Wayback Wednesday: Street Hoops Retrospective

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at Street Hoops.

There was a time when multiple studios threw their hat into the ring with basketball video games, providing a choice beyond the brand leaders such as NBA Live and NBA 2K. Of course, while that era is nostalgic now and many of us miss having a plethora of hoops games, the market glut definitely wasn’t sustainable. Not every game ended up being a big enough hit to spawn sequels or a series, often for very good reasons. Still, there are some overlooked gems and interesting releases that became cult classics and personal favourites for gamers who grew up with them.

As I’ve expanded my collection, it’s been fun to experience games that I overlooked back when I was primarily playing NBA Live, NBA Jam, and NBA Street. Even the titles that lack the polish of the all-time classics are still fun to revisit, and they’re definitely fascinating to dive into all these years later. That’s an apt summary of Street Hoops by Black Ops Entertainment! Like its spiritual sequel, AND 1 Streetball, this 2002 release for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube is rough around the edges, but unquestionably had ambitious ideas and potential. Let’s take a look back…way back…

To expand on some back story that I neglected in my AND 1 Streetball retrospective, neither it nor Street Hoops were Black Ops Entertainment’s first foray onto the virtual hardwood. The studio actually developed the PlayStation versions of NCAA March Madness 2000 and 2001, with EA Sports as the publisher. With EA deciding to keep development of March Madness in-house thereafter, Black Ops jumped at the offer to partner with Activision on a streetball game. As project director Jose Villeta told GameSpot in 2001, the team found it liberating not having to deal with the NCAA or NBA, and were excited to craft a game based on their own vision for virtual hoops.

Thanks to their development of those two NCAA March Madness titles, Black Ops had a team in place that was experienced and confident about their ability to design a basketball game from scratch. Furthermore, lead designer Tracy Johnson had worked on NBA 2K, which although not yet the juggernaut it would become, was already turning heads and challenging NBA Live. The team’s passion and experience made Street Hoops a commendable effort, but unsurprisingly, as a game built from the ground up, it has some undeniable and unfortunate shortcomings. It has its good moments and some interesting concepts, but as I said, it’s rough around the edges.

Despite not being an official AND 1-branded game, Street Hoops does feature players from the Mixtape Tour, namely AO, Headache, 1/2 Man 1/2 Amazing, The Future, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Booger, and Speedy. Unlike AND 1 Streetball though, they’re unlocked by playing through the two campaign modes. The roster in Street Hoops is therefore mostly filled with fictional teams and players. Teams include the French Lick Mad Bombers, New Orleans Hitmen, Atlanta Monster Jammers, Los Angeles Showtime Hoopstars, New York Ankle Breakers, Philadelphia Eastside Assassins, Oakland Oaktown Ballers, Baltimore Dominators, and Chicago Highflyin’ Homies.

Sensibly, gamers are also invited to create a baller to play through the campaign, so as not to be saddled with only fictional players they have no attachment to. Other teams and players are also unlocked along the way, including artists from the soundtrack such as Ludacris, DMX, and Xzhibit. There’s even one former NBA All-Star: Dennis Rodman! Your created player – who can be male or female – must be upgraded from a lowly 50 Overall, and may also be outfitted with a variety of clothes, jewellery, shoes, and tattoos. This of course costs money – thankfully not real dollars, as this is a 2002 game – and you must budget your cash between cosmetics and upgrades accordingly.

If this sounds like an accurate prediction of MyPLAYER and MyCAREER, it gets even better. On top of earning that in-game currency by playing through the main tournament mode, clothes, tattoos, and hairstyles are purchased from a shop, parlour, and barber located on a street. It’s not quite the open world of The Neighborhood or The City, but it’s a 2D take on the concept! There’s also a bookkeeper where you can bet on your games to earn extra cash, and a jewellery store where you can pawn your bling if you’re running low on funds. Yes, Street Hoops predicted some of the worst aspects of NBA 2K’s career mode, just without the predatory microtransactions!

