Each court is accompanied by a cut scene documentary that tells the story of the NBA player who calls the court home. You’ll see where Lebron, Carmelo and others first learned to play the game, and have the opportunity to play on the same court. The cut scenes are done very, very well; the only drawback is you’ll see them over and over again. When playing Homecourt Challenge, the jump from the menu screen to the court is almost instantaneous, except when the game decides to send a cut scene your way. This is a minor annoyance to be sure, but there’s always a time when you’ll want to cut the B.S. and go get your game on. If it weren’t for the cut scenes, load times would hardly be a factor.
Homecourt’s audio is very well done. EA Big Canada went with a very eclectic soundtrack filled with funk and soul music. It’s not often you’ll see Canada and soul music in the same sentence, but I have to give my neighbors to the north some props. Great job, eh. The soundtrack features tunes from the Jackson 5 and others set to some pretty solid original compositions. The decades of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are all represented in the musical score. The on court audio is filled with trash talk and in game chatter that gives the feel of a local pickup game. Even after dozens of hours of game play, I still laugh at some of the smack talk.
The game is very liberal with achievement points and I had 100 gamerscore points within the first 15 minutes of play. The achievements are mostly easily obtainable, though winning 10 consecutive games online is a tall order.
Overall NBA Street Homecourt is a good next gen title. There can be some game play issues with the lack of AI hustle, or AI players blocking you from inbounding the ball. The controls have been simplified so that there is almost no learning curve, and nearly anyone can pick up and play to get right into the high flying action. On the flip side the controls may be too simplified for those that prefer the trick stick of old. The game is a feast for the senses with great graphics and fantastic audio although replay value is reduced by the fact that you are doing virtually the exact same thing game in and game out, regardless of game play mode. The game feels repetitive over time, but it is still a good game to pull out of your library once in a while.
