EA Big Canada have somehow found a way to trim down the NBA Street franchise while still giving gamers more high flying action. The controls have been simplified, meaning this game is very easy for anyone to pick up and play, and visually there are more rim shaking dunks and mind blowing tricks than ever before. Add 1080p support, fantastic audio and mini-documentaries about some of your favorite NBA and WNBA players, and you get a pretty solid game.
The Homecourt controls have been simplified. The trick stick is gone and has been replaced with a two button approach. X will perform a crossover dribble move, while Y is used for trick moves. Using either button in tandem with one of the shoulder buttons will give you a modified crossover or trick. There are some great moves to be seen, including my favorite, bouncing the ball off the face of a defender. The B button is used to shoot the ball. Homecourt is filled with some spectacular dunks and they can be executed by holding the B button while a meter fills. The longer you hold, the greater your trick points, but you also run the risk of missing your dunk if you hold too long. The shoulder buttons act as modifiers when dunking, similar to tricks and crossovers. If you can time your dunk to the point where the meter fills completely, without going over, you can pull off a double dunk. Double dunks are some of the most exciting of all scoring opportunities, as your player will slam two high flying dunks home in a row. Each dunk counts for a point, so if you can double up consistently you won’t need a three point shooter on your team. Also new to this installment are the jump-off dunks. Your teammate will kneel down at the top of the key and by pressing and holding B you can launch off your teammate’s back for some insane baskets. By default, a symbol corresponding to a controller button will appear above a player’s head to let you know you can perform a special action. This is often used for Alley Oops or steals.
Offense is emphasized in Homecourt, but you will still have to play a little defense where blatant fouls and goaltending are a must. X is used to attempt a steal while Y is used to shove an opponent. The shove is useful to knock the ball away from another player, especially if your player has good strength skill but little stealing ability. On the downside, loose balls can be tricky. Often the AI players barely make an attempt to grab the ball and so you’ll have to chase the loose ball yourself, which can often be difficult. B will have you jumping sky high for some fantastic blocks.
At the top of the screen you’ll find Gamebreaker meters for both teams. As you perform various tricks your team’s meter will fill. Once the meter is maxed out, go to center court and press Y to unleash the Gamebreaker. During the Gamebreaker you can do some unbelievable tricks which often look like break dancing moves on steroids, and are accompanied by a few 80’s sounding tunes. While in Gamebreaker, stringing together combos of moves adds a bonus to the game score when you sink a bucket and it’s a good way to quickly change the momentum of the game. In an interesting twist, you can steal your opponent’s Gamebreaker and vise versa. If you take the ball from the other team before they can make a basket, you can take advantage of the Gamebreaker. How you get the ball is up to you - steal it, beat on the other guy, grab the rebound or wait for the shot clock to expire. The Gamebreaker keeps going until someone scores.