All snark aside, back then the concept obviously wouldn’t be quite as controversial. Even the low starting ratings weren’t prohibitive to your created player being viable on the court. The player creation tools leave something to be desired though, with a small selection of pre-made faces that can’t really be customised beyond a trip to the barber (which again, costs virtual money). There’s also a very limited selection of hometowns and nicknames to choose from, and you need to begin a game to access the stores. It’s functional, but shallow and cumbersome. On the bright side, at least there’s no unnecessary open world environment! (OK, OK, enough of the snark.)

Street Hoops features authentic streetball venues: Run N’ Shoot in Atlanta, A. L. Davis Park in New Orleans (formerly known as Shakespeare Park, and labelled as such in the game), The Dome in Baltimore, Seger Park in Philadelphia (named 11th and Lombard here), Jackson Park in Chicago, Mosswood Park in Oakland (“The Moss”), The West 4th Street Courts in New York City (“The Cage”), the Venice Beach Courts in Los Angeles, and of course, the legendary Rucker Park. There’s also the “Farmer’s Court” in French Lick, Indiana, which as far as I can tell is meant to be a nod to Larry Bird’s court at his childhood home, rather than an actual famous venue.

Run N’ Shoot, Shakespeare Park, and Farmer’s Park are all available out of the box, while the remaining courts (and some bonus ones) must be unlocked. Courts, players, and bonus content including AND 1 highlight reels are unlocked through the World Tournament and Lord of the Court modes. The game’s manual is quick to point out that winning alone is not enough to unlock this content; it still needs to be purchased with the same currency you’re spending on everything else. Along with the need to play through the modes more than once and on different difficulty levels to unlock everything, it’s intended to add some replay value to what are fairly short campaigns.

World Tournament is a barnstorming campaign that takes you across the USA, and to a couple of international venues. You can also choose to revisit a previous venue to replay the game and earn more money. Lord of the Court reverses the barnstorming concept as you now need to defend your home court against visiting teams. As noted, playing through the World Tournament multiple times and defending each venue in Lord of the Court will eventually unlock all of the courts, players, and other content for purchase. Then again, because it’s a 2002 game, you can also punch in cheat codes to get them. It’s a last resort, but hey, it’s far preferable to paid unlocks and DLC!

Entering the “unlock all” cheat codes is sorely tempting, though. It costs $10,000 to unlock the AND 1 players, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have anywhere near that much at the first opportunity to purchase one. Also, there’s no store or unlockables screen. If you can’t afford a player when first prompted, you can unlock them later under Swap Players. It’s not a complicated process, but it’s not readily apparent, and the manual doesn’t explain it, either. At first, I thought it must be necessary to replay a prior game after scrounging up the funds, in order to receive the prompt to unlock the player again. Better onboarding would help here, but it’s poorly designed in general.

I do understand the thought process. It’s a twist on the usual unlockables system, and the game is trying to be unique. Unfortunately, Street Hoops makes the mistake a lot of games do when they’re attempting to stand out: reinvent the wheel without thinking about why it’s round in the first place. It’s a tremendous tease to not only make us buy the items that we’ve unlocked, but also unlock items for purchase before we’re likely to have saved up even a tenth of what they cost! Ideally, a good unlockables system should begin with affordable items and build up to premium rewards. It shouldn’t be a case of “unlocking” everything, grinding hard for cash, and then circling back to buy.

It’s quite likely also been done to make the aforementioned betting mechanic relevant, which rubs me the wrong way. Admittedly, dealing with grinding, microtransactions, and gambling mechanics in modern games has retroactively soured me on the idea, but putting it in an all-ages game does leave a bad taste in my mouth. I understand that the betting and pawning aspect is meant to add some “grittiness”, as well as a means of boosting in-game cash earnings. Obviously, no real money is involved as it is now. Still, it feels unnecessary. Even putting that retroactive disgust aside, it props up a poorly-designed unlockables system that didn’t logically map out the “journey”.

In addition to the two campaign modes, there’s also exhibition play. Full Court and Half Court Pick-Up games allow you to choose the teams and venue. The full court games can be played 3-on-3, 4-on-4, and 5-on-5, while half court games are 1-on-1, 2-on-3, and 3-on-3. Quick Start will get you to the action much sooner, using random teams at a random (unlocked) venue. I have mixed feelings about quick play modes. Although they can be useful, they can also easily be mistaken for the main exhibition mode, and thus appear confusingly shallow. This is particularly true in games such as Street Hoops, which places the Pick-Up Games modes under the Game Modes menu.

