Since we’re still playing basketball, no major changes have been done to the big idea and rules of the game, or have they... Just forget travelling rules, double dribbles and ordinary personal faults. You can throw them all out the window! Being able to forget the rules can in turn open doors to new, unreal tricks and thundering jams. All this fun stuff has been put together in multiple game modes like the standard “Pick Up Game”, where you have to try and be the first team to score 21 points, to the “Dunks Only” where you can only score points by dunking the ball (so shots don’t count). All these modes have also been thrown into a campaign called “Homecourt Challenge”. Here you have to create your own player and make sure he becomes the best there is.

All the things you read above were already possible in earlier versions of the game, but the new stuff they put in this time really tops it all… Double dunks for example, the name says it all. You dunk, grab the ball as it goes through the net while you’re still holding on to the rim and then you dunk again. This results in double points. Another new move is the one where you dunk off of the back of a team member. He sends you flying to the basket from somewhere behind the three-point line. You can assume that the most crazy things will happen while playing this game.

Another thing we know from somewhat every Street game is the Gamebreaker. However, it has gone through some surgery and has transformed into something slightly different than what we’re used to see in NBA Street. Where the Gamebreaker in earlier versions of the game showed us a pre-programmed move, you now have to do everything yourself. To be able to activate the Gamebreaker, you’ll have to fill up the meter on the top of the screen first though (luckily this has become a lot easier then in earlier NBA Streets). Now, once that meter has been filled, you can hustle to the centre of the court (where the light comes out of the ground) and push your Y-button and let the real fun begin. Suddenly you’re holding a Globetrotter-style ball (those with white, blue and red) and the screen turns all funny. You now can perform a whole new set of tricks in combination with some break-dance moves. The more you break your opponents ankles, the more the bar on top of the screen fills up. This time, the bar isn’t supposed to show your gamebreaker-meter, but it’s telling you how many points you’ll score when you make the basket with the maximum points possibly earned being 4. So you’re no longer stuck to those scripted patterns like before, but now you’re able to lose the ball and get your very own gamebreaker right back in your face. Be careful!

The game itself also has a multiplayer mode, but this barely differs from the singelplayer (apart from the fact your opponent can be a little bit better than what you’re used to). You’re still playing the same games with the same rules. There’s also an online profile where your stats are being kept.

Although there’s a lot of variety in moves and ways to play the game, the entire thing tends to get quite boring after some time. What makes the game more interesting on the other hand is the soundtrack, the entire atmosphere being created and the big theme; “The homecourst of the most famous NBA stars ever”. All that in combination with some stunning cutscenes where you can here and see professional basketball players talk about their past, their youth, how they got to the NBA. Lets say it’s very deep when you love the sport and when you know who all these people are.

The graphics and sound are very much okay! Beautiful surroundings to play in, marvellous ambient sounds, the stunning soundtrack and the commentary from people sitting around the court. The atmosphere in this game is huge.