Bruce Von Stiers

A lot of inner city kids grow up playing street basketball. It is a tough and aggressive sport. This is the type of game your favorite little old aunt would cringe at. And Queensbury Rules; these players never heard of them. It is this kind of atmosphere that goes into a brand new game for the PS2. It is called Street Hoops and comes from Activision. It was developed by Black Ops Entertainment.

Street Hoops takes some of the most famous real life street courts in the U.S. and lets the player compete in rough and tumble basketball games. There are 10 courts to play on, including Mosswood Playground in Oakland, Shakespeare Park in New Orleans, the Venice Beach Courts and The Cage on New York’s West 4th Street. According to the press information, the designers have tried to replicate the courts exactly as they are, even down to the graffiti and neighborhood culture.

Not only is there some great ball playing, the game has a hard hitting soundtrack. There are songs from Cypress Hill, Master P, Ludacris and DMX in the game. Some of the instrumental tracks in the game are done by Cocoa Brovaz, Hi Tek, Skillz and Smut Peddlers.

And once in the game, the shooters you choose can have gear from real life companies like Pure Playaz, Ecko Unlimited, Sean John and AND 1.

There are three game modes to choose from, World Tournament, Lord of the Court and Pick-Up Game. Each one offers a distinct playing experience. In the World Tournament mode, your team will travel around the U.S., playing other street teams in various cities. Lord of the Court has your team protecting the home front from those marauding traveling teams. And a Pick-Up Game can be either a Half-Court of Full-Court game. You can play a Pick-Up Game to earn extra cash between championship games.

The more games you win, the more money you make. Get your team outfitted in the latest and greatest gym gear. You can also get wild tattoos for your players or some real gaudy gansta jewelry from the neighborhood pawn shop. The player gear is available from the local Footaction USA store, one of the most blatant commercial tie-ins I’ve ever seen.
The game has a Create Baller option that lets you customize a player. You can specify gender (there are some really tough women players out there), playing position (Power Forward, Point Guard, etc.) and height. You can also choose body type, the player being left or right handed and what move set they will possess. After putting the player together, it’s on to the next phase, the attributes. Choose from attributes such as Dunks, 2 Point, Boards, Juice and Speed. Each of these attributes costs you money. And you only have so much money to spread amongst all of your players.

The gameplay isn’t too bad. But this is a game that relies heavily on offensive play, not defense. Playing against the system generated team is not a sure win. The game AI has virtually no defensive strategies built into it. That means if the generated team gets the ball, you have to suck wind and hope to grab a rebound. And playing on offense can be a little tricky too. These trips and elbows come out of nowhere to make your player lose the ball.
The game has a multiplayer option. Up to eight players can participate in a game at one time. The offense and defensive moves can be a little sluggish in a one on one against a friend. But it is a lot better than playing against a system generated team.

The game has some pretty good shot animations. To top it off, there are also a bunch of rap videos that can be unlocked during gameplay. There are a few tutorial videos thrown in to show you how to play a little bit of street ball.

If you want a basketball game that is long on attitude and has a killer gansta soundtrack, then Street Hoops is a good title to grab up. But for expert gameplay with full defensive control, this game could have done a lot better.

Street Hoops is available wherever PS2 titles are sold. There is also an Xbox version of the game. For other information about the game visit the Activision web site at www.activision.com.