Somewhat inconveniently, game rules and win conditions can’t be selected in the flow of setting up a game. Instead, they’re changed in the Game Settings screen in the main menu. On the bright side, there is a good variety of options. By default, games are played with five minute halves, with a 30-second shot clock and no fouls or backcourt violations. Three-in-the-key, ten seconds over half court, and five second inbounds violations, are in effect. Those rules can all be toggled, along with game length (5, 10, 15, or 20 minute halves). Alternatively, you can play to a target score of 7, 11, 21, or 32. There are also three difficulty levels in Street Hoops: Scrub, Balla, and G.O.A.T.

So, let’s talk gameplay. Street Hoops is a sim-arcade hybrid; indeed, in his interview with GameSpot, Jose Villeta specifically cited the goal of straddling the line between sim and arcade. The campaign modes are 5-on-5 action, and there are no superhuman dunks. At the same time, the gameplay is fast-paced, and true to streetball, there are minimal rules with a lax attitude towards dribbling violations in the name of flashy moves. Even though no one’s jumping twenty feet above the rim, everyone can dunk, and do so emphatically. Filling a meter by performing special moves temporarily activates team-wide ability boosts and unlimited turbo, similar to NBA Jam’s Fire.

The controls greatly resemble the NBA Live titles of the era, right down to the layout of shoot/hand check, pass/switch, block/rebound/spin/back down, and crossover/steal on the four face buttons, with sprint on the front right shoulder button and direct pass (and switch) on the left. There’s a basic playcalling button that can also call for a pick when not pressed in conjunction with a face button, the ability to call timeout on the fly (albeit with the analogue stick buttons), and defensive stance on the rear right shoulder button. Directional controls also modify shot attempts, such as performing fadeaways, turnarounds, and hook shots. In short, very standard sim game controls.

By adopting a familiar and well-received controller configuration, Street Hoops is fairly pick-up-and-play for experienced gamers and newcomers alike. However, it also brings some new ideas to the table. Tapping spin will perform a fake spin move, while double tapping shoot on route to the hoop triggers a layup. The modifiers on the rear shoulder buttons are easily the biggest game changers, though. The right shoulder button is the “Mad Skillz Moves” control, used to perform a dazzling array of dribble moves. The left shoulder button is the “IN YO FACE Moves” control – and yes, the manual does capitalise that – which is used to perform a selection of highlight dunks.

When the Mad Skillz Moves modifier is held, all of the face buttons become dribble move controls. The moves each combination performs will also change depending on whether the player is moving or stationary. Similarly, the IN YO FACE modifier is used to turn shoot, pass, and crossover into dunk buttons, while combining it with the spin button will throw an alley-oop if you’re within range of three-point arc. Pressing shoot while moving towards the rim using as Mad Skillz Move will transition into a shot, including a driving dunk or layup if you’re close enough. The right analogue stick can also be used to perform touch passes by moving it in the desired direction.

It’s a graspable blend of simplicity and complexity; not so simple that it’s boring, not so complex that it’s contrived and off-putting. I will say however that it’s very easy to mix up modifiers, or fail to seamlessly switch between them if you want to follow up a Mad Skillz ankle breaker with an IN YO FACE poster dunk. Hit the wrong button, and you’ll either toss up an awkward runner from too far out, or perform a needless dribble move instead of shooting. It’s not impossible to master, but having separate modifiers for shooting and dribbling moves increases the chances of using the wrong one in the heat of the moment, or failing to smoothly transition a move into a shot.

Once you get accustomed to switching between the modifiers though, you’ll start pulling off some satisfying highlights. As in NBA Street, a majority of the passes are automatically flashy, adding authentic streetball flair. Radio host and actor Big Boy is one of the MCs, along with DJ Set Free, the man behind the AND 1 Mixtape series. Although it doesn’t officially carry the AND 1 branding, these atmospheric touches on top of the controls, animations, pace, and other gameplay aspects, essentially replicate the Mixtape Tour on the virtual hardwood. As much as I enjoy the NBA Street series, it demonstrates the potential of a streetball game that incorporates a bit more realism.

