It's easy to see the flaws in this game. And it's easy to be less than thrilled by the And1 commercialization that has occurred in the few years of its popularity. But honestly, I've played this game more than any of the other XBOX games I have. It's just fun. Here's the cons:
1) The controls can be intimidating and until you get them can be frustrating; but once you get them, it's easy to pull off the moves you want.
2) Some technical flaws (dunking the basketball nowhere near the rim..and I mean dunking, not taking off). This happens about once per game but I can live with that since there are so many animations that go on.
3) Lack of alley-oop animations...you can alley-oop like crazy and it's a lot of fun, but there's only about three alley-oop animations which is a bit of a buzz kill...where's the behind the head alley-oop and the under the leg alley-oop?
4) Graphics are less than spectacular. Though the animations run the gambit from excellent to disappointing depending on the moves.
5) The story mode is below average. I play it mainly for the quick games and multiplayer...I try to beat my highest trick points score, etc. Just for the fun of the gameplay...
Well, with so many cons, why did I give it 4 stars?
THE PROS:
1) Large variety of moves
2) Lots of blocks once you get the timing down
3) You can put in your own soundtracks (nothing like playing streetball to a Megadeth and Pantera background music...)
4) Create-a-player is pretty good.
5) Create-a-move could have been better but does give you a lot of options, too bad they ALL have to end in dunks.
6) Just plain fun; you can pick it up for 20 minutes and play a game and see some flashy moves and dunks and don't have to worry about salary caps, injuries, coaching, etc, like in most simulation basketball games. However, all the moves are real so it's not over-the-top like NBA Street.
Overall, if you like AND1 you'll like this game; if you enjoyed Street Hoops, but were disappointed in the execution you'll like this game. If you hate Streetball or only like NBA or College games, this ain't for you. You might want to play it first before buying but I highly recommend giving it a chance. I hope they make a sequel in the future where they fix the flaws and add some better graphics, more alley-oops, etc.
My suggestion, skip the story mode, get a cheat code from online for the $1,000,000. Create a bunch of cool players. Ball against the computer or your friends.. Story mode is lacking but you have to play through it to unlock the moves and players...boo...but it's not too hard so it's worth it.
Have fun!
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