It’s Midway’s turn to offer virtual ballers a “street” NBA game, and they have an interesting premise for their latest NBA Ballers title. You’re a nondescript NBA rookie who got invited to a post-season tournament called the “Chosen One” because of your legendary street ball skills.
There are six phases to the tournament, each with five chapters. The chapters provide a variety of different street-style games for you to win and advance, like one-on-one, two-on-two, twenty-one (three players all against each other), shooting contests, come from behind scenarios, and so forth. The games employ various street rules, like make-it take-it, no take-backs, and no fouls, and offer a variety of conditions for victory depending on the scenario (first to 11, win best of three rounds, play four two-minute periods, etc.) in that chapter. It’s all tied together neatly by transition videos hosted by Chuck D that look like Sportscenter spots, including interviews and cutaways in the “Chosen One” environment, to give it life.
The production values are very high. The fictional Chosen One tournament concept is presented with a degree of detail that makes it seem entirely real. The aforementioned Chuck D “Sportscenter” spots come with a ticker highlighting upcoming events, including some trash-talking quotes from the higher profile participants. Star players arrive to the arena in flashy cars and gear. An NBA cultural hip-hop soundtrack provides the undercurrent for the whole event, making the star players almost seem like fighters entering the ring when they come to do battle with you in their “chapters.” It’s engrossing stuff.
The phases take place at virtual “playgrounds” that look like something you’d see on MTV Cribs (if they did a show for basketball courts), in places like Chicago, Miami, and even Dubai. The crowds are intimate but enthusiastic, and you can even pass the ball to them in a game and hit a button for the return pass. It really comes across like a pay-per-view television event.
The NBA players themselves are big, detailed, and look fantastic. Unfortunately, the create-a-baller doesn’t give you a ton of flexibility to allow you to create your virtual persona with the same detail. The body types are also skewed a bit, so if you make an overweight baller, he’ll look Amare Stoudemire from the waist up with hips from a 35-year-old mother of four. There are plenty of choices for gear, though, and you can dress your player up any way you want from his hat/hair to his shoes. Progressing through the chapters unlocks more gear and super moves.
The animations are smooth. Given that it’s a street game, the players have abnormal athletic ability, but it fits in perfectly with the style of the game. There are tons of “act a fool” and super move tricks that creatively play out like something you’d see if you crossed And 1 with the Harlem Globetrotters. The action is fairly quick and the ball physics are realistic enough for a street-style game. There’s only one camera angle, though, and it’s a bit too low. It feels like you’re watching from the bench. An isometric view would give you a better appreciation of the game action.
On offense, jukes are mapped to the X button and the right-stick, Y is used to rebound, A passes the ball to the crowd (press again for the return pass) and B is used to shoot. Pressing the right stick backs your opponent down. Defensively, X is a “strong” steal attempt, B is a “quick” steal attempt, Y is used to block/rebound, and A is used to take a charge (fouls do count in some of the chapters). The left/right triggers and buttons are used as modifiers and used to start act a fool and super move combinations. Finally, when playing two-on-two, you can use the directional pad to give some basic instructions to your AI teammate.