At the same time, Street Hoops does show its age, and the growing pains of a game that was built from scratch. In aiming for an over-the-top style, the animations on the Mad Skillz Moves are extremely fast. As such, ankle-breaking scenarios have a delay in which the move is performed, the defender stumbles after it’s finished, and then the ball handler makes their next move. It works and it’s still entertaining, but it’s not as organic or as good for chaining together flashy sequences compared to NBA Street, or even the sim games. Even though you’re not drawn into a heavy two-man animation, those moments still feel somewhat canned, or indeed like an actor missing their cue.

Again, it’s the lack of polish that you’d expect from an ambitious basketball game that was built from the ground up. Another example is the collisions between players. A defender will stop their man dead in their tracks simply by touching them, though the CPU does benefit from this more than the user. This “brick wall coated in superglue” defense can bring the otherwise up-tempo action to a jarring halt, though the CPU’s tendency to get its ankles broken or bite on pump fakes does provide the user with some effective tricks. It can be difficult to appreciate the streetball moves at the speed they play out, and there are odd animations that are simultaneously fluid and janky.

Stealing the ball – while far from impossible – demands that you spam the button, as the steal animations alternate between exaggerated lunges and half-hearted attempts. The hand check button provides a more physical alternative, but it rarely jostles the ball loose as CPU players frequently just tank the hit. Blocks feel nice when you get them, and grabbing a board and immediately flinging a long midair outlet pass Wes Unseld-style is fun to pull off, but neither blocking nor rebounding have robust and reliable mechanics. Contesting shots has far less of an impact than it should, so while defense is possible, it’s another game where the best D is a sustained scoring barrage.

CPU opponents and teammates alike make some weird decisions, whether it’s passing up good shots, dribbling down the shot clock unnecessarily, or standing around out of position on defense. Many of the fast break opportunities will come from these major defensive lapses, though some of them will be stopped by the superglue collisions. The late game AI is also messy, from unnecessary timeouts to launching full court shots with plenty of time left on the clock. Gameplay balance is all over the place. The CPU flips between incompetent and dominant. Even in a loss, it usually shoots the lights out in a way that gamers rarely can, and there’s plenty of rubber-banding.

While this may sound like a harsh critique of a game released over twenty years ago, I must point out that contemporary reviews noted these issues as well. Even by 2002 standards, the mechanics, physics, and AI stood out as clunky and lacking polish. In fact, while there were a few positive reviews of Street Hoops, most were rather blunt, flat out calling the game terrible, poor, or some other unflattering adjective. It’s also interesting to see those reviews call out Street Hoops for seemingly focusing more on its cosmetic items and gimmicks than perfecting gameplay; a criticism that is often levelled at modern games, including of course the connected modes in NBA 2K!

Although the criticism in those contemporary reviews is fair and I certainly agree with it – I did notice these issues myself, without reading any of those reviews first – I will cut it some slack looking back on it now. Not to harp on the point, but as a game built from the ground up, it does have understandable teething issues that AND 1 Streetball was able to address to some extent. I appreciate what the gameplay was aiming for, and while I don’t have any nostalgia to smooth over the rough edges, there’s novelty in playing it today. If I had to recommend one or the other, I’d undoubtedly pick AND 1 Streetball, but Street Hoops has its moments if you can push through the roughness.

That’s admittedly easier now, having picked up Street Hoops cheap as a collectible and retro gaming curiosity. Had I played it in 2002, I’d have been underwhelmed and disappointed. It’s therefore ironic that I have a slightly kinder view of Street Hoops compared to those scathing contemporary reviews, as it flies in the face of nostalgia being the driving force in overlooking and excusing flaws. I do have nostalgia for its era though, and with pre-emptively lower expectations, I can appreciate what it was trying to do. Therefore, it’s an ironic enjoyment to some extent; an acceptance of an old game for what it is, and having some fun while acknowledging the shortcomings.

