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It’s so unbalanced you could play the game blindfolded and still come out with the W. Got Game (easy) doesn’t provide even close to a challenge, even for beginners. If NBA Street has a flaw it would be found in the difficulty levels. There a three difficulty modes that offer a good, if not always fair, challenge. Perhaps the aliens from Moron Mountain should’ve stolen #23’s talent? NBA Street has a great control scheme making all your tricks feel so easy to perform that you might believe they are doable in the real world. There are different levels of Gamebreaker which obviously are stronger than others, but have the same basic effect. Doing tricks and pulling of trick shots gives you points and points lead to building up your Gamebreakers. This is how NBA Street is different from any other NBA game. You can get Gamebreakers by performing snazzy tricks and shots during your game. Gamebreakers not only give you more points for your shot but they subtract points from your opponent. However, the biggest difference is “Gamebreakers” which are essentially special moves you can perform in the middle of the game that are usually unblockable and guaranteed to make it in the basket. The game offers up to four player cooperative play which makes this title one you can share with plenty of friends. This game abandons the waxed hardwood floors in favor of gum-covered blacktops, and it’s not just the appearance that changes up this game. Now don’t get NBA Street stuck in the basketball stereotype. These guys are cooking up something spicy! If you’ve got a nasty foe that keeps “breaking your ankles” so to speak, then once you finally best them, getting them to join your team is a satisfying reward. It’s the process of picking up better players that makes playing opponents so exciting. So naturally, you’re going to start off with a bunch of jockeys and gradually develop your team into any combination of NBA Legends, Street Legends, and NBA stars. Each time an opponent is defeated you have the option of picking up one of their players to join your team. As you progress along your journey to stardom you can add and drop players to your 5-player squad. (Get it? Pass you? Pun INTENDED.) Games vary from standard rules, NBA rules, dunks only, tournaments and more. Be a Legend mode doesn’t just pass you around from one game to another. Gender neutrality wasn’t as big of an issue in video games back in 2003 like it is today, but there are plenty of AI female opponents throughout the game, and the option to create a female baller so NBA Street was ahead of its time. The create-a-baller options are pretty impressive with various hairstyles, body types, and even a vast assortment of facial hair choices.
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In Be A Legend mode you get to create a “baller” and take them through the courts (again basketball, not judicial system) from a street punk unable to dunk on a dog, to a street legend where simply whispering your name gives foes goosebumps.
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