Online STREET

The NBA STREET franchise has always begged to be on the online circuit. It and Xbox Live® seem to be a match made in B-ball heaven, as Xbox Live is not only a gold standard for all competitive games, but a social creature as well. Busting a move so slick that your defender literally falls on his butt, and then bouncing the ball off his head before tossing it off the backboard for a Dinner is Served two-times alley-oop isn't just about the basket and the bucket of trick points you earn, it's about playfully humiliating your opponent as well as simply admiring the play. It's about oohs and ahhs and showmanship spectacle. Just like street basketball in general is a community sport where the players are known just as much for their moxie and panache on the court as their scoring ability, STREET is about celebrating that culture, and that culture is best shared with friends and competitors alike. Before NBA STREET V3, we could only share it on a couch with a few friends, but now it's on XboxLive to be shared with gamers the world over.

Stretch returns!

However, just setting up the game to use the Xbox Liveservice isn't enough. Okay, it may have been, but luckily Electronic Arts chose to embrace the nature of Xbox Live and offer us a robust online experience. Let's take a look at a few key features that really allow V3 to puts its stamp on the Xbox Live community.

Build Your Rep
Part of the luster of previous STREET games has been the opportunity to create and mold a baller from amateur hack to street-ball legend. As in previous games, you're offered that same opportunity here in the single-player game as well as the multiplayer component. The catch (and it's a wonderful catch) is that they're completely separate entities. Playing pickup games on Xbox Live earns you street points to spend on increasing the stats of your online player, a player that is hosted and stored on the EA servers themselves (which is nice, since you can log onto Xbox Live at a friend's house and still have access to your character).

Another benefit of the separation between your offline baller and your online avatar is that you can only improve your online character by playing other real people on Xbox Live. You can't just put in a bunch of time playing easy games in the offline modes, jacking up your character's stats, and then hop on XboxLive with a super baller. You're going to need to prove it the old-fashioned way by putting in some yeoman work, and proving yourself against human opponents.

Bathed in pretty.

Host it at the Playground
The environments in the STREET franchise have always been top notch, as they've offered us both a look at the hallowed asphalt of legendary courts as well as mythical creations of their own making. For those of us that make it down to the local playground for some 3-on-3, though, we've imagined playing on our home turf while throwing down a Bonafide dunk in-game. Now we have that chance, as not only has EA given us the opportunity to create a court in general, but they've also allowed us to create a court online and host games there.

The amount of creativity and license offered is amazing, as you can change the texture of the ground, the stanchion for the basket, the backboard, the netting, and even place ads and banners and sponsors as well as choose different background buildings. You can not only create your local court, but you can create fantasy versions of them (mine is currently sponsored by the Sonics). The satisfaction of hosting and defending your own turf is unparalleled. There's a very real pride there, and making sure you take care of your house or stripping the honor from someone else on their own ground is very satisfying.

He's just so casual about it.

The Others
Your online created baller and court may give NBA STREET V3 its very own flavor on Xbox Live, but it's not without other features. You're also able to throw down in the new Dunk Contest mode that's available offline as well. The preposterous amount of options and tricks and freelancing available here needs to be seen to be believed. You can also play standard NBA teams versus other NBA teams in NBA Challenge, as well as Exhibition games that allow you to play any team available (including unlocked teams like the Beastie Boys). There's always the rule sets to play around with, too. You can play old-school rules where every basket counts; you can play NBA rules where you count points in twos and threes; you can play dunks only or even trick points only. The options seem nearly endless.

NBA STREET V3 isn't just online, it defines what online should be for the genre it has created. It recognizes that it's a different breed of sports game and behaves accordingly. Let's be thankful for that.

Article by Alex McLain