Two sharp new modes add some much-needed depth and replay incentive. NBA Legend lets you create your own team and take on the NBA squads, while the one-player Be A Legend pits your created player against the streetball crowd in courts across the nation.

Multiplayer action is a huge of part of Street?s appeal, and one of its big upgrades is the addition of four-player games. While the two-player action continues to flat-out kick ass, the four-player games don?t fare quite as well because you?re locked into controlling one player each, and there?s no switching allowed. That means one member of your three-person team is controlled by the A.I., which sometimes is an effective teammate and sometimes is an infuriating fool. Some of the problem might come from two human teammates giving the CPU drone conflicting instructions, but that just shows why taking out player switching was a lame design decision.

When all three versions of Street go head-to-head, the PS2 game is the surprising winner?even in the graphics department. While its mildly jaggedy look isn?t as smooth as the other two, its colors are much more lush. The Xbox game in particular and the GameCube edition to a lesser extent look washed out in comparison. But the PS2 version?s biggest advantage is its controller: Four shoulder buttons allow for much more natural and effective use of turbo in firing off combos and special moves, and that makes it much more enjoyable to play.

Taken as a whole, the graphics are pretty impressive. The biggest controversy will be the unusual style of the player models, which have a high-contrast, almost cel-shaded sheen. The first time you eyeball them is a love-it-or-hate-it moment, but regardless of where you fall, it?s not significant enough to occupy your attention for long. The rest of the visuals sizzle with rich court environments and sleek, hijink-packed animations.

On the audio side, Street delivers the expected asphalt vibe with a strong selection of hip-hop grooves and on-court sound effects. New announcer Bobbito Garcia is a tight replacement for the first game?s feeble Joe the Show, chattering away in a variety-packed stream of smack-talk and laugh-aloud goofs.

At first the controls will feel largely unchanged?no bad thing since they always had a smooth, natural responsiveness?but another layer of depth was applied for this sequel, and Street vets will appreciate the raucous new moves and snappier tactics. Trick counters, turbo blocking, and other moves let craftier players elevate their game, while crazy new tricks, dunks, and stunts like off-your-opponent?s-head passing will let everyone raise the roof.

Like many sequels, Street is essentially the same game with a slew of slick improvements, and gamers will have an absolute blast throwing down dunks while exploring its new features. True, it could?ve reached a bit harder to pull off some really impressive innovations, but only players with the most lofty expectations will be let down by Street?s awesome Vol. 2.

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