NBA Street V3

The NBA Street series has produced two of the best arcade basketball games ever made. Both the original NBA Street and v2 injected new life into what was essentially a dying genre. So, it comes that a third game in the franchise is on its way, and it will slam dunk its way onto your Cube come February.

One thing is for sure, the game looks gorgeous. EA games almost never fail when it comes to graphics, and Street v3 is no exception. All of the players look great, and the courts also boost upgraded graphics. While the players still have somewhat of an exaggerated look to them, they do appear to look a bit more realistic than the models seen in v2. From the videos shown so far, it appears that Street v3 will stay fluid throughout the entire match, without any major performance stutters.Details on the in-game have yet to be revealed, but the best guess would be that EA will use its EA-Trax line of licensed music that you may have heard in several of its other games. However, NBA Street v3 boasts an Everyone rating, so it’s doubtful that there will be any unedited music within the game. And judging by the sound in the trailer, it seems as though the in-game commentator from v2 will be returning as well.

All of the major game modes from the previous iterations should return, but v3 will allow you to customize your player, and build courts from the ground up. Not only that, but this edition will introduce a Dunk Contest mode, which should provide hours of entertainment. Once again, players will be able to use some of the NBA’s top stars in addition to original characters (many returning from the previous games). EA has also added some new moves into the game, including the addition of the Trick Stick, which allows players to string combos together using the C stick on the Gamecube controller.

While there will be no online play for the Gamecube version of NBA Street v3 (as with all of EA’s current games), the Cube version will boast an exclusive team, the Nintendo All Star team. This team consists of Mario, Luigi, and Peach. Admittedly, it is a little weird to see them in the game, and this seems like somewhat of a gimmick, but it should be fun nevertheless to pull of crazy dunks with Mario and Luigi. Also, there will be 4 player, which is great (more Cube games really need to have a 4 player option, so this is a welcome addition).

NBA Street v3 looks to continue the series’ winning streak. New additions such as the Dunk Contest, Trick Stick, and in-depth character options look to impress. Gamecube fans looking for a fun sports game need look no further. Keep an eye out, the game will be out in early February.