Street Hoops (Playstation 2)

Street Hoops is like the kid who shows up on the first day of school decked out in brand-new, brand-name duds, trying really hard to be cool and laid-back, while his rival (in this case, NBA Street) effortlessly oozes hip, relaxed charm. It's not that it's a bad game--it's that it could be so much more, if only it wasn't trying so hard, and in the most shallow ways.

Everything about Hoops is overly complicated, with no real payoff. The players can be personalized and stylized--you get to pick haircuts, jewelry, tattoos, and clothing. But instead of being a cherry on top of an otherwise great game, this decoration is in some ways more interesting than the actual court time. This issue of mixed-up priorities really takes root in the mechanics of the game. Considering there's no tutorial, the overly designed controller configuration gets in the way of just starting up and playing the game for the fun of it. In another example, unless you assign controllers to teams in the opening menu, the game mysteriously starts playing itself.

The music is great, with songs by mainstream hip-hop artists. But the abundance of tie-in deals seems like overcompensation for poor play. Hoops sometimes feels like a catalog, heavy with ads for clothing, sneakers, and sunglasses. In a spectacular example of the obtrusiveness of this co-branding, gamers can get cheats by buying real-world Sprite (vending machines for the soda are also littered throughout the game maps). Still, there's a fair amount to recommend Hoops--mainly the presence of real-life street ballers. The opening cinematic of inspired tricking makes you want to invest the time to make this game pay off. Anyone who just wants to play a little ball with their friends--a pickup game instead of a tournament--would be better off looking to the unmatched NBA Street. --Jennifer Hauseman

Pros:

• Options like taunt and intentional foul evoke true baller bra

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