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NBA BALLERS: CHOSEN ONE XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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If there is
one hoop game Midway is good at, it’s NBA
Ballers. The last time we had fun with their
franchise was on the Playstation 2. However, we
are amazed to see the same level of high-energy
fantasy street ball still lives in the present,
and you’ll find it in Midway’s latest offering
NBA Ballers: Chosen One. The game is all about
elaborate tricks, flashy ankle-breakers, and
outrageous dunks, which have been the trademark
that made the franchise a reputable one. But
more importantly, it’s the storyline of starting
from rags to riches that appeal to many
hoopsters, living that dream of fame and luxury.
And the road to stardom doesn’t always mean
facing wanna-be NBA athletes but going up
against the pros of today’s NBA.
You’re going to love what the new NBA Ballers
has for you. First, Midway did an amazing job
with creating your player, giving you access to
practically everything, from designing your
nickname to choosing hundreds of cool apparels,
including shoes, shirts, and jewelries to name a
few. Second, the story mode has been tweaked a
bit with basketball courts spread out among a
number of crazy locations such as an airport
hanger, penthouse suite, and the likes. But the
number one goal of this year’s NBA Ballers is to
be the “Chosen One.” To do that, you need to get
into the story mode. The story mode is made up
of six episodes, each having five chapters. The
way the story works is that each year the top
NBA players in the league compete in a street
ball tournament. Whoever wins that tournament is
crowned the Chosen One.
Midway’s new NBA Ballers plays a lot like its
predecessor. You’ll spend most of your time in
one-on-one battles with a specific objective to
complete, such as pulling off a particular
special move, playing 21 instead of 11, or
aiming for a sweet spot in a soft drink
commercial. What’s nice is that episodes are
introduced in ESPN style segment with Public
Enemy’s Chuck D as your host. Moreover, the game
lets you pump up your skills as you win each
match. The skill points are based on your
performance from the previous battle. Using the
shoulder buttons with the face buttons, you can
extend your level of performance by executing
flashy ankle-breakers and hitting those hot
spots that fill up your juice meter, sort of a
game-breaker in NBA Street. The meter has
different gauges in which each layer serves a
different purpose that either guarantees you
with a block, a steal, a long distance
3-pointer, a successful juke, or that
game-ending monster jam! |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 7.5 OUT OF 10 |
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It’s great
to see that the game’s super moves are of great
use, unllike in the previous installments, they
were more of a nuisance than a collaborative
tactic. You should take advantage of filling up
your meter quickly! Your opponents don’t stand a
chance once your meter is full. With so many
ways of blowing out your opponent, you’re
practically guaranteed a victory! Midway stays
true to its arcade roots, which makes NBA
Ballers: Chosen One relatively easy to pick up.
But don’t expect any easy boards. The game may
have been built for casual gamers, but going for
rebound is sometimes impossible. One of NBA
Ballers’ outstanding features is the act-a-fool
combos. It’s initiated by holding a shoulder
button and face button together, then the button
icons appear on the screen, and you have to
press them as quickly as you can.
What's amazing with Chosen One is the superb
collection of NBA superstars in the game. There
are more than 65 licensed players! You have a
hefty lineup of legends, which include Dr. J,
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain,
Bill Russell, and many more! In the gameplay
department, there are a few issues that need to
be pointed out. At certain part of the game, the
controls become somewhat unresponsive. And we
did notice minor clipping problems with dunking.
Fortunately, they are not rough enough that it
would affect the flow of the action on the
court. The one aspect that we would change in
this year’s NBA Ballers, however, is getting rid
of the goal tending and charging; they don’t
belong in this arcade setting.
Graphically, NBA Ballers: Chosen One is the best
looking one in the franchise. The cut scenes are
incredible and you could easily see their
prominence during the introduciton of big-time
athletes. Players are lifelike and move like
their real counterparts. With respect to
animation, the developer just went overboard in
that department; you’ll find no shortage of
great-looking dunks, crazy crossovers, and cheap
alley-oops from someone standing by the
baseline. The basketball courts have their own
interesting funky designs to them and outrageous
locations like playing at a rooftop in Dubai or
on a remote moutain in China. In terms of
physical play, running, diving, and shooting the
ball are very smooth in this game.
In the audio front, the play-by-play commentary
from Chuck D is pretty good and we’re just glad
that he doesn’t repeat the script too often. The
sound effects fair better than most street ball
games out there but the musical piece is
somewhat subdued. It looks like the developer
has channeled most of their efforts into the
action on the court, leaving the audio anemities
with a few good soundtracks. Needless to say,
NBA Ballers: Chosen One is a solid basketball
game. It delivers what casual players want,
which is an arcade-style sports title, with
outrageous dunks, impressive locales, incredible
NBA roster to match up against, and most
importantly a fun gameplay. Controls are little
unresponsive in some areas but sleek
presentation has ways of you forgetting that. If
you’re looking for one-on-one in your face
basketball experience that suit your casual
style, then NBA Ballers: Chosen One is the right
package for you. |
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