To that point, like many games that are rough and feature flawed AI, I can attest to it being more fun as a multiplayer experience. The single player modes are fine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of gamers who have nostalgia for Street Hoops played it with or against friends and family. In fact, World Tournament and Lord of the Court support co-op play with up to five users, while as many as six users can play Half Court Pick-Up games together, and Full Court Pick-Up supports a maximum of eight on the sticks. 6-8 users is not a unique feature for basketball games of that era, and it’s not as innovative as online team play, but co-op campaign play is a cool idea.

Honestly, I can’t truly call Street Hoops an overlooked gem; it’s just not quite good enough on the sticks, and has some poor design choices. There’s a reason that the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox versions were all panned by most reviewers in 2002. I wouldn’t describe it as a must-play for retro basketball gamers, and even if you grew up with it, you might find it doesn’t hold up as well as you recall. With that being said, there is value in it. It’s at least playable, and capable of genuinely fun moments. It likely won’t hold your attention like NBA Street or NBA Street Vol. 2, but for the open-minded retro gamer willing to give it a chance, it’s still an interesting title to spend time with.

Personally, it’s a game that I’m inclined to visit more sporadically, but I do appreciate it. The sim-arcade hybrid genre is extremely underrated, and I think there’s value in a streetball game that’s more realistic than NBA Street. It is funny that it includes some primitive, offline versions of what have become annoying and predatory practices. Seeing the GameSpy review derisively refer to it as “Virtua Barbie” was wild, given the whole “Barbie Dress-Up Game” nonsense with Ronnie 2K, and the subsequent importance of cosmetic items in NBA 2K’s online scene! It demonstrates that some complaints go back decades, though monetisation has clearly made them much worse.

Also, while AND 1 Streetball would do it better – and provide a more polished on-court experience to boot – it was a great idea to bring players from the Mixtape Tour to the virtual hardwood and blacktop in Street Hoops. The AND 1 Mixtape Tour was insanely popular in the early 2000s, with hardcore hoop heads being able to name the standout streetballers as easily as the foremost stars of the NBA. By focusing on that scene rather than NBA players in a streetball setting, Street Hoops captures an aspect of basketball culture that NBA Street simply couldn’t. NBA Street is still superior of course, but there was value in creating virtual basketball beyond the NBA and NCAA.

In that respect, Street Hoops represents some very nostalgic elements of the early 2000s. Basketball and pop culture of course – specifically the fusion of hip-hop and streetball that was the AND 1 Mixtape Tour – but also basketball video games. It was a time when multiple developers were trying their hand at developing hoops titles. We weren’t just limited to EA and 2K, or just 2K as has been the case for so many years now. Not every release was a hit – there were some raw prospects and average role players, so to speak – but we had choices, and even the flawed games could be fun. A game like Street Hoops could still become a beloved favourite, despite its roughness.

After all, on top of some interesting ideas with the mechanics, it nails the vibe with its streetball moves, the MCs rather than TV-style commentary, and big names in hip-hop on the soundtrack. The Matrix-style bullet time pan around players during replays of big dunks is very much of its time, and thus a great throwback now. If you’re able to acclimate to the controls and some of the clunky aspects, you can string together some exciting moves, ending with loud, emphatic dunks. There are multiple camera angles, from baseline to broadcast cameras, and even an isometric view. Overall, Street Hoops is fairly mediocre at best, but it had potential, and I can have fun with it.

Looking back, I wish that it and the follow-up AND 1 Streetball had been stronger releases. AND 1 Streetball was actually the last game that Black Ops Entertainment made, apart from a few mobile titles. It’s not surprising, but it’s still unfortunate. On the bright side, Street Hoops and its spiritual sequel now stand as two intriguing time capsules of the heyday of the AND 1 Mixtape Tour, as well as turn-of-the-millennium basketball gaming. I can’t strongly recommend Street Hoops or AND 1 Streetball as I can NBA Street, but if you enjoy oddities or you grew up with them, there is some fun amidst the flaws. Just make sure the price, and your expectations, are both reasonable!