NBA STREET V3, EA Sports
The latest incarnation of EA's arcade-style street-hoops game doesn't make much of a break from the past, but it does look flashier and play faster. NBA Street's action is still all about the GameBreaker -- the almost-impossible-to-block shot you're granted if you pull off enough trick moves and dunks on your opponents.
In V3, though, you no longer see a canned animation of a GameBreaker shot. Instead, you've got a live view of the action that lets you perform combo moves to run up more points. You can also get your two teammates involved to perform three-man hookup dunks. Finally, to give players more of a challenge, the game no longer treats GameBreakers as automatic points; if you don't time your moves just right, you'll brick the shot.
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Control gets an upgrade with V3's Trick Stick, an adaptation of an option debuted in EA's NBA Live. Here, you can use the controller's right analog stick to perform tricks -- flick it in various directions to perform a staggering number of dribble and crossover moves.
This takes some serious practice to get right, but when you learn the ways of the Trick Stick your opponents can only sit back and watch some pretty spectacular dunks. You can unlock extra tricks as you keep playing, which should reduce the chance of you seeing the same trick multiple times.
There's even more depth in the game's "Street Challenge" mode, which allows you to create a player by choosing from hundreds of custom options, then take him on a 10-week tour of the game's 12 street courts. Start winning games and you start earning points that can be used to upgrade your player and customize your team; eventually, you'll be playing street ball against actual pro players.
V3 is the rare console game that looks just as good on all three platforms (online game play, however, is offered only on PS2 and Xbox). The players' heads and faces look realistic down to the piercings, and their uniforms actually move properly as they hustle on the court.
-- Tom Ham
PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, $50
SUIKODEN IV, Konami
