The latest in the extremely popular NBA Street series takes the franchise to whole new levels of mayhem, showboating, and wall to wall balling action! Originally starting off life back on the PS2, the NBA Street series quickly found its feet, and offered gamers who were tired of more realistic basketball sims like the NBA Live or the 2K series, and gave them exactly what they wanted. That being, fast paced, arcade style, pick up and play balling action, the likes of which had not really been done justice since the original NBA Jam way back in the 16bit era. As a result, the hole in the market was subsequently filled, and NBA Street found itself the forerunner of the genre, aimed at those who didn't have the time or attention to spend mastering the complex controls and long winded season modes of the simulated alternatives. For those wanting a quick fix in the arcade style balling stakes, NBA Street was perfect.

And now the series makes the leap to the next generation, as the latest incarnation "Homecourt" promises to bring all the thrills, spills, excitement and general over-the-top nonsense that made the franchise so successful, right along with it! As the title suggests, the emphasis here is putting your own "Homecourt" on the map, predictably done by whooping ass around the country. A loose back-story sets the tone and gives your rise to the top that little extra meaning, actually serving to compliment the action quite well, rather than detract from it. Profiles based on famous players, both professional and backstreet legends, are revealed as the game progresses, at first serving little more than eye fodder while the next level loads, but actually helping to define the whole theme of the game, and adding extra importance to each individual homecourt you play on as you progress. A nice little touch, as it makes the payoff of getting your very own homecourt noticed all the more rewarding. Even simple things like creating a baller and levelling him up brings with it a sense of accomplishment, as you earn your own nickname, depending on your style of play. Again, a nice little touch that helps you stamp your own personality on a game that both encourages and rewards it. Obviously though, all these nice little touches amount for nothing if the gameplay isn't up to scratch. But thankfully, that isn't the case...

Gameplay:

Technically, NBA Street Homecourt plays like a dream. As we've seen in the past, and more recently with the dismal And1 Streetball, this kind of game completely falls apart when the gameplay is poor. When the pace is unrelenting and the action back and forth, the game engine needs to be able to keep up, and the responses have to be right on the mark. Thankfully, Homecourt gets it right, although with 3 great versions already behind it, you wonder how it could get it wrong! A very popular feature of the series, and an essential one that needs to be mastered in order to achieve great success in the game, is the trick meter/gamebreaker bar. Essentially adding a very unique element to what could otherwise have easily become a very boring and repetitive game; the trick meter is where NBA Street really comes into its own. At the touch of a button, your baller will perform different tricks and stunts with the ball, each time adding to your "Gamebreaker" bar. While this looks fantastic, and makes YOU look even better, believe it or not there is a tactical advantage to performing tricks, other than to be aesthetically pleasing! Successfully perform enough tricks and your gamebreaker meter will max out, at which point you can initiate the "gamebreaker" sequence itself, which instantly deducts from your opponents points, and gives you the chance to score a lot more of your own! In addition to being a great way to show off to your mates, it actually adds a vital and rather nifty element to the mix. While this may sound complicated, it really isn't.

Previously in NBA Street games, the tricks meter has been presented with differing levels of difficulty. Here in the latest instalment, it almost seems a little dumbed down. While hardcore fans of the series may frown upon this, casual fans will relish it, as time no longer needs to be spent mastering combination moves to pull off tricks, as now the touch of a button does all the work for you. Again, not to everyone's liking, but personally, I think it's a move for the better, as time can now be spent mastering other areas, and actually focus on winning games as opposed to showing off!!!

Graphics:

The general look and appearance of Homecourt is about as great as we're starting to expect from next gen outings. The graphics are lush, the animation is superb, and the ridiculously over-the-top dunks and tricks have never looked as spectacular for it! The physics are terrible, but only in the sense that they're completely unrealistic!!! Then again, since when has leaping 30 feet in the air to pass a ball through your legs, spinning 720 degrees, to land ON the rim and THROW the ball down through the hoop, only to catch it again on it's way back up and do a back flip OFF the backboard to dunk it home one last time, EVER been realistic?! It's insane, it's crazy, it's basketball baby and it's never been this much fun!!! Even the courts you play on, based on real-life courts themselves, look the part, at times feeling all too realistic given the unrealistic action taking place on them! But attention to detail is one of this games strong points and just as much care has been taken to make Homecourt look spectacular, and it certainly paid off.

Sound:

The terrific visuals are only boosted by the excellent audio. Everything you'd expect from a basketball game is there’s trainers squeaking on hardwood, grunts and groans when the action gets physical, trash talking as the players face off, and all the while complimented by a superb hip hop urban soundtrack that fuses today’s distinct sound with yesterday's funky “flava”. All in all it really helps build up the great atmosphere, suiting the style of the game, and catering perfectly for the audience it's targeted at.

Longevity:

With 4 different levels of difficulty, numerous un-lockable features and the chance to build your own players from the ground up and take them all the way to the top, this game should keep fans happy for a worthy amount of time. The action itself MAY prove a tad repetitive after a while but that’s when the excellent online league system can light things up, as you face off against players the world over to see just how you match up! In fact, the only real problem I myself see with this game, are the way too easy achievements! Some call them a curse, some call them a blessing; either way you look at it NBA Street Homecourt's achievements won't take you long to get at all. This is where some may be tempted to get rid of it after a short time, or only buy it to whore out the 1000 gamerpoints. Which is a shame, as the Xbox Live scene really could do with more decent pick up and play multiplayer games like this!

Overall:

NBA Street Homecourt is an essential purchase for fans of the series and sport alike. It has the strong backbone of a great arcade-style basketball game, which is only strengthened by innovative and tactical touches such as the gamebreaker meter, tricks combos, double dunks, and other neat touches. With fantastic presentation, a great multiplayer mode, and more sheer outright fun than should ever be had on a basketball court, NBA Street will appeal to both long time fans of the series and those casual fans simply after some good, solid, arcade-style sporting action!

Xbox Live members can also check the marketplace for a free 509.82mb demo of NBA Street Homecourt, essentially allowing you to try your footing before you commit to the game.