AND 1® Streetball

There are times when I think the magic performed on an NBA regulation court just makes me rub my eyes and wonder if what I saw was real and not a figment of my imagination, yet strolling outside the cracked asphalt of a Venice Beach court I find myself picking up my jaw from off the ground. Street ball is a no-nonsense game of basketball with fancier ball handling moves than anything you’ll see on the NBA and luckily for us Xbox owners there are a few games out there that capture the vibe perfectly. Now the good folks at Ubisoft and Black Ops Entertainment are throwing in the ball for a street hoops game featuring some of the best street athletes out there. AND 1 Streetball attempts to bring the game but sadly it just forgot to bring the style and the fun.

The game modes in AND 1 Streetball are limited to just few but the heart and soul of the game is its Story Mode that pits you up against some notable legends of the asphalt - like the amazing Hot Sauce, Half Man Half Amazing, Helicopter and The Pharmacist. You start by creating your own character, deciding whether he’ll be cut or fat to whether you’d like him to wear his hair in cornrows or a massive afro. Your character starts in Saint Marks Park in Linden, New Jersey boasting that he has what it takes to get on the AND 1 Mixtape Tour. It isn’t too long before you’re asked to put your money where your mouth is and prove it and from there you attempt to win as many games as possible to climb the street ball ladder to the top.

Yet making it to the AND I Tour isn’t going to be easy and neither is making a name for yourself on the open circuit. You’ll be accepting challenges from other ballers out there and winning games by completing a list of objectives during a game as well as earning respect points and money to upgrade your character’s attributes or to purchase items (clothing options as well as shiny unnecessary bling). Earning respect means the crowd will love you and getting love from the crowd means you’ll be able to pull off some interesting ball moves. You’ll find yourself playing on the courts of Philly and even in the sunny Venice Beach court. Aside from the game’s main Story Mode you can play exhibition games, deciding whether you’d like to play a 5-on-5 game or maybe just a simple one-on-one game.

As I mentioned above, though, the game lacks style and fun and the main reason is that the controls are just plain awful. The basic control scheme has a number of defensive and offensive moves but pulling them off right is nearly impossible thanks to the awkward and unresponsive controls. Oftentimes I will find myself making several simple lay-ups because that’s what the game manages to do easily and quickly. There are fancy alley-oops moves but to pull them off you have to pull a trigger button as well as a face button and does it work as quickly as a simple lay-up? No, it doesn’t and many of the game’s other unique moves fall victim to the same unresponsive controls. Yet all is not bad since the I Ball specialty moves is handled beautifully in the game. I Ball moves are essentially moves you can unlock and use to either blindside your opponent or dazzle them enough that you can literally move right past him without much resistance. The I Ball moves range from Level 1 Set Up Dribble moves to Level 2 Showboat Moves to the Level 3 Anklebreaker move.

There’s more bad news and it comes in the form of the computer-controlled opponents that seem to fall for the same trick each time you pull it off. Worse yet your own teammates are prone to some truly boneheaded moves that result in your opponents stealing the ball or making fools of them. You’ll start to feel that your teammates add to your misery rather than aid you against a particularly tough offense. Luckily you can make up for it by taking advantage of the collected Mics you earn on court; these allow you to unleash a powerful preset attack that is unstoppable … although sometimes your opponents are able to stop it. You can even create your very own Breakdown move in the Create-A-Move option.

In the end, though, it’s the game’s lack of style and some glitches that are far too numerous to ignore that make this game such a disappointment. Even Hot Sauce lacks those sweet moves that make him such a master of the court. It certainly doesn’t play as good as the NBA Street series that doesn’t contain glitches that have you swatting two seconds too late or somehow passing the ball to a ghost player that doesn’t exist.

On the visual front, AND I Streetball is not a bad-looking game at all and while it could have been a lot prettier and featured less clipping on the Xbox, the player models look really good. The camera is good at following the action and the moves look natural as they’re being pulled off. As for the courts, they’re nicely detailed and that’s a great thing but when people in the crowds start blinking on and off you know all is not visually pleasing. There’s clipping, especially when you’re swatting for the ball your hand seems to phase right through a player and the framerate drops to an annoying stutter sometimes.

The game’s sound also has its bright spots as well as its weak ones. For starters, the hip-hop featured here is good and it keeps the game thumping nicely despite the fact that sometimes the same tunes tend to pop up again in another game. There’s some good courtside sound that gives you the impression that you’re playing on the street with people watching and that’s a great thing. You’ll also find commentary and while it’s very limited it becomes too repetitive and quite annoying as well. Sorry, Duke Tango, but somebody has got to grab that mic away from you.

Unfortunately, AND 1 Streetball just lacks the style and controls other street basketball titles already available possess in spades. With frustrating control glitches that make your ballers less graceful on the asphalt and unique moves that are repeated continuously, this is a street-ball game that will not fail to disappoint even the most dedicated basketball gamer out there. I suggest you skip this one and buy any other street-ball game already available on the Xbox.

Gameplay: 4.5
With a bag filled with fancy tricks and loads of moves you would think that AND 1 is right up there with NBA Street but the sad reality is that the poor controls makes pulling off a fancy alley-oops more of a chore than a simple feat. Worse yet players like Hot Sauce lack style in this game.

Graphics: 6.5
The player models look pretty sharp on these courts and they move natural enough while pulling off even some fancy moves. The courts are filled with detail although sometimes crowds will flicker off and on like Christmas tree lights. Add the fact that the framerate drops to a stutter and the occasional clipping makes this a good-looking game that could have looked amazing.

Sound: 6.5
The “mixed tape” collection of hip-hop tunes is actually very good although you will hear the same tune played frequently. Commentator Duke Tango is just plain awful, though, and while he doesn’t keep the commentary running during the game his few remarks are repetitive to the point of being annoying. The court sounds are accurate but nothing really special.

Difficulty: Medium
The opponent AI is able to come up with some great moves but then again they tend to fall for the same moves again and again. Your AI controlled team, however, just makes one too many boneheaded mistakes to the point that you’ll feel like you’re playing alone.

Concept: 5.0
Story Mode isn’t incredibly deep but it gives you a good idea of what going on the AND 1 tour is like and best yet you can create your own character as well as creating a unique move for him. There are parks aplenty and a collection of well-known street ballers to play. The online multiplayer isn’t half bad.

Multiplayer: 6.0
You can play the game online and this seems to remedy the computer-controlled opponent problems but it doesn’t fix the poor controls. Still, the game runs smoothly online and gamers can play as their created ballers.

Overall: 4.5
AND 1 Streetball mixes in a lot of what’s good about street basketball but in the end the overall execution is plagued by glitches and weak controls that makes this one a real playa hater. With a collection of amazing street ball players and a more than decent Story Mode, it’s unfortunate that the flawed gameplay just makes this game too frustrating to be fun.