NBA Street

NBA Street is the best arcade basketball title available. Period. Why? No refs, no clocks, and no fouls. Players will knock you over, and they practically live for blatant goaltending throughout the game. Realistic? No, but it's always fun--even if you hate basketball.

Street has two game modes--City Circuit and Hold the Court--yet the differences are minimal. Both feature three-on-three games of 21, in which you must assemble a squad composed of (initially) NBA players. Soon you'll play against street legends (read: bosses) that, once defeated, can be added to your team. Your ultimate goal is to defeat the biggest legend ever--Michael Jordan.

To survive the streets, you must learn which buttons to mash as you master specific stunts. This will add special points to your score and give you access to news ways to score. Though similar to the NBA Jam games, Street is deeper and sports a surprisingly developed finesse game.

Street does commit some fouls, however, with its over-the-top, repetitive commentary and lack of play modes. But even if you hate arcade-style basketball, you'll find Street is different from the pack and a solid MVP contender. --Mark Brooks

This review refers to the PlayStation2 version of the game.

Pros:

• Good controls and gameplay
• Pleasantly cartoonish graphics
• Arcade approach makes it fun for those turned off by very technical basketball simulations

Cons:

• Horrific commentary
• Only 2 gameplay modes, and they're very similar
• No 4-player support