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From the company who started it all with the off-the wall, zany, over the top hoops action of NBA Jam, comes NBA Ballers. Sure most of you “new school” gamers will say, “It’s good, but it ain’t no Street.” For the uninformed, it was Street that borrowed from what NBA Jam brought to the table, and perfected it. As good as an imitation may be, even if it’s better than the original, it’s still an imitation. Which leads us to NBA Ballers. Is it like Street, NBA Jam, or what? Actually besides the craziness of the game play, neither is comparable as Ballers in a one-on-one affair only. (Or one on two in some cases) NBA Ballers is a game that is all about the Bling. The game is set as a corporation looking to boost ratings by creating a reality T.V. show starring YOU. It’s a rags to riches tale where you take your ball player, set him up against the best in the world in a ½ court one-on-one action tournament. Along the way you’ll earn Bling (or profitable items you acquire to make yourself look good.) The catch is you must win the entire tourney to be the best, and keep the Bling. If you lose, it’s back to the slums. Along the way you can acquire many items such as necklaces, shoes, and if you win enough, you get a crib of your own that you can lush out and pimp just like a true NBA Superstar. Got all that? Good. Visually the game at first glance looks like the aforementioned Street/Jam clone. The environments range from park courts, to inside the mansion of a superstar. No matter what the environments backdrop may be, the game still is set in a half court setting. What’s more, the environments don’t even affect the game itself, as no outside interfering objects or sideline hecklers will come into play. I guess the change of venue is just for flava’. What comes off as the most visually impressive feature are the player faces. Not only do they look like the NBA Superstars, but also they look almost too real for a video game. If you know the NBA, you won’t have a problem identifying your favorite hoopster in action. While the faces are wonderful, the animations are just decent. Granted, there are some very comical fakes and moves that haven’t been done before in a game, but most of the game’s animation seem a tad bit stiff in transition. Special effects, such as a Matrix slowdown, and lighting make you soon realize this is arcade basketball at it’s finest. In the end, the game is pretty for sure.
Audio is common and everything you’d expect from a title with a name like “Ballers.” You have your accurate on court action sounds, dribbles, swishes, and the like. You’ve got your hip-hop music in the background so you can “feel” the game better. All the game’s music is licensed and authentic, if not low key. Of course what game wouldn’t be about the Bling if it didn’t have the slang to go wit’ it. This comes in the form of your typical announcer who loves to use the lingo for your hizzle. In the end if I could describe the sounds I’d use the word “typical”. NBA Ballers shines bright like the Bling you earn when you are on the court. The game play is fast, frantic, and smooth. Pulling off special moves, dribbles, and shots can be done with great ease. To keep the game from getting stale, the developers have brought some serious A.I. to the table. These guys are far from pushovers, and you’d better expect to get beaten early and often while you build up your player. Even on the lowest setting the game is a real challenge. Even with the game being one on one, the developers came up with the idea to pass to the sideline, which opens up even more moves. Fans of this type of arcade style action will love the controls, but the half court setting just seems a little restrictive. NBA Ballers may feel a slight sting when it comes to longevity. Sure, the career mode has plenty of game play involved, especially when maxing out your player and his crib. But where do you go from there? You have a one-on-one or one-on-two option to choose from either on one T.V., or if you have the PlayStation 2 version, online. Without the option of full scrimmages, I wonder how long the game will stay fresh in the minds of gamers after about 30 games or so. Who knows, I remember playing Dr. J vs. Bird on my Commodore for a good long while, but then again, games were not quite as advanced as they are today. All in all, if you like the style of game play that NBA Jam and NBA Street has, you may find more to love in the style of NBA Ballers. If it’s sim action or full 5 on 5 action, look elsewhere as you won’t find it in this crib.
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